Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 476(@200wpm)___ 381(@250wpm)___ 318(@300wpm)
“Six,” I tell her, and she gasps.
“Did you pick up someone at the bar?” The glee in her voice seeps through the phone. “Oh my God, you did.”
“You cannot repeat this to anyone. And I mean anyone.” I can picture her rolling her eyes. “I had my first ever one-night stand.”
“Oh my God!” she shrieks. “I was just joking with you. I never thought you would actually do it.”
“Let’s just say my present self is happy that my past self took the leap.” I smirk as I take a sip of coffee.
“Who was he?”
I look out the window seeing the horses run not too far from the house. “The bartender.”
“Shut up,” she snaps, and I can’t help but giggle. “You really said Daniel who?”
“I didn’t say any such thing. Actually, I don’t think I spoke more than ten words, except right there and do that again.” This time, we both laugh. “I would love to talk more, but I’m already starting my day late.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she says. “I’ll call you later.”
“Later.” I hang up and walk over to my computer bag before grabbing it and deciding to work in the living room. It’s only when my phone rings that I notice it’s almost seven at night. Looking down, I see it’s Sofia, and I suddenly get nervous that she’s heard what I did.
“Hello,” I answer, trying to pretend that it’s fine. Everything is fine.
“Hey, you,” she says, her voice like normal, so maybe she didn’t hear I had sex with a random person near her house. “How are you settling in?”
“Amazing.” I put my computer on the wooden crate in front of me and then stretch. “There was this sense of peace when I got here.”
“Isn’t it the best?” She sighs as if she’s here sitting with me.
“It is,” I agree with her. “I even saw some horses off in the distance this morning.”
“That makes me so happy to hear. I spoke to Pops today, and he said you will be lying low this week.”
“That is the plan, I think.”
“Well, I was speaking with my cousins Chelsea and Amelia, and they were talking about a Christmas fair they are going to at the school on Friday, and I know how much you love Christmas.”
“Oh, that sounds like so much fun.”
“Is it okay if I tell them that you are down?” she asks, and I take a deep inhale.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” I bite the bullet; it has to happen sometime. “But can you do it on Friday morning?”
She laughs. “Consider it done.”
I know the minute she tells her cousin because my phone rings. “I cannot believe you have been here by yourself.” That’s the first thing Amelia says to me when I answer the phone Friday morning at ten. The two of us got to know each other briefly when she and Matty got married.
I laugh. “I’m sorry, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing.”
“Anyway, since you’re in town, how would you like to come to the Christmas fair?”
“I would love it,” I reply. “Why don’t you send me the address, and I can meet you there?”
“That works but plan on joining us for dinner afterward.”
“Added to my empty calendar.” We both laugh. “I will see you tonight. I’ll be the one who looks like she’s lost.”
“I will be the one who looks like she’s going out of her mind,” she retorts before hanging up on me. Right after, she sends me the address, and I confirm receipt.
At lunch, I step outside in the back like I’ve been doing the whole week, sitting on the top step, looking out into the distance. If you close your eyes and listen, you can hear the galloping of horses. I look forward to it, even at night after dinner, when I sit outside. The sound is peaceful. There really are no horns honking, no police sirens. There is nothing but the sound of the forest, which I didn’t know made me feel like I was home before.
When I pull up to the school, the parking lot is literally bursting at the seams, and one person is wearing a green-and-yellow vest trying to direct traffic. The side of the school looks like where most of the action is. Kids are yelling and screaming in the distance, and the schoolyard is filled with booths and white tents that are off to the side.
I make my way over to where most people are meeting before I take out my phone and text Amelia.
Me: Just got here.
I look around to see if I’m going to recognize any familiar faces when I spot him in the distance. I move my head to the side to make sure I’m actually seeing what I’m seeing and not a figment of my imagination like it’s been all week long. He’s walking down wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a black jacket as he looks down at the boy in front of him, who is his clone. My throat feels like it’s closing in when he puts his head back and laughs at something the woman beside him says, wrapping her hand around his bicep and leaning into him, making him laugh even more. “This is not happening,” I say to myself as I turn on the spot and think about getting the fuck out of here.