Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 125845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125845 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 629(@200wpm)___ 503(@250wpm)___ 419(@300wpm)
“In what?”
“In you,” Hunter answers, and he and Dad exchange an awkward smile.
I’m touched to see it. “Mom says she wants to take me and Hunter out the next time we’re in the city,” I say after a beat of hesitation. “Maybe you could join us and we’ll have a redo of the brunch?”
My father nods. “I’ll be there.”
“Thank you.” I turn to Hunter. “And thank you for coming to save me. With that said—get out of this car, Monk. Now. If you hurry, you could probably get ready in time to play in the second period.” My teeth dig into my lip again. “Would you be horribly upset if I didn’t go in and watch the game? I need some time to process what happened tonight. Just…decompress, you know? And I want to call my mom.”
Hunter cups my cheek. “It’s absolutely fine. Maybe you and your dad can grab a coffee and get you warmed up? Your hands are freezing.” He glances at my father expectantly.
Dad replies with a firm nod. “I’ll take care of her. Go play your game, kid.”
“I’ll come find you afterward,” I promise Hunter.
He leans in to plant a chaste kiss on my lips, then hops out of the car. Tears fill my eyes as I watch him dart toward the entrance of the arena.
“It’s fine,” Dad says gruffly. “I’m sure his absence didn’t hurt his team too ba—”
“I’m not crying because of that,” I interrupt between sniffles. “I don’t even know why I’m crying. The tears just started pouring for no reason.”
“Not for no reason. The shock is wearing off, and it’s finally hitting you—the gravity of what happened tonight.” My father’s smile is tinged with sadness. “Come up here in the front, sweetheart, and we’ll go somewhere and talk. Okay?”
I rub my tear-streaked cheeks, then nod and reach for the door handle. “Thanks for being here, Daddy.”
“Always.”
42
Demi
I feel like I’ve run two marathons and gone to war all in one night by the time Hunter and I walk through his front door later.
His team won the game, so everybody is out celebrating tonight. But we decided to bail on the after party, along with Summer and Fitz. And Brenna, who said she’d rather Skype with her boyfriend than “deal with a bunch of horny drunk boys slobbering all over her.”
The house is pitch black and dead silent as the entire group files inside.
“Okay, this is fucking creepy,” Brenna remarks.
“It doesn’t feel right when they’re not here,” Summer agrees.
“Who?” I ask. “Hollis and Rupi?”
“Yeah.” Summer vaguely waves a hand over the shadowy hallway. “Listen to it.”
I wrinkle my nose. “To what?”
“Exactly!”
As we enter the living room, the haunting, albeit tinny notes of a familiar song waft out of Brenna’s phone. It’s Simon and Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.” I burst out laughing as she solemnly holds it up for all to hear.
She has a point, though. This is the quietest I’ve ever heard this house. “Where did they go, anyway?” I ask.
“No idea,” Hunter replies. “Hollis said it was a surprise.”
“A surprise for who?”
“For Rupi.”
“So then why couldn’t he tell the rest of you?” I counter.
“Because it was a surprise.”
I let out a sigh. “I don’t understand that guy.”
“Nobody does,” Brenna says frankly. “Don’t waste any more brain cells trying to.”
“Anyway, if you’ll excuse us,” Hunter announces, “Semi and I are heading up to bed. She’s had a tough night.”
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that,” Summer says sympathetically. She and I aren’t super close, but she surprises me with a hug tight enough to steal the breath from my lungs.
“Thank you. It was terrifying, not gonna lie.”
“I hope your friend is going to be okay,” Fitz says gruffly.
“Me too.” I wonder what the shrinks at the hospital will make of TJ’s mental state. I think he’s suffering from depression, and he definitely has dangerously low feelings of self-worth. I hope whoever he talks to will provide him with the help and guidance he needs.
I’m sure the school or the police already contacted his family, and I’m planning on seeing him the moment he’s allowed visitors. TJ was always there for me when I needed to talk, when I needed someone to listen, and I plan on doing the same for him.
But tonight I don’t want to spend another second reliving what happened on that roof. Dad and I discussed it at length over a cup of coffee in my kitchen, and the pride shining in his eyes when I described talking TJ off the ledge made my heart clench with emotion. I hope he eventually accepts my decision to forgo medical school. Maybe one day he’ll be proud of that too.
I check my phone as we enter Hunter’s room. A million messages await me. Pippa, Corinne, Darius, Pax, my mom, and even one from Nico, who I unblocked after Christmas. It says he heard about TJ, he’s glad we’re both all right, and that I’m a very good friend. It’s a sweet message, and I make a mental note to reply to him, and everyone else, tomorrow.