Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 76609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Every single one of the men that were helping were all drop dead gorgeous…and I knew them all.
It was kind of hard not to when the fire station was right next door to the police station.
If I didn’t know them directly, I knew their faces—and that wasn’t a good thing, either.
They would know all about my shame.
Would know that…
“I can’t believe you’re under house arrest,” my best friend muttered.
I grimaced at her.
“At least my job lets me work from home,” I mumbled darkly.
Somehow, in the light of day, this wasn’t anywhere near as okay as I thought it’d be.
In fact, once I ran out of milk around two in the afternoon, nothing was funny. Not at all.
“This suuuucks!” I whined loudly. “Why did this happen to me?”
There was silence for a few long moments, then my best friend’s laughter.
“Probably because you were caught beating the crap out of your ex boyfriend’s truck and then his woman,” Naomi giggled, laughter filling her voice.
I turned my glare on her.
“Shut your face,” I growled through clenched teeth. “Or I swear, by all that’s holy, I’ll shove that coke can up your ass.”
Naomi could no longer contain her laughter, and she fell to the floor with the hilarity of it all.
Me, on the other hand, yeah, I didn’t find it nearly as funny as she did.
Naomi continued to laugh until tears rolled down her cheeks, but I stared at her for long moments, letting my dissatisfaction show.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped, trying to catch her breath. “But you’d laugh at me, too, if our roles were reversed.”
I sighed.
She was right, I would.
I wouldn’t be able to help myself.
However, I was the one in this situation, not her, so it was hard to say what I would and wouldn’t do under different circumstances.
I crossed my feet out in front of me and stared at the blank wall where my TV used to be.
Danny had taken it while I was in jail, along with my Xbox, the controllers, my Dish satellite receiver and all of my kitchen appliances that were small enough to fit into his mom’s SUV.
How did I know this?
Because my neighbors told me.
They’d spent hours telling me how they watched him take everything.
“Why does your cat have a note attached to her neck?” Naomi asked, her eyes caught by the sight of the white paper that stood out starkly against my cat’s black fur.
“He’s a whore,” I said simply.
“Why?” she asked, crawling on her hands and knees toward the cat.
She stopped, read the note, and then snorted out a laugh.
“She’s a muffin stealing whore?” Naomi asked.
I nodded.
“I was bored,” I said. “I even took his picture and submitted it to Ellen for that pet shaming contest she’s got going on.”
“Ellen? The Ellen DeGeneres Show?” Naomi asked. “I don’t think Ellen does that.”
“Well, she should,” I muttered. “Speaking of Ellen, she’s on!”
I was now on day two of my five-month house arrest, and I was fairly sure by day seven, it was very likely I’d be bouncing off the walls.
Naomi and I watched about five minutes of it before she stood, stretching her arms up high over her head.
“I’m going to Wal-Mart. Do you want me to get you anything?” She wondered. “I’ll drop it off tomorrow on the way to pick the kids up from school.”
I shot up off the couch and ran to my office, picking up a piece of white computer paper and folding it in half.
Once I was sure the marker wouldn’t bleed through, I picked up the only writing utensil I could ever seem to find, a Sharpie, and quickly wrote down a list.
Once I had that done, I walked back to the kitchen where I pulled out seven twenties and walked back towards where Naomi was still standing, watching the show in front of her.
“Here,” I said. “This is my list.”
“Aspen,” Naomi started. “This only has a TV on it.”
I nodded.
“Yep,” I agreed.
“But, I thought the chief of police ordered Danny to give all your stuff back,” Naomi sounded confused. “That doesn’t make sense to get you a TV.”
I gave her a look. “Does your brother ever do what he’s supposed to do?” I asked. “I doubt he ever follows orders unless The Chief makes him do it, and even then he’d actually have to come over to ask me whether he gave it back. It’s not like Danny’s going to offer up that information.”
Naomi grimaced.
“My brother’s a dumbass,” she muttered under her breath. “I’ll get your TV back for you, but I’m not spending this money on it. I’ll buy you groceries instead.”
“Hmm,” I said. “Just make sure you get me some cheese squares.”
“Aspen,” Naomi hesitated. “You can’t eat like that when you have no way to workout. You’re gonna get fat.”
“I’ve got it all planned out,” I evaded. “I can go all the way to the end of my yard on the back side, and all the way to the sidewalk in the front. It’s exactly five thousand two hundred and eighty feet if I make the loop around seven and a half times.”