Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“Who are we?” I ask horrified. “Oh my God, are we related?”
Mark laughs shortly. “No, not at all.”
“Why did they want us, and why are we so important?” Cole asks.
“They wanted you as warnings and as bait. I can’t tell you why you’re so important,” Mark states. “Trust me, you don’t want that kind of information weighing on your shoulders.”
“Was Shelley your mom?” I ask quietly.
Mark snickers. “You’re quite the detective, Blake. Let me see those pictures. Our time’s almost up.”
I show Mark the pictures I brought and let him sort through them. I’m too preoccupied with his evasive answers to examine his face as he looks at them. He asks me to sign the deed of the land over to the buyers and tells me that my money will be wired by the end of the week.
Thinking about my parents, Cole’s parents, and our kidnapping is exhausting. Cole and I decide to put it behind us unless something else comes up. We say this—but I know we’ll both be silently brewing.
I put my focus on school, even though this year of law school seems much easier than the last two. Maybe it’s because my life is a little more hectic and it makes school work seem stupid. I see Russell every day, and now that he’s dating another student, we’ve become friends again. Cole doesn’t mind that he’s in my study groups as long as he “doesn’t try anything”—his words, of course.
Past
I had been in the University of Chicago for a month before I started to get used to the ever-present knife that gutted my heart every day. I had spoken to Cole a handful of times after our breakup, and he sounded like his normal self. I knew better than to think he was fine though, and Aubry reminded me of it often.
“He feels like shit, Blake,” Aubry said whenever he hung up the phone with Cole.
I knew Cole did—he had to if he felt half the pain that I was feeling.
“Aubry...” I said one particularly gloomy morning.
“Yeah, Cowboy?” he replied as he poured our coffee.
“Do you think...do you think if I were to...” I took a deep breath and buried my face in my hands.
“Spit it out!” he said exasperated.
“Okay, do you think if...AH! What do you think would happen if I were to visit him?” I asked cringing.
He stood there with a mug in one hand and the coffee pot in the other. He was totally frozen. “Do you mean if you asked him to get back with you?” he asked cautiously.
I looked down and started chipping my nails. “Yeah?”
He laughed once. “Fucking-A, Cowboy. What the fuck do you think would happen? He’d probably fucking propose to you on the spot!”
I looked up smiling. “You think so?” Not that I wanted Cole to propose to me or anything, but the fact that Aubry thought he’d want me back for sure spoke volumes.
“Do I think so?” he asked rolling his eyes. “Let’s go see him tonight.”
Aubry had been dying for an excuse to visit Duke University, so of course he’d jump at this opportunity.
I smiled widely. “Alright, let’s go!”
We booked our flight, but I begged Aubry to keep our trip a surprise. He somehow got Cole to tell him what party he’d be at that night, so we were going to go from the airport to the hotel and straight to the party. I was so excited—and nervous at the same time. I kept wringing my hands together and biting my lip as I paced the room while I waited for Aubry to get out of work so we could leave. I took a deep breath when I heard Aubry get home and off we went.
“Calm the fuck down, Cowboy! You’re making me nervous,” Aubry said as he stilled my bouncing leg when our cab was pulling up to the frat house where the party was taking place.
“Oh my God, I think I need a drink...or five,” I said as I clutched my stomach.
“I think if you drink now, you might puke,” he said, looking amused.
“You’re probably right. Let’s just go inside,” I said and plastered on my best smile.
My stomach was flip-flopping and my hands were shaking as we knocked on the door. A short guy with beautiful aqua-blue eyes opened the door for us and gave Aubry a confused look before he checked me out slowly.
“Who are you?” the guy asked Aubry a little rudely.
“I’m a friend of Cole’s...and Warren’s,” Aubry said confidently, and I smiled up at him. I’d heard of Cole’s friend Warren, but I knew for a fact that Aubry didn’t know who the hell he was.
“Oh, cool,” the short guy said as he stepped out of the way. “And what’s your name?” he asked me when I brushed past him.
“Blake,” I said with a smile.