Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 117(@200wpm)___ 94(@250wpm)___ 78(@300wpm)
She greets me at the door, looking worn out and annoyed. Before I can even say anything, she sighs and aims a thumb behind her. I glance over her shoulder and see my dad, slumped over on her couch, clearly drunk and either passed out or on the verge of being so.
“Oh, Christ,” I grumble. “What the hell happened?”
“Apparently he went to your apartment looking for you,” Alyssa replies. “Got an Uber or something. And when you weren’t there…”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry, Alyssa.”
“Yeah, well at least he’s not dead,” she shrugs with a laugh.
“At this point, I honestly might take that,” I reply, forcing a laugh. “With the day I’ve already had.”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to mention it,” Alyssa replies. “But you do kinda look…like shit. What happened?”
This time, I actually do laugh. Not because something is funny, but because of the complete opposite. Because nothing is funny at all. Because the day has been such a complete catastrophe that all I can do is laugh.
“Well, let me come in and deal with him,” I say, pointing at my complete and utter mess of a father. “And I’ll tell you the whole story.”
10
Russell
I’m so excited as I drive home from school. I haven’t even bothered texting Nikki to let her know I’m getting close to the house, as I want to surprise her when I walk through the door. I want to race into whatever room she’s in, snatch her into my arms, and plant my lips on hers.
This is the life I want to lead from now on. Wherever I work doesn’t matter, whatever I’m doing doesn’t matter, as long as I have her to come home to.
I park quietly and basically sneak up to the front door like a secret agent. I try my key, but for some reason it’s unlocked, even though I told her to keep it locked while I was away. I’ll have to remind her about that later.
I let myself in just as quietly and leave it cracked behind me to keep the noise down, then start checking the rooms.
She’s not in the kitchen or the living room, and she’s not out back on the patio either, so I take the stairs one at a time and creep toward the bedroom. With any luck, she’ll have her back toward me, and I’ll be able to put my plan into action.
I see the door is cracked at the end of the hall, and I sneak quickly down to it and position myself for my next move. I hear the TV playing something, but I can’t quite tell what it is. My guess is Nikki is in bed, so I’ll just leap in and join her.
A smile spreads over my face as I picture myself stripping whatever clothes she has on from her body and having my way with her. What a perfect end to my day and start to our evening together.
I begin the countdown in my head.
3…2…1…
“Hey, gorgeous!” I cry out, leaping into action.
I leap onto the bed, and as I thought, there is someone lying there, but it’s not Nikki. And when I see who it is, my heart nearly explodes.
“Hey, baby,” Cheryl replies, gazing up from beneath me, wrapped in a set of sexy black lingerie, making lustful eyes at me. “Long time no see.”
I immediately leap off and away from her, stunned by what I’m seeing. Is this really happening? I look around, searching the room for Nikki.
“What the fuck?” I blurt out. “Cheryl? How did you? Where is Nikki? Nikki!?”
I race into the bathroom. I know there’s absolutely no chance she’s in there, but I check anyway and find the room empty.
“She’s not here, babe.” When I come back to the bedroom, I find Cheryl kneeling on the bed, both arms forward and together, accentuating her breasts. “It’s just you and me. Alone. Like it should be.”
“Like it should be?” I scoff. “Don’t be absurd. You left me! You ran off with my goddamn lawyer.”
“I made a mistake,” she replies in that soothing, motherly voice that I always hated that she would use when she was patronizing me and trying to win an argument at the same time. “You know I did, babe–”
“Don’t call me babe,” I say firmly. “I am not your babe anymore.”
“Why are you so mad?” she asks, slinking closer to me. “Aren’t you happy to see me? Don’t pretend you don’t still have feelings for me, Russ.”
“Oh, I have feelings all right,” I reply. “Just not the ones you’re thinking of.”
It’s then that I notice Cheryl’s left hand, and it’s like a volcano begins to churn its magma inside my chest. There, seated on her ring finger, is the engagement ring I gave her and have been asking her to return ever since she walked out on me.