Total pages in book: 196
Estimated words: 188002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 940(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 188002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 940(@200wpm)___ 752(@250wpm)___ 627(@300wpm)
“You still should have told me. What is she going to think of me? I’m engaged to her brother and I wasn’t even the one who called her because I didn’t even know she existed!”
Taking my arm, he leads me across the lobby toward Ellie, and I have no idea what I’m supposed to say to her. This is the most horrible way to meet a future sister-in-law. She’s going to think I’m a total flake.
“Piper, trust me, she’s not going to think bad of you.”
She appears frustrated with the woman behind the reception desk, and turns in our direction as we near.
“Reece,” she exclaims with relief in her voice. “There you are. Do you have any news? I can’t get anywhere with these people.”
They embrace, and she kisses one of his cheeks, then the other.
“We’re waiting for the doctor. We just went to get something to eat.”
I stand next to Reece awkwardly, feeling lost and small. Ellie is tall and gorgeous, and she has Blue’s eyes, which are looking me up and down.
“You must be Piper,” she states. A flash of fear zaps through me. What if she blames me? I’m Blue’s fiancée—the one who should be making him happy. What if she thinks I’ve done something to Blue to make him miserable? People who are happily in love and planning a wedding don’t try to commit suicide. What if everyone is secretly blaming me? What if they’re right?
I swallow and nod, and she surprises me by pulling me into a hug and kissing my cheeks.
“How are you holding up? You look absolutely panicked.” She holds my hands in hers and searches my face with kindness on her own. “I wasn’t expecting you to be so young.”
“I’m not,” I reply. “I’m just really short.”
She throws her head back and laughs. “You’re adorable. I can see why Blue is drawn to you. Forgive my manners, I’m exhausted and stressed and I’ve been on a stuffy plane forever and this is all just so unexpected.” She looks up at Reece. “Although I guess it’s really not, is it? I mean, we all know Blue…”
Do we? Do any of us know Blue?
We go to the waiting room together to wait for the doctor. Koler and Vic, who were there earlier are now gone, so we have the room to ourselves.
“He’s stable?” Ellie asks, removing her dark brown leather coat. “Do we at least know that much?”
Reece nods. “Yes. He’s got a bunch of broken bones and he’s beat up, but they told us he’s in stable condition.”
“Physically, at least?” she adds, raising her perfect eyebrows.
“Yeah.”
She sits across from me at a small round table near the window, and I feel a bit cornered because I just want to be alone and sort through my thoughts. I’m still trying to pinpoint a moment of when Blue may have acted suicidal.
“I remember you,” she says. “I saw you with Blue and his dog in the park. I was so hoping he would introduce us, but he just walked away…”
“I remember you, too. He told me you were just a girl he spoke to sometimes.”
She shakes her head and purses her lips. “Of course he did. And I’m sure at the time, that’s what he believed.”
“Are you saying he had amnesia?”
“No, I’m saying that at times he wasn’t exactly in touch with reality.”
I wonder what’s worse—not remembering things, or not knowing if your memories are real.
“So that day in the park, did he know you were his sister? Or not? I’m sorry, but this is all very confusing. He told me had a brother, but he never mentioned a sister.”
“We don’t have a brother,” Ellie says simply.
I know for sure Blue mentioned an older brother.
I level my eyes on her. “He told me he had an older brother who got him started smoking weed when he was young.”
“That’s not true.”
I stare at her and Reece, who don’t seem fazed at all that Blue was talking about a brother he doesn’t even have. “Why would he lie about that?” I ask.
“To him it’s not a lie. It’s like a child who has an imaginary friend. They believe the friend is real, until eventually, they realize they’re not real. Blue has always battled with what’s real and what’s in his head.”
My head and heart start to pound in unison. Could there have been times when he didn’t think I was real?
“I honestly don’t understand any of this,” I say. “He acts a little strange sometimes, but I’ve never seen him talk to people that weren’t there or hallucinate or do anything crazy. He has a very successful career, and he’s a great father.”
A sympathetic smile crosses Ellie’s face. “I think he learned to hide it well, Piper. That’s why he drank and did drugs, to try to stop all the craziness in his head. And it masked his confusion. He walked to keep his mind busy.”