Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141255 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 706(@200wpm)___ 565(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
After a few minutes I looked to his face and he kissed my forehead.
“Sorry; you can go get work done. I’ll go to sleep now.”
He tucked my hair behind my ear and kissed me again. “It’s gonna be okay, baby. I promise you it is.”
I nodded. “I know.” And I did know. He would make it okay.
“I’ll stay ‘till you fall asleep.”
God, he was sweet.
I jolted and gasped as I felt him leave.
“I’m just next door if you need me. I won’t be long,” he whispered and kissed me softly on the lips and then he was gone.
I fell back to sleep wondering about the contents of his silver gift bag.
I poured a drink. Then I poured another. And then a-fucking-nother. I went out to the terrace, lit a smoke, and stared out at the night, my blood boiling, a cold pit in my stomach, and I plotted. I fucking plotted because they needed to be stopped.
I didn’t know if I could give her time to tell me her story in her own time or if I’d have to a) get Zack to tell me what he’d found and hope that he’d found out enough or b) make her tell me whether she was ready or not.
Maybe I needed to talk to this counselor, too, to find out how to handle her properly.
I bought her a necklace tonight at a jewelry store down the road and a cell phone from the electronics store a few doors away from the restaurant where I’d picked up our take-out. The phone: so we could text during the day and so she’d get on her way to some semblance of normalcy. The necklace: so I could get the reminder of where she came from off her neck. I figured maybe a new necklace could give her the same comfort because it was from me but it could be a fresh start for her.
But after her attack tonight, I didn’t know if it was the perfect time to get that fucking thing off her neck or the worst idea in the world.
And my mind was also on the fact that the report card they gave me on that last tablet, the fucked up data contained on that screen, was actually useful because it helped me see what she needed from me in order to settle her down today.
Yeah, she’d begged me to do that but if I hadn’t read that report I wouldn’t have picked up so easily on what she needed and I definitely wouldn’t have done it. I would’ve tried to find another way to calm her down. And it had worked. Damn it all to hell, too, because that report’s contents meant that it didn’t just work because I was there to hold her down and make her come. It probably would’ve worked if anyone else in the world had done the same.
She was quiet, timid with me in the morning when we got up. Maybe she was responding to my mood, I don’t know. I’d slept terrible and was in a foul mood. When I came out of the bedroom after showering and dressing for the office, I found her sitting on the terrace staring out at the city with her cup of coffee in her hand. I found a cup she’d poured for me in front of the coffee maker. I drank half the cup while reading emails on my phone in the kitchen and then I poured the rest down the drain. I stepped out onto the terrace.
“You off to work?” She looked up at me with what looked like a hopeful look on her face.
“Yep. See ya later. I’ll probably be late so don’t, uh, wait for me for dinner.”
“Would you like me to cook you something that you can eat when you get back?” she asked with what was definitely hope on her face.
“Naw, don’t worry. Don’t know how late I’ll be. I’ll probably just grab something.”
She gave me a thin smile. She saw right through me. I felt a pang of guilt. No, I shouldn’t push her away. That wouldn’t help either of us. I shook my head and changed my mind.
“Can you cook? Besides bacon and eggs?”
“I’m not terrible at it.”
“Okay, cook me something. You eat, though, and just put mine in the fridge and I’ll reheat it when I get in. Kiss me goodbye.”
She got to her feet.
I pulled her in for a kiss and I tried to make it a good one. I ran my thumb across her cheek before I left.
In the elevator on the way down to the garage I texted Lisa and asked if we could meet the following day at the office after lunch. Maybe she’d give me some perspective.
I called the apartment after I met with Zack, but Angel didn’t answer.