Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 152853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 764(@200wpm)___ 611(@250wpm)___ 510(@300wpm)
“What are you going to do with the card?” I ask once we’re a few houses down from mine. By now, the late afternoon sun paints everything in shades of amber and gold. Leaves blow past our feet, and it smells like someone's burning them somewhere in the neighborhood. It's damn near idyllic.
“I don't know. I'll think about his offer for a little while. Mull it over in my mind.”
I hate the defensive way my words come out. “What’s there to think about? The guy was a total sleaze.”
“You don't know that. Maybe he’s just straightforward.”
“Yes, I do. It was written across his forehead with a permanent marker.”
“Well, he wouldn't be the first sleaze bag I ever dealt with.” And because I know the more I fight, the harder she'll dig her heels in, I have no choice but to let the conversation go.
Besides, the less we talk about it, the easier it will be for her to forget about this crazy job idea.
CHAPTER 10
TATUM
I’m not sure what sparked me to believe it would be easy to find a job, or even something to do in this damn town. I really don't. False hope, maybe? Or maybe I was thinking God would give me a break from Romero to spare his life, but even that was too good to be true. Don’t get me wrong – it’s not like I wanted to get a job. It was more to give myself something to do, but it’s been a letdown every step of the way.
That's not entirely true. There is the offer from that Chaz Drummond guy, but something tells me Romero’s right about him. Now that I’ve had a few days to reflect on our interaction, I can see it. The guy should’ve been wearing a name tag that said Asshole. There was no reason for him to stand close to me—but at least he backed up when Romero inserted himself like the typical caveman he is. I’m thankful he stepped in, even if I am a bit annoyed. He won’t always be there, and I’ll need to learn to handle situations like that on my own.
Which leads me to wonder if I could handle that guy hanging over me all the time.
Somehow, I need to overcome this paralyzing fear of being around people. It is incredible how much he broke me, not just Kristoff. Getting kidnapped and thrown into a van in the garage of Bianca's office building didn't help things, nor did waking up in a hospital bed afterward.
Still, life isn’t always roses, and I need to learn to deal with the pain and trauma that occurred so I can move on with my life.
My days have started to fall into a pattern. I force myself out of bed right away before the temptation to pull the covers over my head and pretend I don't exist wins out. I go to the windows and open the blinds to find dark clouds in the sky, waiting to be released. It rained at some point overnight, and it's probably going to rain again. It would be one thing if a rainy day meant an excuse to curl up with a book or watch a movie or two, but when that's all your life has consisted of for a while, it isn't a treat anymore.
The fact that the tub is wet before I enter the shower tells me Romero’s already up, even if his bedroom door is closed. That’s no way to determine anything since it’s always closed, even when he’s awake.
He's been weirder than usual. I hope he doesn't think we're going to be friends or something just because I sort of broke down a little after that Chaz guy overwhelmed me. I know it's stupid, and I'm probably hurting myself in the end. Plus, I hate feeling like he knows so much about me when I know so little about him. It seems unfair. It's childish, but I want to balance the scale somehow. I'm not sure how I can do that when there's hardly anything around here that was here when he was a kid except for whatever he locks in his bedroom.
He's got to be hiding something. Otherwise, why go to the trouble? Somewhere along the line, he got the idea that he was some dark, mysterious figure. Like a spy or something.
He's not that important.
Still, I want to know about him. I hate feeling like there's a power imbalance here.
Bianca wasn’t much help when I asked if she knew anything. I mean, she’s close with Dad. He has to let something slip, right? “Callum’s never really talked about him,” she finally confessed. “You probably know more about him than I do, being where he grew up and everything.” I stopped short of asking if she could find something out for me, because we're not kids anymore and this isn't middle school and I'm not desperate to find out more about a boy I'm crushing on.