Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 91840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 459(@200wpm)___ 367(@250wpm)___ 306(@300wpm)
“Jesus, Ava. I don’t know what to say. I just—”
“It’s fine, Charly.”
“No, it’s not fine. He blames you for this when you haven’t done anything wrong.”
My heart swells because she believes me at my word, which is more than Gabe did.
“And the first thing you do is call me, so I can have Vaughn check on him. Guy doesn’t know how lucky he is.”
“He’s hurting.”
“He’s an asshole. I’m sorry, Ava, but he is.”
No, he’s in pain. He thinks I’ve betrayed him.
But I don’t want her to think I’m making excuses for him, so I say nothing.
“Will you just have Vaughn call him, please?”
“He’s calling him now.”
“Oh. Good. That’s great. Thank you.”
There’s a brief pause, and then Charly says, “So, what are you going to do now?”
I let out a sigh. “I don’t know.”
“Do you have anywhere to stay?”
I look around my car and at Gucci, who climbed back onto the passenger seat while I’ve been talking to Charly.
“Well, I can try to get a hotel room, but I don’t know of any hotels that’ll take Gucci.”
“Who the hell is Gucci?”
“She’s my pygmy goat.”
“You have a pygmy goat? When—actually, never mind. What about Logan? Can you go to his place?”
“He got a job in Maine. Went there a few days ago. But I’ll be fine, honestly. Don’t worry about me.”
“Yeah, of course I’m not going to worry.” I can practically see her rolling her eyes at me. “Look, I’m gonna call the hotel where Vaughn and I stay when we’re in LA. I’ll get you a room there.”
“What about Gucci?”
“They’ll take you and Gucci, or they’ll lose business they don’t want to lose.”
Her confidence makes me smile.
“It’s really kind of you to offer to do this, Charly, but my bank account won’t stretch to the kind of hotels that you and Vaughn stay in. I’ll just try and get a motel. And, if not, I’ll sleep in my car.”
“The hell you will. I’m calling the hotel now, and I’m paying—”
“Charly, no.”
“Ava, I’m not taking no for an answer. I’m booking you a room for you and your goat. And then I’m catching a flight to LA first thing.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t. But I want to. You’re my friend, babe. And I know, if this were reversed, you’d do the exact same for me.”
“Of course I would. In a heartbeat.”
“So, it’s settled then. I’ll text you with the hotel details in a few minutes. Call me if there are any problems when you check in. And I’ll see you in the morning.”
A tear rolls from my eye and down my cheek. “Thanks, Charly. I’ve missed you.”
“Missed you, too, babe. I’ll see you tomorrow, bright and early.”
“See you then.”
I hang the phone up and hold it to my chest. Then, I rest my head back on the headrest and stare up at the roof of my car, praying that Gabe is okay up there, in his apartment, alone.
Gabe
I pick up the bottle of scotch that I’ve spent the night with and drain the remains.
I glance out at the morning creeping into the dark.
Foo Fighters’ “Best of You” is playing on a loop. It’s been playing for hours. It’s stuck on repeat. But I can’t be fucked to get up and change it. And, honestly, it’s pretty fucking apt for me at the moment, so I’ve just left it playing.
My cell starts to ring. I glance over at it on the coffee table.
Tate.
I leave it to ring out.
My cell’s been ringing all night. Vaughn. Julian. Gil. Donna. My publicist. And a bunch of other people I don’t give a shit about.
This is the first time that Tate’s called though.
He must’ve just seen the news.
Jesus. The thought of my baby brother knowing what I used to do to make money…
I squeeze my eyes shut and breathe through the pain.
I should have called him to give him a heads-up, but I just couldn’t bring myself to call him.
Well, he knows now.
The whole world knows.
My cell starts to ring again.
A number I don’t recognize.
“Fuck off!” I yell at my phone, like the person on the other end can hear me.
I should turn it off.
But Speedy might call.
Pathetic, right?
She’s betrayed me. Fed me to the sharks in return for a cash bonus. And I won’t turn my phone off in case she calls.
Not that I would answer. I just want to have the satisfaction of knowing that she called.
She sold you out, you pathetic piece of shit.
I laugh out loud. The sound echoes around my empty apartment, reminding me that I’m alone.
And alone is how I should be. It’s how I should have always been. I should never have gotten involved with her.
I can’t believe how fucking stupid I was. I told her everything. Spilled my guts out like a little bitch. When what I should have done is gotten rid of her. I should have tossed her out on her ass the second I fucked her.