Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 86367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86367 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 432(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 288(@300wpm)
“Son, you going to be okay?” my father whispers from beside me, and it feels like my knees are going to give out.
“Yeah,” I answer, taking a deep breath in and looking up to see Christopher standing there watching me while his mom talks to him. One ear is on their conversation, another on making sure I’m okay. My uncles Max, Viktor, and Justin hang with my cousins Cooper, Michael, and Dylan, who are also around, pretending they are having a conversation, but in reality, everyone is making sure I’m okay. “I need a second.”
I look at my Uncle Matthew. “I tried to warn you.”
“It’s fine,” I say. “I just need a second.”
“I’ll wait here,” my father says.
“There is no need for that, Dad,” I try to reassure him. “I’m fine. It’ll be okay.”
He looks into my eyes. “I’ll wait here,” he repeats, and all I do is nod. My throat feels like a golf ball is stuck right in the middle.
I walk down the hallway toward the bathroom, closing the door behind me, before putting my head back and closing my eyes. “What the fuck is she doing here?” I rub my hand over my face before pushing away from the door and going to the sink. I turn on the cold-water faucet and lean both hands on the counter, my head hanging down. I knew I would one day have to see her. I knew one day this would come. I just didn’t think it would be this soon.
The moment I saw her, I felt like my heart was ripped out of my chest. It was empty and hollow, yet at the same time my heart felt like it started beating again.
The minute I hung up the phone with her, I trashed my phone. I took a day before I called my father. It took him less than four hours to be at my house, just him. He sat with me, watching television, pretending that I didn’t lose the love of my life. He stayed for two weeks, and my mother joined him after two days. They rode the rest of the season out with me until I kicked them both out. We had to get back to our routines. It was time to face the reality of it.
When Christopher came down to spend a couple of days, I could tell he was also going through something, but neither of us brought anything up. Instead, we hit the gym twice a day, skated for hours each day, and just pretended it was all okay.
I fill my hands up with water, splashing my face twice, then grab a white towel and dab my cheeks. “It’s going to be okay,” I say to my reflection. Opening the door, I walk out and spot my father waiting for me.
“You okay?” he asks, and I stand in front of him.
“No,” I admit, “I’m not okay.”
He puts his hand on my shoulder and squeezes. “You want to get out of here?” I think about it for a full minute before I answer him.
“No,” I say because the thought of leaving, knowing she is here, is worse than staying here and loving her from afar, “it’ll make a scene if we do.”
“Who gives a fuck?” he hisses. “No one cares.”
“I do. Let’s just grab something to eat.”
“Okay.” He squeezes my shoulder again. “But if at any time you want to leave, all you have to do is say the word.” I don’t say anything except to nod at him.
We walk back out to the foyer and see that it’s empty. Everyone is back to normal. Or at least pretending they are. We walk into the kitchen, and I say hello to my aunts before grabbing a plate. My eyes try not to do a sweep of the room to see where she is.
I spot her sitting between Gabriella and Romeo, her head down as she looks at her plate, the fork in her hand pushing things away. I wonder if she’s as affected as I am, or does she even care. I walk out and go the opposite direction from where she is, spotting Christopher sitting at a table with Dylan. The two of them look like they are having an intense conversation. When I pull out a chair and sit down, they both stop talking. “You good?” Dylan looks at me and I just shrug.
“That was fucking brutal,” Christopher says. “Swear to God, I had no idea she was going to be here.”
“It’s fine.” I grab a water bottle from the middle of the table. “It had to happen sometime,” I mumble while Maddox comes to sit next to Dylan, who leans over and grabs him around the neck in a chokehold and kisses his head.
“Dad,” he grumbles.
“Love you, kid,” Dylan says to him, letting him go. “Don’t forget it.”