Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Roger.
I hurry down to billing. “I need to settle Andy Nunn’s account.”
The suburban housewife named Megan peers over her eyeglasses at me. “There’s no Andy Nunn with an account.”
“It’s her mom’s account.”
“You have a social security number?”
“No.”
“Date of birth?”
“Do you want the money or not?”
“Fine. Nunn, Jody. She owes $1800.00.”
Even though I was expecting this amount, I almost choke on my tongue when I hear it. And even though I want to pay it off, peeling eighteen Benjis off my roll is way hard.
“Where’d you make this money, kid?” the billing clerk wants to know.
“Is there a discount if I tell you?”
She purses her lips and wants to curse me out, but in the end, cash is king. She prints me off a receipt which doesn’t match the first number she quoted. She’ll probably skim some off for herself, but I don’t care because the paper in my back pocket says that, at least for today, Andy can be happy.
Chapter Sixteen
ANDY
“Andy.” I feel my hair being brushed out of my face, tickling my skin. I jerk up. I blink a few times, my eyes trying to adjust to the soft light. “Shit, it's me.” I know that voice. I’m not sure I could ever forget it.
“Sorry,” I mutter as it finally clicks where I am. “I only meant to lay my head down for a few seconds.” Niki is sitting in the chair next to mine, facing me. His thighs are parted, encompassing the chair I'm sitting in, like a shield blocking me from everything else.
I'm over in my normal little corner that I always take up residence in. The ladies here all know me. They're sweet. They would have woken me up at the last minute, letting me sleep until they had to lock up.
“You were snoring.” Niki gives me a lopsided smile that makes him, for once, appear more his age.
“I don’t snore.” I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand to make sure I’m not drooling. That would be really sexy.
“It’s light.” He shrugs. “Kinda cute.”
“Whatever.” I start packing up my crap. “What time is it?” I reach for my phone to check the time.
“Closing time.” Damn, it’s already nine? How long did I crash out on the table in the library?
“You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.” I sigh, shoving my crap into my backpack.
“You get some studying done?”
“Some, but I got distracted.”
“What distracted you?” Niki's eyes flick around the library, searching for a target.
“Not a person. I was searching for some rehab places for my mom.” Niki's attention comes back to me, his brows lifting.
“She said she might go.” I know it may be wishful thinking on my part that she’s actually going to turn her life around and leave the drugs alone, but I still always hold out hope. That one of these times will actually scare her straight. I know I’m setting myself up for disappointment.
“Might.” He clicks his tongue. “And if she does? You just stay living in an apartment that was broken into?”
“I have to take this one step at a time.” I stand up and fling my backpack over my shoulder. It’s not as though I have a ton of choices.
When I got to the hospital, Mom was still out of it, but when she came to, I could see the regret and disappointment in herself. I know she doesn’t want to be this way. Who does? She truly has an addiction that she needs help with. There is only so much that I can do.
“What are the odds she’ll go?”
“Not sure, but I found a few places and made some calls. There is one I’m really hoping has a spot. It’s basically the only option.” It’s free, but it’s hard to get into. “It’s called Synergy Recovery Center. It’s a nonprofit.”
"Think I've heard of that one."
"I know it's a long shot, but you have to get good luck at some point, right?" I drop my head back to peer up at him. I want to tell him that I think I may have used up some of that luck when I met him, but I don’t utter the words. My heart gave an excited flutter when I saw him today at the hospital. I felt less alone just by him being there with me.
I thought for a second he'd tracked me down after I hadn't answered his calls. He's already done so much, and I wasn't in a rush to tell him about my mom. I know it shouldn't embarrass me, but it does.
“Where are you headed?” Niki asks when I start walking, falling into step next to me.
“Home.”
“Can I walk with you?”
“If you want, but if you’re busy—” I shrug, not wanting him to feel obligated.
“I came here for you.”
“Really? Shelly doesn’t owe you a debt?” I nod toward the librarian. Shelly has her head down scanning some books.