Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
He swore he was done with his revenge. That he fucked up, and he didn’t want to lose me. I wanted so badly to believe him. But he’d lied to me before, and I didn’t just have myself to think about anymore.
So I resorted to my heartbreaking ritual of typing out the same words I did every night. The message that I could never actually send.
I love you, Ryland.
***
I glanced over my shoulder as I walked out of the doctor’s office and frowned. The same guy I’d seen earlier was still there, leaning against the brick wall. He was smoking a cigarette, his eyes scanning up and down the street. It was probably just a coincidence, but I could have sworn I saw him the week before too. And that was on the other side of the city.
“What’s the matter?” Nicole whispered.
“It’s just that guy,” I answered. “I don’t know, I thought I saw him last week at Misha’s place. And he’s been out here the whole time I was in my appointment. Am I being crazy paranoid?”
He looked at us, and I could have sworn guilt flickered across his face. There was something familiar about him. A hazy image of the man who cut the airbag in the car popped into my head, but I couldn’t place him now. Was this the same guy? He was huge. Like body builder type huge. Dark hair and dark appraising eyes. Nothing in particular about him stood out, apart from the fact that he was dressed in a nice suit. It was odd for this neighborhood.
“I don’t know.” Nicole tugged on my arm. “But let’s not stick around to find out.”
We walked down the street, and when I glanced back over my shoulder, he was gone. Matt met us at a café around the corner, buying us both a hot chocolate and a muffin for lunch.
“So?” he raised his brows. “How did it go?”
“Good.” I nodded. “I’m not scheduled to have an ultrasound for a while, but I just wanted to get established with the doctor.”
“Gotcha.” Matt looked confused. This was definitely not his department.
“Sooo….” He swung his gaze to Nicole. “Misha said you were moving out?”
Nicole and I both looked at each other. We hadn’t really planned on how we were going to break the news to Matt.
“What is it?” he asked.
“We are moving out.” Nicole fiddled with a packet of sugar, her eyes looking everywhere but at him. “Brighton and I got an apartment together. In fact, we moved this weekend.”
“Oh.” Matt’s tone dropped. “Where at?”
“Well, I think for now, it would be best if nobody else knew.”
Matt narrowed his eyes and worked his jaw. He definitely wasn’t happy about this. At all.
“Nicole…”
“I’m not accountable to you,” she cut him off. “I don’t have to tell you where I’m at or what I’m doing.”
I shot her a pleading glance. I knew she wasn’t telling him because he would worry, but this wasn’t the way to go about it. She was only pushing him further away.
“Right.” He stood up and set down his unfinished coffee. “I get it, Nicole. I was just trying to look out for you. As a friend. Because that’s what friends do. But I guess I had it all wrong.”
Her lip wobbled, but she didn’t say another word. So Matt walked out the door.
***
I collapsed onto my bed with a sigh. Today had been exhausting already, and I still had to work in an hour. I was nervous as hell.
Working as a receptionist was easy for me because it took minimal coordination. Waitressing on the other hand… I didn’t know how I was going to handle it. But how hard could it be?
My phone chimed. I was afraid to even look at it, but I couldn’t resist.
Missing you, baby girl.
The office isn’t the same without you.
They were Ryland’s usual texts. But as I scrolled down, I noticed there were a lot more today. And panic set in when I realized why.
Why were you at the doctor, Brighton?
What’s wrong?
Don’t punish me this way.
I need to know you’re okay.
Please, baby girl.
I stopped reading. I knew he’d be freaking out and thinking the worst. It hurt me, but I couldn’t break my rule. I couldn’t text him back. Because that would be opening a door I wouldn’t be able to close again. And I needed to be more concerned about the fact that he knew what I was doing.
It was that guy loitering outside of the building, it had to be.
I needed to be more careful. The last thing I wanted was for Ryland to figure out where I was living.
Chapter Five
Ryland
Unfuckingbelievable.
Did you know that science has actually proven swearing to be cathartic? Wonder how much it cost to figure that one out. I could’ve told them for free.
Brighton was poking the beast inside of me with her invisible stick. Would it be hypocritical to say that I didn’t like her keeping secrets from me? I'd tasted my own medicine, and it was bitter. So very bitter.