Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45351 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45351 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 227(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
I whip out onto the road and start scanning for hitchhikers. Meanwhile, I call Brad.
“I need to locate Mallory’s phone number like yesterday,” I tell him. “Price is no object.”
“Dude. I can ask for anything? Even your sweet Maserati?”
“Yes.” I don’t even hesitate because there’s nothing more important in this world than Mallory and if it takes every earthly possession I have to get her back, I’ll spend it. Nothing and no one is keeping me away from her. Not even Mallory herself.
Chapter 22
Mallory
Tears stream down my face as I walk farther away from Carter and out of his life. I know that I’m doing the right thing for him but it doesn’t stop the ache that has now formed in my chest. I keep moving, willing myself to go forward and not turn around. Knowing that I’m protecting him from my past which is knocking at my door. I lift my bag up higher on my shoulder and continue walking toward the bus station. I knew I had to head back toward my side of town when I left Carter’s. I couldn’t risk anyone seeing me get on a bus and reporting it back to him. I’d rather risk seeing my mom or her disgusting man of the month, Ricky, than let Carter get pulled any more into this mess than he is already. He’s done so much for me in such a short time. He has protected me and I’m going to do the same for him. No one has ever done that for me.
The loneliness sets in when I reach the bus stop and realize that I have nowhere to go. I have no one to turn to. It somehow feels worse than it did the first time. When I left my mom’s, I knew I had to and that she didn’t really care about me anyway. She was too selfish to care for anyone else. Leaving Carter is a different story. Letting go of someone that you love is something I’m realizing I wasn’t prepared for. I’ve never had anyone care for me the way Carter did. Even though he can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Remembering all of the sarcastic banter that the two of us shared brings a smile to my face.
I get to the bus station and open the doors to walk in. The place is dreary with people from all walks of life waiting to go somewhere. I walk up to the counter.
“System’s down,” the ticket lady informs me before I can say anything.
“How long do you think it will be?” I ask and immediately regret it when I see the look of annoyance on the lady’s face.
“There’s nothing I can do. The system is down. It’s down in the entire state. I don’t know what’s going on and I don’t know when it will go back up. Any more questions?” I shake my head no. “Then take a seat and wait like everyone else.”
I’m about to say something snippy but I stop myself when I see the look on her face. I’m sure all of the people in this room have asked her the same questions. I bet most of them have hemmed and hawed about how they need to get somewhere, thinking that they would get a different result. So I lift my bag up and proceed to an open seat.
I set my bag in my lap, wrapping my hand around it so I can close my eyes for a moment. Exhaustion is starting to take over. The high from the excitement of the party and everyone standing up for me has finally worn off. The low has now settled over me, making me aware of the fact that I’m losing it all. It is all so overwhelming and I’m having a hard time processing it. I’m not sure if I nod off or not but I’m jolted awake.
“Get. Up.” My eyes fly open to see one very pissed-off looking Carter. I sit there in shock. “I said. Get. Up,” he repeats. My eyes water and a tear escapes, making me lose all my bravado. Carter’s face completely changes as he drops to the dirty floor onto his knees in front of me at the bench, bringing us to eye level. “Kiss me.” He issues another demand but this one is soft and pleading.
I give in, leaning forward, causing our mouths to meet. I savor the kiss I never thought I’d have again. “You scared the fucking shit out of me.” I don’t know how he makes his words sound both caring and angry but he does. “You can’t just take off like that.”
“I’m sorry.” I really am. I had no idea what the right thing to do was. “I don’t want you in my mess. I can’t let you get in trouble for the things I’ve done.”