Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162138 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 811(@200wpm)___ 649(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
The little blonde girl I saw in the pictures runs over when the boys are done and throws herself at Lyla, knocking her on her ass. Lyla laughs. I’m standing far but I hear it, and fuck, I miss that laugh. She stands up with ease and helps the little girl up. A blond man, whom I assume is her father, walks over, shaking his head with a laugh. They talk until the little girl tugs Lyla’s shorts and forces her attention away from her dad. He smiles like he already knows what she’s going to say. I walk over. I need to hear what they’re saying and why she takes so many damn pictures with her. I know Lyla sees me. I’m hard to miss, but she pretends I don’t exist. As I eavesdrop, I keep my distance and look at my phone screen to check how far the driver bringing my food is.
“Another one for your collection,” Lyla says as she stands up, brushing her shorts.
“I don’t mind having you on my phone.” He winks. If she notices, it doesn’t show.
Who the fuck is this guy? When she turns around and leads his daughter to the field, he blatantly checks her out. I snap a picture of him and send it to Liam.
Me: who is this?
Liam: idk, who is it?
I know he’s doing it to annoy me. It works.
Me: i wouldnt ask if i knew
He doesn’t respond.
Me: FACIAL RECOGNITION
Liam: why? Did he rob a bank?
My brother, the fucking comedian.
Me: just do it
Liam: we can’t use facial recognition on every guy who talks to Lyla. fucking ask her who it is
Now I’m the one who doesn’t respond. Liam has been dealing with my bullshit since I got out of the hospital. I went into the hospital unconscious, but otherwise hopeful, and stepped out bitter and angry. I know my brother thought that finally seeing her again would snap me back to my old self. Thing is, I don’t even remember what I used to be like before she left. I’m not going to lie and say seeing her didn’t make a difference, because the moment her eyes met mine, I felt like I always used to — watching the hockey puck in suspense. I’m too angry to give in, though. Maybe if I’d found her moping in her baggy t-shirts and just scraping by, my anger would have vanished immediately. I’m a complete asshole for it. I know I am but what the fuck? I’ve been living day-to-day like a fucking zombie. Hockey practice, hockey game, home, rinse and repeat. Now I'm at Duke Tech, and it’s more of the same — boring and unfulfilling. So yeah, I would have liked to have seen her moping a little.
My brother doesn’t understand my resentment. Mom doesn’t either. They hung out with her for a couple of hours at a hockey game and fell in love with her instantly. Of course, they did. How could they not? Which is why when I told Liam I needed to find her so I could marry her, he readily agreed. My poor, kind-hearted brother thought I was going to show up here like Eros; he didn't realize I’m on my Anteros shit. I start walking back to the oak tree I’d been standing under.
Me: i need you to find out who he is and hack into his phone and delete his pictures
He calls me. I answer with a heavy exhale.
“I fucking know, okay?” I remove the baseball cap from my head and quickly rake my fingers through my hair before putting it back on.
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” he spits, overlapping my words.
I pause, midstep. “Is that a serious question?”
“Jesus, Lach,” he says, exasperated. “Did you tell her why you’re there?”
“Of course.”
“What did she say?”
“She agreed to leave with me.” I lean my back against the trunk of the tree and close my eyes.
“So, she’s cool with marrying you after all this time of not seeing you?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t she be?”
He’s quiet for a moment. “Does she know you’re getting married in Fairview?” When I don’t answer, he shouts, “You haven’t even told her?!”
“What’s there to tell? She agreed to marry me. She agreed to go to Fairview and Chicago,” I say. “Can you do what I’m asking? This guy’s a creep. He has too many pictures of her on his phone. It’s disturbing.”
“Oh my. . .” Liam bursts out laughing. “That’s what you find disturbing?”
“Whatever, Lee. Do it or don’t, but don’t call me to lecture me on my gray fucking morals. It’s her fault I’m like this.”
“Lachlan,” he breathes into the line.
“I’ll see you at home.”
“Yeah,” he mutters.
“Will you be at the engagement party?”
“You mean the one the bride-to-be probably doesn’t even know about yet? Yes, I'll be there.” He hangs up the phone.