Total pages in book: 132
Estimated words: 128742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128742 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 644(@200wpm)___ 515(@250wpm)___ 429(@300wpm)
“I panicked.” It’s the truth. The best one I have. “I got here in the middle of the night, and Lee opened the door, only Lee’s a guy, and oh, Jackie and Jamie are guys too, and now what the hell am I going to do?”
“Call me. You tell me and we figure it out. I could have gotten you an apartment somewhere.”
“I slept on it. I was convinced that in the morning, I would call you. Go to a hotel or whatever. But honestly, I figured you’d freak out and put me back on a plane.”
“Give me a little credit,” he says, wounded.
“Then I woke up and met them all downstairs for breakfast. We hit it off right away. I swear, it was like we’d known each other for years. It felt like home, and by the time we were done eating, I didn’t want to leave.”
“You could have trusted me enough to listen.”
I can see how much it hurts him that I thought so little of his willingness to hear me out. That I expected him to be so harsh without a chance to plead my case. And I realize how unfair it was to decide what he’d say before he had a chance.
“Then once I decided not to tell you, it got complicated. I kept having to tell bigger lies to cover for the first one.” It’s hard to speak past the lump of guilt jammed in my throat.
“I think that’s the part I’m having the most trouble with.” There’s anger in his tone, though he doesn’t raise his voice. Looking back on those lies, I’m ashamed I found them so easy to live with. “It wasn’t just one mistake. You tricked me over and over again. Who was the girl from the dress studio?”
“Celeste.” I hang my hand shamefully. “Lee’s twin sister.”
“Fuck’s sake, Abbey.”
“I know. I’m sorry. Like so, so sorry. I know what I did was horrid, and I do regret it. I’ve been regretting it for months. I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know how to admit to everything I’d done. I was afraid.”
“Was it worth it?”
That’s a loaded question. And it pains me that a big part of me still thinks it was. I know now that I might have convinced him to let me stay. Even keep living in the house. Or maybe the last several months have softened him and I was right all along. Maybe he would’ve snatched me home in an instant. Either way, while I’m sorry for lying to him, I don’t regret my time here.
“I shouldn’t have lied. But separate from that, I do love it here. The neighborhood. My school. This house. And I know I can’t exactly claim independence and keep asking you to sign tuition and rent checks, but I’d really like to finish out the year if you’ll let me. I love my school, Dad. The Talbot Library is the greatest place on earth.” Tears well up in my eyes. “I don’t want to leave.”
“I’m not here to drag you home, Abbs.”
I blink through the burn of tears. “No?”
“No. I came so I could look you in the eye while you explained that headline, those pictures. But I get it now.” His voice is heavy with remorse. “I lived a full life before I even turned twenty-five, one with packed tour buses and endless party favors. I didn’t want that lifestyle to ever get you in its clutches. And meanwhile, you’re over here begging me to keep going to school because you love the library.” He starts to laugh, deep and raspy. “Not sure why I was so worried.”
“I mean, that headline in the Star wasn’t exactly something to not worry about.”
“Yes. And I think we’ve circled back. Care to explain?”
“I told you about Lord Tulley, remember? He lent me those papers for my research project about his family.” Bitterness coats my throat. “And then he sort of used them as a ruse to get me over to his penthouse.”
Dad’s eyes flash.
“No, nothing like that. He was having a party. Seems like Ben just wants everyone to get coked up and drunk with him. Makes him feel better about being a degenerate, I guess.” I hurry on. “I didn’t, by the way. Do drugs. I had one glass of wine before I realized I didn’t want to be there. I called my roommates, and they came and got me.”
I think back to last night, how the guys dropped everything to bail me out. They’d thought nothing of bursting into Ben’s building, forcing their way past the doorman, and kicking down Ben’s door because I needed help. Nobody can say they don’t care.
When it counted, they were all there for me.
“The paps caught us when Ben was coming out to try to convince me to return to the party.”