Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Jake comes jogging out from the garage, but slows when he sees me. “You coming with us?”
“No, thanks.”
He hesitates. “Going to the guest house?”
“Maybe.”
“Andi…” his voice is serious.
“Jake?” I ask sweetly.
He clenches his jaw, then shakes his head and goes to get behind the wheel. “Call me if you need something.”
“Maybe I should get one of those necklaces they give to older people who are a fall risk. We could put a little button around my neck to push. That way my brother can come rescue me whenever I need.”
“I think she’s being sarcastic,” Carter says.
“No shit.” Jake rolls the window up, shoots me the middle finger, and drives off, kicking up gravel.
I grin and head inside. Jesse is making some kind of protein shake in the blender. “Oh,” he says.
“Hi,” I say. “I saw this trailer for a new scary movie. Wanna watch it with me?”
He closes the lid on the blender and hits the power button. For a solid minute, I wait as the machine grinds up ice and yogurt and his protein powder. He finally shuts it off with a look of defeat. “Yeah, sure,” he sighs. “Honestly, I really love scary movies.”
“Oh, really?” I’m not sure my acting job is super convincing, but he doesn’t look suspicious. After all, I was fed information by Caroline a few days ago, and I’ve had the scary movie idea up my sleeve ever since.
It’s not like I’m being sneaky. Not exactly, anyway. All I want to do is cheer him up.
I lay on the couch, pick up the remote, and start blindly navigating the streaming services on his TV, hoping I find something that looks good. The truth is, I haven’t seen any trailers. I just heard Jesse is grumpy and I want to do something to make him happier.
He sits on the opposite end of the couch with his shake.
I look over at him and laugh. “Afraid of my cooties?”
He sighs, then scoots a few inches closer to me. I decide not to push it. After all, it’s not like I’m trying to seduce him. I’m not even trying to get back into a relationship. I just wish he didn’t treat me like I was radioactive.
I eventually settle on a movie about some women on a girl’s trip to a remote cave where they supposedly find mutated human-like creatures that are out for blood. It sounds absolutely charming.
Jesse watches silently for about twenty minutes, and then, just like Caroline predicted, he gets a little chatty once the tension in the movie picks up.
“I don’t get people who go into caves like that,” he says.
I look over toward him, nodding. “Me either. Confined spaces? No cell phone signal? Trusting your life to a few ropes? No thanks.”
“Right. If you have a death wish, there are easier ways to–ah fuck. Jesus.” He shrinks back, face contorted in disgust and horror at what he just saw on the screen.
I’m biting back a smile. “Scared?” I ask.
“I’m fine.”
My amusement at his discomfort doesn’t last long. Within thirty minutes, I’ve scooted over to Jesse to hide against his shoulder with my blankets and he is rambling about everything from hockey to his favorite meal Nolan has made. Between me hiding my eyes and him talking nonstop, I think neither of us is actually watching the movie, which has turned out to be downright terrifying.
I hit pause eventually. “Sorry,” I say. “I’m actually really not good at scary movies. I just wanted to cheer you up. Caroline said you like scary movies and talk a bunch when you get scared. I kinda wanted to see if she was making that up, too.”
“I don’t,” he says, then he pauses and laughs. “Maybe she’s right.”
“It’s okay. I think you have a lot of empathy for people. Maybe these movies freak you out because you can really put yourself in their shoes. I think it’s cool.”
“That’s a nice way to spin it.”
I cross my legs on the couch, turning to face him and resting my chin on my hands, which are threaded over his shoulder. “Maybe I think you’re a nice guy.”
“Andi…”
“What?” I ask.
He swallows hard. “You being here hasn’t been easy for me.”
“Is it because you have to remember to put the toilet seat down? Because you guys are all shockingly good at that. Either that or you all go number two a lot.”
He grins. “It’s not that.”
“What is it, then?” For some reason, I’m whispering now. The low tone of my voice and the sudden realization of how close our faces are makes the moment feel more intimate. I watch his long lashes as he looks down, trying not to make eye contact with me.
“It’s you,” he says.
“I’m a bad house guest?”
He chuckles softly, then he looks at me. The moment our eyes meet, neither of us has to say another word. It all clicks into place so clearly I can almost hear the metallic sound of locks sliding into place.