Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
I full body stretch on the bed. I’m not the tallest chick around, but even arms and legs spread wide in the shape of a giant X, I don’t reach the edges. Growing up with my parents and in the foster system, I’ve only had a twin sized bed. The one I slept in last night has to be a king. It was by far the most luxurious night’s sleep I can recall ever having.
My stomach growls, reminding me that I slept through dinner last night. I was hoping Kid would come by and hang out last night, but he never did. He’s busy, and I’m sure he has a ton of other things to do besides worry about some girl he kept from jumping off of a bridge. I need to get my head on straight. He’s given me a place to stay, nothing more. I don’t even know how long the invitation is for.
I realize my throat no longer hurts when I take a sip of water from the tap after brushing my teeth. The bathroom is fully stocked, including the unopened toothbrush I just used. Can’t help but wonder if it was done up for me, or if it is always ready for when someone needs to crash. Probably always ready for the next visitor.
I stall leaving the room by taking an incredibly hot, extremely long shower. The razors in the drawer are made for men, and the shaving cream also has a masculine scent, but my legs have never felt smoother. Thankfully, the drawer also contained a travel sized female deodorant. I dress in the clothes I had on minus the dirty underwear. I’d love nothing more than a clean bra, but going without one is out of the question. I’m saddened when I think about all of my things in Alec’s apartment, knowing they’ve all been trashed by now. I’d expect nothing less from his parents.
The bed calls to me like a long lost love as I walk out of the bathroom and back into the main part of the bedroom. I’ve spent so much time the last couple of months wasting away in bed, even more since losing Alec. If my stomach wasn’t trying to eat itself, I’d probably be more than tempted to continue the status quo.
I slide my cell phone in the back pocket of my jeans and head out to the kitchen to grab something to eat. Waking up in a new place, around people I’ve never met before is nothing new to me.
Even though I’ve been at the same foster home for the last three years, I’ve been moved around to at least five other homes before settling with the Stevens’. The only reason I’ve stayed there as long as I have is because I stopped telling the truth when the caseworker asked how things were, asked if I was happy, and asked if they were treating me okay.
Life at the Stevens’ was no walk in the park, but I’d never tell the caseworker the dirty details. It would mean being taken away from Farmington, away from Alec. I could endure a slew of wrongs as long as I had him. Since his death, I don’t even know how I wake up in the morning.
Laughter welcomes me as I draw closer to the kitchen. This situation will be much different than waking up in a foster home for the first time. I won’t encounter foster children on the other side of the wall. I’m pretty certain I’m the youngest one here, and only having met Kid, Shadow, and Rose, I have no idea how my presence will be received.
I cross the threshold into the room, and although the laughter and conversations don’t stop completely, they do die down a bit as everyone looks my way. Several of the guys are smirking at me as if they’ve been told some secret or joke I’m not privileged to. There are a couple of women in the room, and they nod in my direction and give me warm smiles. I smile back, but let my eyes wander, looking for the set of chocolate brown eyes I’ve been using as a safety harness.
He’s not here. I’m sure my disappointment in his absence is quite clear.
“You can sit over here, sweetheart,” comes from a guy in the corner.
I suddenly feel like the nerdy kid standing in the middle of the jocks and cheerleader’s table. All eyes are on me, judging me, trying to determine if I belong and finding me wanting.
I hear a throat clear roughly, and I jerk my head around hoping to see Kid, but my eyes land on a handsome guy at a table across the room. Shadow is sitting on one side of him and a beautiful blonde on the other side. He’s narrowing his eyes at me, and a slow tingle runs up my spine as if he somehow logged into to my personal database and is reading my entire life story chapter by chapter.