Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52779 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
“Look, it freaked her out when Oscar pulled a gun on us. She got scared and told me it was over. It’s been weeks. I figured she was over it by now,” I say. I hate how my voice sounds at the end like I’m excited or emotional or something. I can’t conceal it.
The charge of urgency signs through me. I have to get to her. If she’s at home, I’ll go there now.
“Where is she?”
“The house. Why?” he says.
“Fuck off, Rory,” I say and move past him without a second glance.
The driver gets me there in record time. I take the porch steps two at a time and beat on the door. “It’s me, Katie,” I call to her, out of breath. My heart threatens to beat out of my chest in anticipation. I could’ve called or messaged but I want to do this in person, want to see her face. I’ll know, is what I’m thinking. If I look her in the eyes I’ll know if she’s still in love with me or not.
I hear footsteps approach and my heart lodges in my throat. Katie swings the door open, standing there in her pajamas looking miserable. Her face is blotchy and her eyes are puffy. It wrenches my heart a little seeing her vulnerable, in her pajamas and barefaced with evidence of her sorrow plain on her face.
I can’t resist reaching for her and cup her face in my hand. The softness of her cheek, the silken hair that tickles the tips of my fingers rushes at me, the visceral zap of recognition is like a sense memory. I almost shut my eyes to let it sink in that I’m touching her after all these nights alone.
“What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk. Can I come in?”
“It’s not a good idea,” she falters, but she nuzzles her cheek in my palm, shuts her own eyes for a second and I see her brow furrow, the way she bites her bottom lip for an instant. She feels it still.
“Then come with me,” I demand.
“I’m in my pajamas,” she says as if that’s an excuse.
“If that’s your only objection, you can change if you want, but don’t do it on my account,” I tell her. “I don’t want you out of my sight that long.”
Katie blushes. I see the becoming color flood her cheeks and I feel the knot in my chest loosen again. She no longer looks miserably pale and hollow-eyed. She has a bit of her sparkle back.
“I’ll just be a second,” she says. She disappears into her room and a couple of minutes later emerges in jeans and sweatshirt with a bag over her shoulder. “I’m ready.”
I want to wait until we have absolute privacy to talk with her, but that doesn’t mean I’m wasting any time. In the back of the car, I lay my arm across the back of the seat and she scoots right up to my side.
“I’ve missed you so much.”
“I don’t think I’ve really been warm enough since we broke up,” she says softly. “It’s not even winter and I’ve been freezing.”
“I was so worried when you didn’t come back to work, and I heard you were sick. Are you better now?”
“A little bit.”
She’s holding something back, but I don’t push her just yet. I can wait until we get to my place.
We ride through the evening traffic out to Castle Island. When we get out, I dismiss my driver. “I won’t be needing you again tonight. You can take off early.”
“Thank you, sir,” he says.
I tap the app on my phone and disable the upgraded alarm system. After I unlock the door and let us inside, I lean down and whisper in her ear, “Not to freak you out, but I’ve got six men outside the house now. There are two on me at all times plus the driver. You could say it woke me up when Oscar pulled that gun. I have a lot more to lose than I used to.”
“You have no idea,” she says, and I’m not sure what she means. “Will you sit down with me?”
Katie looks nervous again, and I reach for her hand. We sit down on the couch and she’s put a foot of space between us. She’s chewing her thumbnail and looks like she’s shaking all over.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her. “We just gotta talk it out. Don’t panic.”
“It’s not that. I’m not scared of figuring this out with you. I’m scared to tell you what’s going on.”
Narrowing my eyes, I look her over. “What’s going on that you have to be scared about?”
I see how she’s sitting, crisscrossed legs, facing me, keeping room between us, her elbows tucked in close and chewing her nails. She’s making herself smaller, protecting herself. I won’t have it.