Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 110624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“Excuse me?”
“You will not find out where Nina is. You will stay the fuck away from her. Do you understand me?”
My blood was boiling, and I was ready to pounce, but I decided to play it cool until I could find out where she was. That was all that mattered.
“What the fuck are you talking about, Ryan?”
“I am talking about the fact that you fucked my best friend, then took off to Boston to fuck your wife, you dirty mother fucker.”
My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest.
No.
This could not be happening.
My hands began to shake, and I had to clench my fists to keep from throwing a punch.
My voice was low as I spoke through gritted teeth, resisting the urge to charge at him. “What…did you…tell her?”
“You know, I always knew something wasn’t right with you. After having to listen to you fuck her ten times in the middle of the night, I was sure as hell going to make sure she wasn’t getting involved with someone shady. When you didn’t come home Monday night, that was it. I looked your information up in the database at work the next day and guess what came up? Your fucking marriage license! Everything made sense all of a sudden…your Boston trips, your secrecy—”
Ryan’s head slammed against the wall after I grabbed him in a choke hold. My breathing was erratic. “You don’t know anything about me. You think you figured it all out, but you don’t know shit about my life! Now, tell me where Nina is or my hands stay where they are.”
He didn’t have the strength to break free or speak, so he spit in my face.
“Tell…me…where…Nina…is,” I repeated through my teeth, tightening the hold with each word.
His head bounced back and hit the wall as I released him.
He coughed. “She’s staying with a friend, but she doesn’t want to see you.”
That stung.
I stood there glaring at Ryan. When I calmed down, I decided that considering he knew nothing about my situation, I couldn’t blame him for thinking he was protecting her. I needed to calm down and play nice to find out where she was.
“Listen, I am not going to explain everything to you until I’ve had a chance to talk to her. It’s not what you think. I am legally married, yes, but it hasn’t been a marriage in the real sense for years. It’s complicated, okay? Ivy…she’s mentally ill. She lives in a home. I rushed back to Boston because they thought she tried to kill herself.” I rubbed my temples in frustration.
Ryan just stood there speechless.
What do you have to say now, asshole?
“If this is true, I really don’t even know what to say. You should have told Nina you were married and you certainly shouldn’t have slept with her.”
I wasn’t going to waste time explaining my actions to him when the only person that deserved an explanation was Nina.
“Where is she, Ryan?”
“She’s crashing with Mrs. Ballsworthy’s daughter. She came by right after Nina found out about you. Daria had stopped in to give her a thank you basket and saw her crying. I pulled her aside and told her what happened. She insisted Nina come stay with her for at least a few days. She lives in Park Slope.”
“What’s the address?”
“I promised her I wouldn’t tell you.”
“Ryan, I like you. I do. So, I’m gonna be up front and tell you that I’m going to beat the snot out of you if you don’t tell me, and I really don’t want to have do that.”
He huffed and pulled out his phone, texting me the address.
“Thank you,” I said as I ran out the door.
***
I took a deep breath and tried to gather my thoughts before entering the brownstone. The front door was open, but you had to get buzzed in to enter the second door. I pressed the button for Unit Six.
A woman’s voice blasted through static. “Hello?”
“Hi, this is Jake. I know Nina is staying with you and doesn’t want to see me, but please, I need to talk to her. Can I come up?”
Silence.
It felt like it went on for an eternity. Then, came more static. “I’m sorry, Jake. She doesn’t want to see you. Please leave.”
I pressed the buzzer again but no response. This went on for about fifteen minutes with no luck. They were just ignoring me.
I went back outside and walked around to the back of the building to see if there were any windows. A fire escape led up to the sixth floor. If I could get up there and knock on a window, maybe they would see how serious I was and let me in. Shit, I would camp out here all night if I had to.
I began to crawl up the fire escape, unsure of whether the apartment at the top was even the right one. When I got to the sixth level, I looked in the window at a dark, empty room. Just as I was about to knock on the window and beg whoever lived there to let me in, a light came on.