Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82453 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“Okay.” Abby lets out a light laugh. “I didn’t expect you to know that, but okay.”
She works for me and is the wife of my best friend, but she’s my best chance at finding the woman I love, so I lay my heart on the line.
“I need to find her,” I say in an even tone. “She’s not answering her phone, and she’s not with Telford.”
Abby’s eyes search my face. “What’s going on, Rook? Has something happened to her?”
Nodding, I steal a glance at Declan. His expression is impassive. I know he’s fond of Carrie, so he must be wondering what the hell is going on, too.
I press a hand to the center of my chest in an effort to slow my racing heart, but it’s futile. “I love her.”
“What?” The question leaves Abby’s lips first before it drops from Posey’s.
I keep my focus on Abby. “I’ve fallen in love with her, and earlier tonight, something happened. She’s hurt, Abby.”
“Hurt how?” Her voice breaks. “What the hell did you do to her?”
“Not me.” I rake a hand through my hair. “I would never hurt her. Jesus, Abby, I would jump in front of a train for her.”
“What happened?” she presses.
“It was a misunderstanding.” I don’t delve into the details because the story is as much Carrie’s as it is mine. “I believe she thinks I was unfaithful to her. I would never do that to her, Abby. She is it for me.”
Her face softens. “You really do love her.”
“Endlessly.”
She rests a hand over mine on my chest. “I’ll call her landlord in Brooklyn to check if she’s there. If she’s not, I know exactly where you’ll find her, Rook.”
“Call now,” I implore. “I can’t stand the thought of her in pain.”
Nodding, she looks up and into my face. “The mural is beautiful. I love it, but knowing that you fell in love with my sister when I was on my honeymoon is the best surprise I could have ever asked for. You’re the second best man I’ve ever met.”
I catch the smile on Declan’s face when I glance in his direction.
“Let’s find my sister,” Abby says. “I’ll get my phone and make that call now.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
Carrie
I trudge through the overgrown grass toward my safe place in this city.
The many lights that once bathed this spot in warm light at night have mostly been broken or burnt out.
The light posts themselves are covered with rust.
I’ve slowly watched every aspect of this playground fall apart, but at its heart, it’s still the oasis it was when I was a child.
I’d run here after dinner with my dad and jump on a swing. I’d kick my legs as hard as I could until I had enough momentum that I was flying in the sky.
My hands clung to the metal chains holding the plastic swing in place as my dad pushed me higher and higher.
Years after moving away from this neighborhood, I came back to find the metal chains covered by plastic tubing. That has been the only upgrade made to this special spot.
As I near the trio of swings hanging from a heavy A-frame crafted of metal and anchored in a pit of sand, my crying stops.
Tears have been streaming down my cheeks for hours.
I turned off my phone and rode the subway for what felt like forever before I switched to the train that brought me here.
I have no idea of the time or who may or may not be trying to reach me, but I need to sit here for a while to calm my heart and rethink my life plan.
As soon as I’m near the swings, I kick off my shoes and let my bare toes sink into the sand. My mom always scolded me for that when I was a kid. She’d tell me that I had no idea about the danger that might be in the sand.
I didn’t care.
I only cared about getting on a swing and flying high in the sky. It was there that all the pain I ever felt disappeared into the clouds.
I may have believed that when I was a kid, and even when I sought out this place when I was eighteen on one of the worst nights of my life, but I’m almost thirty now, so I know that the clouds can’t capture my sorrows.
I have to feel the pain, let it settle within me, and find a way to move past it.
Adjusting the strap of my bag across my chest, I tuck the skirt of my dress under my ass and take a seat in the middle swing. It was always my favorite. That hasn’t changed.
I push myself with a foot in the sand, and then my legs bend to gain the momentum I need to leave my pain on the ground until my feet touch it again.