Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 151384 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 757(@200wpm)___ 606(@250wpm)___ 505(@300wpm)
He grunted again, getting off his stool. “Gotta go.”
“Sure I won’t see you again?” she called out.
“No!”
“Nice chat, then. Have a great life!”
People around turned to stare and she smiled and waved. “Hi! Sorry, didn’t mean to be so loud.”
“It’s not your loudness,” Amos told her. “It’s the fact that you’re smiling. People in here don’t smile.”
“Right. Sorry.” She attempted a frown. “Better?”
Amos just stared at her. “No.”
“You really do need some sleep. You’re quite cranky.”
“This is the way I always am.” He moved along the bar to another customer, and she took another sip of soda.
Someone slid into the stool next to her and she turned with a smile, thinking Dev was back. To her surprise, though, it wasn’t Dev sitting there but a frowning Isaiah.
“Isaiah? What are you doing here?” she asked.
“The question should be what are you doing here, Immy,” he said.
“I’m having a drink. Do you want one?”
“That better just be soda.”
“It is. Wait. Did you follow me here?”
“Didn’t follow you,” he countered. “I tracked you.”
“You’re tracking me?”
He turned to face her, his dark eyebrows rising. Isaiah had always been the quietest of them all. But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t speak up when he had something to say.
“Not all the time. But when you leave the house on your own when you’re not scheduled to go anywhere, and without telling anyone, then, yeah, I track you. I was worried.”
“About what?” she asked.
“That you’d end up in some dodgy neighborhood with dodgy people around you. So glad I was wrong . . . oh, wait.” He glanced around.
“This place isn’t dodgy. I’ve been here before. Amos knows me well, don’t you, Amos?”
“Sure,” Amos said slowly.
“What’s her last name?” Isaiah asked him. “Age? Job? What is her favorite color?”
“Man, I’m a bartender. Know her first name and her drink.” Amos wandered away.
“Can’t believe you’ve come here before and I didn’t know,” Isaiah grumbled.
“It’s a good place to think,” she said. “I found it one night after Bob and I had been to the movies. He got grumpy about something and left, and I went for a walk and found this place.”
“He left you alone? In this area of town?”
“Uh, well.” Oops.
“Need to have a chat with Bob,” he said darkly.
“Leave it. Please. I haven’t seen him in six months,” she said. “And we were just friends, you know.”
That might have been the reason he got so upset with her. She had thought they were just friends . . . and he’d wanted something more.
“Is that what Bob thought?”
“Yes, well, he might have wanted more.”
“And you didn’t want that because you’re in love with Jenner,” Isaiah said.
“Oh God! Does everyone know?”
“Except Jenner.”
“This is just embarrassing,” she muttered.
“If he woke up and really looked at you, he’d notice the treasure he’s letting slip through his fingers.”
She sniffled. “Thanks, Isaiah.”
He just shrugged.
“You’ve got to stop tracking me now.”
He frowned. “I don’t think I’m tracking you enough considering you’ve been here before and I had no idea.”
“Just when I need a break.”
“Break from what?”
She sighed. “Everything, I guess. You ever think about our old life?”
He stiffened. “Old life?”
“Yeah, when we lived in that crappy apartment. Before Jenner’s career took off.”
“Oh. That place was fucking awful.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“You sound sad. You don’t like living where we live now? It’s safer and you’re no longer sick all the time.”
“You’re right. It’s great.” She needed to be grateful. She had no idea what was wrong with her today.
“Immy—”
“Are you ready to go? Or do you want a drink? Amos pours an awesome diet soda.”
“Immy,” he said in a low voice. “I’m worried about you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I promise. I’ve just had a bit of an epiphany, but I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? Jenner didn’t do anything?”
“Of course not.”
“Sure?” he asked. “Because I’ll talk to him if he hurt your feelings.”
“Jenner wouldn’t hurt my feelings.” Not on purpose. “He’s not responsible for the way I feel. I am.”
“So you’re not going to threaten to leave?”
Shoot. She’d been so selfish. She hadn’t realized that threatening to leave and go live with Maeve would affect all of her friends so much.
“I won’t be leaving.”
“Everyone needs to stick together,” he muttered. “I already don’t like that Maeve and Cat live somewhere else.”
Her worry for him grew. He looked so tired. “You need to stop worrying about everyone so much or you’ll start to get wrinkles like Sampson.”
He managed a smile for her, but it wasn’t very convincing.
“Come on,” she said. “Let’s get home before the others do.”
4
They walked outside to where she’d parked her car. It was starting to grow dark.
She loved her car. Jenner had bought it for her for Christmas. It was far too extravagant, and she’d tried to give it back to him. But he’d gotten this hurt look on his face and she’d ended up accepting it.