Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63854 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Wait, actually, I’ve seen him stay quiet on the phone with his jaws clenched. That must be him trying to stay patient while talking to Mr. Garcia.
“You’re a genius, beautiful.”
“I’m not, really.” The corners of my lips curl up as Mason’s arms wrap tightly around me. “I’m just used to dealing with brats and coaxing them to do things. The trick is to let them think it’s their idea to do it.”
Five gorgeous faces stare at me in amazement as they nod at my explanation.
Hey, look at that. Turns out my teaching skills are relevant to other professions. Maybe my life isn’t as bad as my mom seems to think it is.
Nathan
Two Weeks Later
I grin as I stare at the newsstand at the grocery store.
It’s beautiful.
Too bad neither my brothers nor Ava ever joins me on my late-night grocery runs.
It’s my favorite time to go. Some of the fruits and vegetables may not be super fresh, but I can just choose the ones that are.
The biggest advantage, though? There are no people to block my way or clog up the lines at the registers.
Yet, I wish I’d come early in the morning, just to watch people’s faces as they take an eyeful of the neat rows of today’s newspapers.
See, here’s the thing about Ashbourne. It’s a small, sleepy town where nothing ever happens. So, the people blow up all the local stories that they can.
However, most of these stories are told in hushed tones over tea or coffee.
Not this one.
This story’s emblazoned all over the front pages of the local newspapers. Some national outlets have picked up the story, too, although obviously this is not front-page material for them.
It doesn’t matter. Front page or not, Joseph’s name is now forever linked to this case.
It was incredibly stupid of him to start the entire lawsuit, knowing the court record would be public so anyone can find out what a piece of shit he is. All we’re doing is putting a megaphone on information that’s already available to the public.
Plus, that judge’s assistant at the courthouse now thinks I’m a real journalist. That could come in handy in the future.
Joseph may have won the case in the court of law, but he’s lost in the court of public opinion. Based on the comments on the Internet, people are invariably incredulous and disgusted that someone would go to those lengths to exact revenge on an innocent ex-girlfriend.
I bet he’s sweating right now. I try to suppress a big grin as I put a copy of the Ashbourne Gazette in my basket.
Everybody’s going to get a kick out of this.
“Oh my god . . .” Ava says as she takes the newspaper and opens it to its full size. She and my brothers are lounging in the living room, watching some animal documentary on the TV.
“Pretty cool, huh?” I take a seat beside Ava and watch as she turns the newspaper around, like she can’t even decide which angle to read it from.
“Are you kidding? It feels so crazy to actually see it printed in an actual newspaper,” Ava says. “I mean, I’ve been watching the articles online about the case, but it still feels different to hold a newspaper with that piece of news in it.”
“Right?” I knew she’d get it. “That’s why I still buy newspapers. I like to frame the stories I push to the media.”
“Ooh, can we frame this one, too?” Ava asks.
“Of course. That’s what I was planning to do with it anyway.”
“Do you think they’re going to look into Ava’s personal life?” Liam asks. Party pooper.
“I don’t think they will,” I say. “On this kind of straightforward, non-controversial story, most people just read it and move on, without wanting to know more details about the people involved.”
“Noah?” Liam shifts his gaze to my slightly-more-sensible twin brother.
“I agree,” Noah says.
“Ouch. You don’t believe me?” I ask as I clutch my chest and feign pain.
Ava giggles and wraps her arms around me. “I’m sure he’s just trying to be 100% sure. Not everyone is as comfortable with risk as you are.”
I’ve been called “reckless” and “cocky” and a lot of other things before, but no one’s ever put it quite as nicely as Ava just did.
“Not really. I just don’t trust you, man,” Liam says jokingly.
“Seriously, though, this has gone far better than I expected,” Mason says.
“Wow. Thanks for having so much faith in Noah and me, guys,” I say, prompting another fit of giggles from Ava.
She’s happier and more affectionate lately. Oh, and she’s eating more of my food, too. I don’t know if that means I’m better at cooking or she has better appetite these days, but I’m okay with either possibility.
Ava’s mom’s been calling and texting her. But so far, Ava’s been ignoring her rude text messages and voicemails. Ava says she’ll consider talking to her mom again when she understands that Ava’s an adult who can make her own decisions.