Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 83236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“Kyla? What’s going on?” she asks. One day, I’m going to remind my family how much I hate the way they shortened my name. It was done to stop confusing us when someone called out Sky. Mom and I both would always turn around. I actually really love that Torin has never called me that once. It’s like he knows just how much I hate it—without once ever being told.
“I thought I saw Mattie!” I yell behind me, already racing toward the front door.
“We’ll be right back,” Dom yells to the waitress.
I’m already outside before I can hear how she responds. Tor is right on my heels. I look around desperately, trying to find where the man from the mirror is now. I stand on the sidewalk. Noticing the guy is now standing on the sidewalk across from the parking lot we’re in. He looks so much like Mattie, I get excited.
“Mattie!” I cry. “Mattie! Over here!”
The man doesn’t even bother to look up. Damn it.
“Who are you yelling at, Kyla?”
“Across the parking lot. Over there,” I say as I point. “Do you see how much he looks like Mattie?”
“Oh my God. He really does,” she whispers.
He gets in the van, and I take off running. “Mattie! Don’t leave!” I cry.
Tor takes off with me. I can hear more running behind me. I’m guessing Dom and Thea are following us. I can’t stop myself from getting excited. We make it to the parking lot just as the van pulls out. The guy on the passenger side is kind of blocked from sight. He’s also wearing dark glasses and a hat. That’s something that Mattie would never wear. It’s not even a good hat. It’s an ugly thing. I cry out once more, “Mattie! Don’t leave!”
“He left,” I whisper dejectedly. “He didn’t even look up when I called his name.”
“Skylar, baby, if that had been Mattie, he would have spoken.”
“I could have sworn it was him,” I whisper, already starting to question myself.
Dom pats my shoulder awkwardly. Seriously, it’s going to be weird as hell having him as a brother-in-law. “It’ll be okay, Kyla,” he adds. “It’s been happening to me, too. I’m seeing him everywhere, but it’s never truly him. Just someone that resembles him.”
I let out a defeated sigh. Maybe Dom’s right and this guy was nothing special—just my mind playing tricks on me.
Torin wraps his arms around me from behind and pulls me close, my back to his front. He buries his face in the crook of my neck. “It really is going to be okay,” he promises. “We’re not going to give up and I won’t let you either.”
“I’m not going to give up,” I acknowledge, and he places a kiss on my temple.
“We better get back inside before the waitress thinks we’re trying to skip out on the check,” Dom says, and head back inside. I spare one more glance in the direction that the van disappeared, then I follow Torin into the restaurant.
I know they all think I imagined the fact the guy could have been Mattie. I just can’t shake the feeling that he really was. I saw some kind of logo on the side of the vehicle. I could only make out part of it. It was a vet, though. I know that much. I’ll find who the van belongs to, then I’ll approach the owner.
“Hold on Mattie, I’ll find you, I promise,” I whisper under my breath. I can’t tell the others until I have proof.
I’ll find it … somehow.