Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 134387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 672(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 134387 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 672(@200wpm)___ 538(@250wpm)___ 448(@300wpm)
“You…” My sister exhales sharply. “That’s so rude, A.”
“Rude.” He chuckles slightly. “Yeah, I’m that. Although, I believe the correct term is asshole.”
“What?” It’s kind of dark and they’re both more or less silhouettes so I can’t really know for sure but I know my sister is probably wrinkling her nose right now.
“Yeah, it’s strangely satisfying,” Arrow drawls. “It does get you slapped in the face sometimes. But I guess that comes with the territory.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s worth it though.”
My nails dig into the wood and I bite my lip, feeling a rush of electricity go through me.
It was me; I slapped him. And I call him asshole.
I call him that all the time.
And I’m filled with such need to go to him right now but I grind my knees on the floor.
Because I can’t.
You can’t, Salem. You absolutely cannot go to him now.
Once they get back together and the wedding is back on, I’m going to have to find a way to run and leave them alone.
“What are you talking about?” my sister asks, exasperated.
Arrow hums. “I don’t think you’ll understand. It’s a little above your paygrade. So what do you want?”
My sister sighs. “A, we really need to talk.”
“We don’t really need to talk because nobody ever really needs to talk,” he says. “People talk because they want to. And I find that I really don’t want to.”
“A, please,” she says determinedly. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you but it’s high time. You’ve been ignoring all my calls and texts.”
“Again, that’s usually a sign when someone really doesn’t want to talk.”
Sarah shakes her head, her hair shining under the meager light of the moon. “Look, I don’t want to fight with you. I just want to have a conversation. I just want to figure this out.”
“Funny. Because I was under the impression that there wasn’t anything left to figure out.”
“There is and we can do it. I know we can do it. We can do anything, you and me. We’re a team.” She moves closer to him. “I’ve been working very hard for you, A. You have no idea.”
Even though it’s dark, I still notice the stiffness in Arrow’s body. It’s not just limited to his shoulders now. It has gone on and clutched all his limbs and even his voice.
“Well, why don’t you give me an idea then?”
“The whole team has been affected by your actions. We probably won’t even make it to the semi-finals now. Rodriguez is not as good as you and you know that. The team is mad, A. They blame you. Their trust in you and your judgement has been shaken. I’m the only one on your side and I’m putting out fires everywhere,” my sister replies eagerly. “People are still waiting for you to apologize. But I told them to give you time. I told them you’d do the right thing. Because I care about you. I love you. I want you back on the team. I want you back in my life.”
There’s silence for a few beats after that.
When my heart is pounding and pounding.
This is such a private moment.
I should move away. I should.
But God, my knees are glued to the floor and my nails have dug their way into the wood, and there’s no way I can free them.
There’s no way I can move and take my poisoned, encroaching presence away.
“How’s Ben doing?” Arrow asks. “He know you’re talking to me about getting back together?”
It’s Sarah’s turn to stiffen now.
Again, I can’t see very clearly but I can feel it all. I can feel the tightness in her frame.
“Ben has nothing to do with this,” she says in a low voice.
Arrow chuckles again. This time it’s lacking in any humor though. “I beg to differ.”
“A –”
“Because it didn’t look like that when you were fucking him. Or maybe I’m wrong.”
At this, I feel a pinch, a sting in my fingers. A sting that becomes a throb and takes over my whole hand.
Somehow that sting travels to my chest too, making a home there, squeezing my heart tightly. So tightly and painfully that I can’t be sure if I’m hearing things or if this is real.
If he said what he said.
A second later, Arrow moves away from the wall and stands up straight. Not only that, he grabs Sarah’s arm and gives it a jerk that I feel on my own body.
Bending closer to her, he growls, “Answer me, Sarah. Am I wrong?”
My sister is trying to free herself. “A, please. You’re scaring me, okay? Stop acting like this. Stop being so –”
“What, angry?” He shakes her again. “The therapist you found me says the same thing. She asks me ‘why are you so angry, Arrow? Describe in your own words what happened to make you so angry.’” He laughs without humor. “Maybe I should tell her. Maybe I should tell her the truth. That one day I accidentally saw my girlfriend’s phone. I accidentally read a message that said I miss you. I miss your tight little body. Can we meet at the same place? When I asked her about it, she lied. She said it was a one-time thing, but as it turns out, it wasn’t. Because later that night I got into her phone again. She hadn’t changed her password that she’d had since college days so it was pretty fucking easy. Maybe she’s dumb or maybe she thought I wouldn’t ever think of checking her phone, I don’t know, but after an hour’s worth of reading, I found out that my girlfriend, who I was planning on proposing to, had been having an affair. She’d been fucking my assistant coach for months. So I’m angry, Dr. Lola Bernstein, because the girl I loved lied to me, not once, not twice, not three times but for months. For months, she was sleeping with my best friend and not once did she think to tell me about it. Yeah, maybe I’ll tell her that next time. Maybe we should tell my mother too. At least then she’ll stop making these pathetic attempts to get us back together.”