Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 84868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
After hauling myself up, I turned on the shower and stripped out of my clothes before stepping in. I let the hot water run over my body until I started to feel a little more alive.
“I’m never drinking again,” I whispered to the water. “Never. Again.”
An hour later, I nearly felt like myself. I stood in front of the mirror and gave myself a pep talk. I was relieved to see that at least I didn’t look like I had a hangover. The hot water had done wonders, as did the black coffee I’d made from the little coffee machine in the room.
“It doesn’t matter if Colt is at the hospital today. You will go and visit Jacob and be there for him and Lynn. You’ll just ignore Colt.” I smiled. “Yes, that’s what you’ll do. You’ll ignore him. That’s something you’re good at.”
Turning away from my image in the mirror, I grabbed my Kindle and laptop and threw them into my purse. One deep breath for good measure before I headed out to the elevator.
Hitting the down button, I whispered, “You’ve got this, Ensley.”
When the door opened, and I saw Colt standing in the elevator, I nearly turned and walked away. Instead, I lifted my chin and stepped in. Turning, I hit the lobby button even though it was already lit, then prayed for the fastest elevator ride of my life.
Instead, a screeching sound filled the elevator—and once again it came to an abrupt halt.
I squeezed my eyes shut and wondered what in the hell I had ever done to deserve this punishment.
When I opened my eyes, I felt it coming on. It started with the heavy weight on my chest, then the struggle to breathe.
“Oh no,” I whispered, as my chest tightened more and more. Then the feeling of air being ripped from my lungs had me gasping.
Colt
The moment the elevator doors opened, and I saw Ensley, my mind went back to last night.
Lifting my hand, I went to knock on Ensley’s door when it suddenly opened. Doug Sanders stood there, a smirk on his face.
“Doug, just stay the night!” Ensley called out from the room.
Before he could say anything, I asked, “What are you doing here?”
He laughed. The fucker actually laughed. “I don’t think it’s any of your business, Colt.”
“Ensley is my business.”
His brows raised as he shut the door to the room. “She may have been at one time, but that’s no longer the case. Remember leaving her without so much as a goodbye? Yeah, that was the moment Ensley was no longer your business.”
I balled my fists. “Are you two dating?”
For a moment, I wasn’t sure if he was going to answer me. A slow smile spread across his stupid face, and I wanted to knock it right off. His non-answer was his answer.
“Again, my relationship with Ensley is none of your business. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m exhausted and ready to get home.”
He pushed past me, bumping into my shoulder as he went.
For a moment, when she saw me in the elevator, it looked like Ensley was about to turn and walk away. Instead, she lifted her chin and stepped in, hit the lobby button, then faced forward.
I wanted to ask her about Doug, but he was right—it wasn’t any of my business. My mother and father had told me last night, after I’d mentioned seeing him and Ensley together, that they had dated for a couple months at one point, but Mom wasn’t sure if they were still. I’d wanted to ask more questions, but decided the best thing to do was to stop by and talk to Ensley last night. If we were both going to be spending time with my father, we really needed to talk.
Just as I opened my mouth to say something, a loud noise filled the elevator, and it came to a halt.
“Shit,” I mumbled as I waited for a moment, hoping it would kick back up like it did the last time.
When nothing happened, I stepped forward and reached into the box, grabbing the phone.
“What are you doing?” Ensley asked, her voice high-pitched and breathy.
“Looks like we’re stuck, so I’m just going to call and make sure they know we’ve stopped.”
“This is lobby security.”
“Yes,” I said, as I glanced at Ensley, who was clearly starting to panic. “We’re stuck in,” I glanced at the panel, “elevator two.”
“Okay, sir, please just stay put, and we’ll get this taken care of as soon as possible. Just stay calm, there’s nothing to worry about. You’re safe.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
I hung up the phone, and Ensley asked, “What did they say?” Her chest was moving up and down rapidly with shallow breaths.
“They’re going to get it fixed as soon as possible.”
Her face drained of all color, and she looked like she was struggling to stay upright.