Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 68459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68459 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 274(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
I gave him a narrow-eyed look. “I know it’s you because how many Q. Carters can there be on the Dallas Police Department?”
His grin flashed. “Two more, actually. I’m a triplet. There’s also a Quaid Carter and a Quinn Carter.”
I blinked at him stupidly.
There were three of them?
Was this world so unfair?
Then I had it confirmed that yes, the world was very unfair.
Because the moment I was in the open passenger door of his cruiser, he urged me to sit.
Then he broke my heart.
“I’m sorry to inform you of this, but your best friend, Keda, took her own life tonight,” Officer Carter murmured.
I swallowed hard, hoping that I hadn’t heard him correctly.
But it was true.
He repeated his words four more times for me without hesitation.
And I knew, right then and there, I was dead set on making Taite DeRosa’s life a living hell.
Not a day would pass that I wouldn’t make sure he felt the amplitude of my rage.
I would spend my every waking hour making sure that ‘comedian’ never had a great day ever again.
Basorexia: the overwhelming desire to kiss.
—Text from Hollis to Quincy
HOLLIS
I woke up with my face smashed against the pillow, and dried spit on my lips, fusing them together.
At first, I had to laugh, because Keda would’ve died if she saw how hard I slept—NyQuil was a miracle worker for people who needed to go to sleep despite their minds not wanting them to.
But then the grin slid off my face, because I wouldn’t be telling Keda anything anymore.
Rolling over in bed, I reached for my phone attached to the glittery pink cable that Keda had gotten me for my birthday last year and pulled it free of the charger.
Opening it up, the first thing I saw was Keda’s and my smiling faces as we celebrated our college graduation.
That’s how I’d met Keda.
We met during the rad tech program at UT—University of Texas.
From there, we’d been inseparable. Me finding a person who was like a sister and also giving her a friend she trusted more than life itself.
We’d graduated college and had started working together at Dallas Memorial almost at the same time.
When her accident happened, I’d been so sad.
Because work just wasn’t the same without her. I didn’t enjoy it nearly as much without her around to keep me entertained.
Eyes already burning at the thought of Keda never being there again, I opened up my social media app and started searching.
The first name that popped up was Kaylee Adems, a friend who was a bit of a computer guru.
An idea popped into my head, and I sent out a quick text message, asking her if she could get me the home address of Taite DeRosa.
She answered back within seconds with the address, causing me to grin.
She was so awesome, and she hadn’t even asked any questions.
I definitely owed her an explanation… after.
Getting onto the website I’d saved, thinking maybe I should send it to my own sister because she was an ass, I typed in DeRosa’s address, then clicked ‘pay.’
The next thing I did was give Kaylee Adems an explanation, explaining why I’d wanted the information.
She’d responded back with “here’s his number, his other address, and his parents’ address.”
God, she was awesome.
I’d met Kaylee in high school, and she’d been a really good acquaintance.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t a friend, it was just that Kaylee didn’t have friends. She didn’t want them.
But after this, maybe she would be mine.
I seemed to need one, because it was my new mission in life to make Taite’s life suck.
1 month later
Printing off the ‘help wanted’ ad with Taite’s number on it, I started walking through a busy Dallas park, stapling them to any tree post that would hold it.
On and on I went, until every last page was stapled up.
Then I watched, and waited, and enjoyed.
Because almost every last tag was taken within the hour, and there was no doubt in my mind that Taite was already getting calls.
The videos started showing up an hour after that.
On the paper, it had a number and then ‘best Chewbacca impersonation wins.’ So the videos started rolling in of all these kids, young and old, calling in to Taite’s phone. They’d do their best Chewbacca impersonation, and then they’d post it on TikTok.
Some of the impersonations got hundreds of thousands of views. And then there were the people who would call just because they’d seen the videos.
It was glorious, and according to Kaylee, he had to change his phone number thirteen times that week, since I so helpfully kept handing out the new one.
Three weeks later
Grinning savagely at the live feed that Taite DeRosa was hosting, I waited for him to say something I could use.
Then it happened.
“Hey, did y’all see the new film yet with the girl who is running for her life from a crazy stalker? I can’t wait to see it. A buddy, Tim, is starring in it,” Taite said. “I heard it had a great twist at the end. Don’t tell, me, though!”