Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 95676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 478(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
I hit the pause button on the remote and look at her through bleary eyes.
"I can't take it anymore," she says, kicking her heels off and glaring at me.
"What?"
"You're sad and miserable and it's depressing as all hell, Ivy. You have to get up and do something."
"I have been doing stuff," I mumble.
She cocks a brow at me.
"What? I have." Okay, so maybe I haven't been doing much, but I haven't just been moping around. I've met with my lawyer almost every day since they released me four days ago, trying to plot a defense in case we go to trial. I've spent hours in the gym in Erin's building, running on the treadmill. I've baked enough to feed a small army. Cried myself to sleep every night. Dreamed about Cam so much it hurts.
The only thing I haven't done is leave Erin's apartment to do anything other than visit my lawyer.
"You're going to get shelf-ass if you don't get up." She drops her purse on the table beside the door and stomps toward me with her hands on her hips.
"Shelf-ass?" An amused smile twitches at my lips.
"I'm serious!" She flings herself down beside me before reaching for the bowl of popcorn and popping a piece into her mouth. "Watching you is depressing as fuck. It's been four days since you left jail. You need to get out of this apartment."
"I'm not ready yet."
"I'm not saying you need to go out clubbing," she says, twisting her long blonde hair into a haphazard bun. "But you can't stay locked up in here forever. As much as I love having you here, you need to go outside, get some fresh air and sun. Live a little."
She's right. I know she is. But I'm not sure I'm ready to face the world yet. While the media seems to have lost interest in me for the time being, I don't know if the rest of San Francisco has. Dealing with stares and whispers isn't appealing to me. Neither is the possibility of running into Cam.
God, Cam.
What is he doing right now? Is he thinking about me? Does he miss me? Does he hate me? I can't keep hiding out here, too chicken shit to step outside for fear I might run into him. No one's found Fake Ivy yet, and I'm no longer sure if anyone is even looking for her. All I know is that I can't keep waiting for something to happen before I dig myself out of my hole.
I have to save myself this time. And I can't do it moping on Erin's couch.
"You're right," I say with a reluctant sigh. "I need to leave the apartment."
"Then let's go!" she cries while throwing her hands up again. "I have to leave in the morning for that convention in Atlanta. Let's have a little fun before I go."
"I'm not going drinking with you," I warn her. While the D.A. agreed to let me leave jail with no restrictions aside from not leaving the city, going out and getting hammered won't win me any points. I'd prefer not to push too far.
"Fine." Erin rolls her blue eyes at me. "Then we'll do dinner. We'll devour nachos and drink G-Rated drinks and be perfectly respectable while I'll tell you all about my hot new coworker."
"You mean Sam?"
She nods.
"Didn't you say he's gay?"
"So?" She climbs to her feet before grabbing the popcorn bowl from me. "He's still hot. I can look all I want to. Now, go shower and I'll deal with this." She waves her hand around like I've wrecked the place, but I haven't. If anything, her apartment is neater since I've been crashing in her guest room. I don't think she's ever dusted before, and I've had nothing but time to kill.
"Fine," I grumble and drag myself to my feet, stretching my arms over my head.
"Wear something sexy."
"Uh, no."
"Fine, then wear something that isn't yoga pants."
I shake my head, refusing to acknowledge out loud that I haven't touched real clothes since I got here. Not even visits to my public defender were incentive enough to put on actual pants. "Can I use your computer? My battery is dead, and I need to check my account balance."
I'm almost afraid to look. The school board opted to keep me on administrative leave for the remainder of the school year. I cried when Bryan dropped that bomb. There are only a couple of days left in the term now, and I won't get to see my kids again before they graduate from kindergarten and move on. I feel like I've let them down. I hate that.
At least I haven't been fired yet, though.
"Sure," Erin says over her shoulder. "Just use the desktop in my room. My laptop is in the car. Oh! And save the manuscript I have opened, please."