Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87181 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Before reacting, I listened to the front door of the restaurant open. I pulled away from Penelope to see Holly standing there with a football in her hands. Her mouth was agape, and she quickly began to stutter. “Sorry, I was unpacking, and I noticed the football was in my suitcase, so I thought I’d bring it for you to put on the mantel and, sorry, sorry,” Holly blubbered nervously, on the verge of tears. She turned and walked out of the restaurant after she dropped the football to the floor.
“Shit,” I muttered, knowing exactly how bad the situation looked. “You need to leave,” I ordered Penelope, brushing past her to grab my cell phone and keys from the counter. I could only imagine what was flying through Holly’s head from the split second of what she’d witnessed.
“What? No. Let's finish this conversation, Kai. We’d spent ten years together. I think I deserve a conversation.”
My blood was boiling as Penelope stood still, not moving. I marched back toward her, grabbed the divorce paperwork, and shoved it into her hands. “Leave,” I demanded, not an ounce of gentleness in my tone.
Her eyes widened. I’d never raised my voice toward her, but I couldn’t help it. Penelope crossed every line, and I couldn’t imagine the spiral that Holly’s mind was going down.
“Kai—”
“Leave now. I won’t repeat myself.”
She gasped slightly before exiting the restaurant. It only took me a few moments to lock up and rush to the apartment building. I impatiently waited for the elevator to show up. The second I made it to Holly’s apartment, I began banging against the door.
“Holly, open up,” I called out. I could hear her moving around inside, so I kept pounding. “Holly, please. Let me explain. It’s not what it looked like. And believe me, I know what it looked like.”
“Go away, Kai,” Holly said from behind the door.
“I can’t. Not until we talk.”
“I’m not going to talk to you.”
“You are talking to me right now.”
She went silent.
I sighed and continued banging on the door. “Please, Holly. Open up.”
Soon enough, one of Holly’s neighbors opened their door and glanced my way. “What are you doing?” he asked grumpily.
“How about you mind your own business?” I grumbled.
“You’re disrupting the whole floor. Don’t make me call the front desk and—”
I tossed my hands up in surrender. “Fine. Okay. I’ll stop. You can go back to watching your nightly news,” I snapped. He gave me a stern glare but headed back into his apartment, shutting the door behind him.
I placed my hands against the apartment door and lowered my voice. “Holly. She kissed me. It meant nothing. She meant nothing. Please. Open the door.”
I stood there for a while. Waiting. Praying for Holly to open the door and let me explain face-to-face.
The door never opened.
My heart began to shatter as I walked downstairs to my apartment. I collapsed onto my couch and pulled out my cell phone. I tried to call Holly ten times. Each time it went to her voicemail. Each time, I left a message trying to explain.
I sent off text messages, too, but felt my gut sink when I saw they weren’t delivered.
There was a strong chance she’d blocked me. I felt sick to my stomach. All because I let Penelope get too close to me. Shit, the conversation with Penelope wasn’t even something I’d expected. I thought I’d deliver her the divorce paperwork and never see her again. That was what I was hoping for. I wanted to end that chapter of my life so I could begin my new one with Holly.
Now, all of that was messed up.
The day only worsened as Mano showed up at the apartment that night after his taxi ride from the airport. As he unlocked the door and opened it, I turned around and saw his apology in his stare before he even said a word.
Did he talk to Holly?
Did he know what happened?
No.
That wasn’t it at all.
He mouthed, “I’m sorry, bro,” as he pulled his suitcase through the door. My stomach dropped when I saw two other suitcases pulled behind him. I looked up in shock at the two people who could only make my shitty night worse.
I sat straighter on the couch as the knots in my stomach tightened. “Mom. Dad. What are you doing here?”
“Seeing how you never visit us for the holidays, I figured we’d come to see you and stay in your apartment until the New Year.”
Fuck. My. Life.
KAI
“Would a little heads up have killed you?” I whisper-shouted at Mano as he helped me prepare my bedroom for our guests for the next week.
“I’m sorry, man! Mom said if I told you they were coming back with me, they’d pull me out of school here and put me back in homeschooling. They threatened me because they figured you would’ve found a way to avoid them if you knew.”