Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 363(@200wpm)___ 290(@250wpm)___ 242(@300wpm)
Andrea turned to me, rotating until her foot was planted in the chair, and smiled sadly. “I don’t like hurricane season much, either. Zeth’s been trying to get me to leave for a couple years now. He wants to move to somewhere that has four defined seasons, but I just can’t bear to give this place up.”
“I don’t see how you could either. It’s majestic,” I said.
It felt beautiful out. The sun wasn’t too hot, the weather wasn’t obscenely humid. The ocean breeze felt damn near perfect.
Zeth and Andrea lived on the bay. Although it was waterfront, they didn’t have any beach at all, which is one thing I would’ve liked to have if I’d ever had the choice.
“So, tell me how you met Loki. He’s told me about you, but not how y’all met,” she said excitedly.
I giggled. “Oh, well the first day I met him, I got into a fight with my brother about mowing the lawn. When he refused, I did it even though my asthma was acting up, which was incredibly stupid; but, at the time, I was mad and not thinking straight. Loki helped me when I had the asthma attack that I should’ve expected.”
“Oh, dear. That’s awful. He’s a helpful boy like that, though. He’d do all the housework while I was at work. And he was always very neat. He was the most unusual child.” She shook her head.
I snorted. “If I leave a sock on the floor, he picks it up and puts it in the appropriate place. And God help me if I don’t put the toilet paper back on the roll correctly,” I shook my finger at her.
She laughed. “Oh, yes. That’s my Bryce. I can’t wait till this baby comes and ruins his orderly life!”
I agreed wholeheartedly. “I’ve never actually been with him for more than a couple of days. So it definitely should be interesting, if nothing else.”
I would’ve continued with that line of thought, but my phone rang, indicating it was Brittany.
“I’m sorry, if you’ll excuse me. It’s my boss,” I said as I stood and walked down the steps.
I stopped when my feet met the edge of the lawn and answered. “Hello?”
“Where are you?” Brittany asked.
“Long story. Did Cabe not tell you I’d be gone until after Christmas break?” I asked.
“Yes... but you’ve been gone a long time. I thought you’d be back by now. A call would’ve been nice, though,” she snapped.
I sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that everything happened so freakin’ fast. Then the accident happened.”
“Yeah, I saw that accident. You made the news,” she said mournfully. “I heard about the young girl you helped after the mom was killed.”
“Wait,” I startled. “What do you mean the mom was killed?”
“That’s just what I mean...don’t you remember? You were the one that was there,” she asked, baffled.
“The mom didn’t die. I spoke to her,” I said with a shake of my head.
I hadn’t realized how high and alarmed my voice was starting to sound until I had Loki walking down the dock towards me.
The mom didn’t die, did she? Did something happen after the wreck?
Loki came to a stop a few inches away from me and waited.
“Yeah, the girl you were talking to, her mom died after being ejected from the car. The dad met the daughter at the emergency room later that night. Supposedly, he’s some big wig in congress. It’s all over the news,” she said slowly.
“I’ll call you back,” I said quickly before hanging up.
“What is it?” He asked as soon as the phone was away from my ear.
“That girl I was speaking with yesterday...did you see her?” I asked.
He nodded. “Sure, but I didn’t stay very long. I checked the mom, too. She was DOI,” he said warily.
“DOI?” I asked.
“Dead on impact,” he confirmed.
“Wait...what?” I asked, running my hands through my hair.
The band holding it up came loose, and my long locks tumbled free, but I paid them no mind.
“She was dead. She wasn’t wearing her seatbelt. Went through the passenger side window when the truck hit her. Then her body made contact with the ground. Her injuries were incompatible with life,” he confirmed.
My eyes must have shown my horror and sorrow, because he pulled me into his arms and wrapped me up tight.
“She...she thanked me for watching over her little girl. Was that not the mom?” I asked.
I was blubbering now, barely making any sense. Loki understood me, though. At least for the most part, anyway.
“Who thanked you? Whoever it was wasn’t the mom, though. The mom was...” I slapped my hand over his mouth, stopping him from saying she was dead again.
Pulling out my phone, I googled the accident, and the first thing I saw was the young girl I’d helped, as well as her father, the senator’s devastated face as he gave a press conference earlier that morning.
Clicking on the video clip, I watched in silence as the Senator, Malcom Young, thanked the city and state police, the first responders, and that ‘special young woman’ who made a difference at the time his daughter needed it the most.
Then, the man’s wife was on the screen. The same woman I’d had thank me after I’d left the scene.
“That’s her,” I said, pausing it and showing it to Loki. “That’s the woman who thanked me.”
He looked at the phone, then at me. Then he shook his head. “That’s fucked. That’s the same woman who was dead. There’s no way she spoke to you. Her brains were splattered on the...”
I turned around and sprinted up the dock and into the house, passing a concerned looking Andrea on my way.
I made it to the bathroom just in time to drop down on my knees and throw up the remainder of my lunch that hadn’t had the chance to digest yet.
“I’m fucking nuts,” I said once I caught my breath.
When I finally got my bearings, I stood, surprised to find that Loki hadn’t followed me.
When I flushed and washed my hands, I went to find him and didn’t have to look far.