Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 824(@200wpm)___ 659(@250wpm)___ 549(@300wpm)
Nothing but heavy woods and pitch darkness surrounded us. The windy road snaked toward the city, completely empty except our Prius and the Fiat. Pine trees sprouted from either side. If he rammed into our car, no one would save us.
I pulled out my phone, unlocking the screen. “Should I call the cops?”
“What the heck is his problem? He’ll get us all killed.” My elderly driver sped up, both hands tight on the wheel. “Yeah. Call the cops, sweetheart.”
“Wait.” My heart stuttered. “Can you see his face?”
You’re such a masochist, Briar.
I didn’t recognize the Fiat. But on the off chance it was Oliver, I couldn’t bring myself to report him. In fact, the possibility of him chasing after me pleased me.
I seriously needed to get back in touch with my therapist.
“Not really.” The Uber driver squinted at his rearview mirror. “Can’t make much out of his face. He’s wearing a black mask and a baseball cap. His hair is long, though.” He shimmied his mouth from side to side. “Fair hair. Curly, maybe.
Handsome fella. Young-ish. Riffraff, probably. They vacation here from time to time.”
No way.
No freaking way.
“Pull over,” I ordered, my heart cartwheeling in my chest.
“What?” His lips collapsed into a scowl. “Why?”
“Please. Just do it.”
He released a short sigh, rubbing his mouth. “Fine. But I’m counting it as an additional stop. You’re going to have to change it on the app.”
“Okay.”
“And you better five-star me, lady.”
He signaled to the right and pulled up to the shoulder. The Fiat followed suit, parking behind us. I got out of the backseat and slammed the door, rounding the trunk toward the other car. The driver got out, and all the air in my lungs rushed out.
Sebastian.
He left his wing.
He left the house.
“You’ve got some nerve. You know that?” He balled his fists, shoving them into his jacket pockets. “Up and leaving without saying goodbye like that.”
Seb trudged back and forth, refusing to look me in the eye. His entire body quivered, and I knew it wasn’t from the cold.
Oh, Seb.
He reminded me so much of the kid that used to follow me and Oliver around as we played pretend pirates on the jungle gym and raced each other down slides. Before he became the star student athlete, he was the only baby brother I’d ever known.
“I’m sorry,” I said softly, meaning it. I hugged myself, feeling the urge to hug him, but he would recoil if I did. “I meant to say goodbye. It was all very sudden …”
“You didn’t.” He raised his hand to adjust the ball cap on his head. No one could see what he looked like. Not that anyone had passed this road in the past five minutes. “How long have you planned this for? How long have you had your memory back?”
“I remembered after I returned from Baylor,” I admitted. “On the lake. It just slammed back into me, and all of a sudden, those scraps of memories I couldn’t make sense of made all the sense in the world.”
He tipped his head back, sighing as he did the math. He and I had worked on a puzzle after I interrupted Oliver’s shower yesterday. I couldn’t go to sleep without checking in on Seb. We’d finished the remaining pieces, drank some beer, and reminisced about our childhood.
Never once had I mentioned getting back my memory.
I didn’t want anything to jeopardize the great surprise I had for Ollie. Not that I thought Seb would rat me out.
It all seemed so childish now. I’d been so caught up with getting back at Oliver, I forgot that Sebastian might get hurt along the way, too.
Seb’s shoulders slumped. “So, you’ve decided to leave?”
I lowered my head, clenching the hem of my jacket in my fist. “I have my own life in LA.”
My driver’s gaze burned a hole in my back.
“Oliver said your next project is not until the summer. You’re still recovering.”
Guilt impaled my chest. He’d gotten attached, and I’d carelessly moved on without so much as a farewell. I knew better than anyone what it felt like to hold on to a memory someone else had already forgotten. The indifference stung as much as the goodbye.
I bit my lower lip until warm blood exploded on my tongue.
“I’m so sorry. There’s no excuse.” I hopped from foot to foot, struggling to find words. “I was selfish and vindictive. I … I didn’t think.”
“You didn’t even achieve shit, you know.” Seb kicked one of his front tires, his hands still shoved deep inside his pockets. “After everything Ollie did to you, these petty parlor tricks aren’t big enough revenge. Your payback’s not done.”
“Hey, lady.” The driver stuck his whole torso out his window. “Are you coming or what? I’m freezing my ass off here.”
I smiled a miserable smile, ignoring him. “The best revenge is to heal, and I think I’m getting there. Breaking him won’t help me fix myself.”