Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Fuck him. It’s what her dad would say. At least she hoped he would. The last thing she wanted was her dad to sit down and give her a dad talk about how she didn’t need Cooper.
Because she was pretty sure she did.
The truth was she would have to admit there wasn’t one magical person out there for her. She wasn’t going to have the kind of life her parents had. This was her truth, and she needed time to face it.
She considered getting an Uber out to Lou’s, but her parents would get a notification she’d used the card they’d given her and Kenzie explicitly for emergencies. She hadn’t figured a way around it yet. Somehow she doubted they would call needing to see her bestie a real emergency.
Of course then she would have to tell Lou. Lou would definitely look at her with nauseating sympathy.
She walked up the hill leading out of Cooper’s neighborhood. A couple of blocks over and she would be in the shopping center with the boba tea shop. How late was it? She was pretty sure they were open until midnight on Saturdays.
How pathetic was it to sit and drink tea by herself on a Saturday night when everyone else was being normal?
Her feet moved out of habit, but her internal storm raged on.
Did she drag him down? Did she drag Kenzie down? Would Kenz be like head cheerleader with the entire class worshipping at her feet if she wasn’t saddled down with a dark and broody and bitchy twin?
What would life look like for her siblings and parents and friends if she wasn’t around? Her mom wouldn’t worry. Her dad wouldn’t have to explain her antics to people. Tash wouldn’t be embarrassed.
Cooper was embarrassed by her. Such a fucking harsh truth to have to face. He might care about her, might be willing to be with her in the shadows, but he would never walk hand in hand with her out in the open.
The idea of being around people held little appeal, so when she realized there was a park up ahead, she changed her plans. She found a bench and sat, glancing down at her phone.
Maybe she shouldn’t have blocked him. Maybe he wanted another chance.
She sniffled. She wasn’t giving him another chance to make a fool of her. Nope. She was going to cut him out of her heart.
“Are you okay, honey?” a feminine voice asked.
Okay? No. She was emotionally ravaged, and now she’d nearly jumped out of her skin because she’d thought she was alone. She saw a woman walking down the trail leading to the playground equipment and the bench she currently occupied. She was probably late twenties/early thirties and was jogging. She’d pulled her earbuds out.
Kala nodded the woman’s way. It was late, but it wasn’t crazy late. There were a lot of people who worked out at night. It was Texas, and even the fall felt like summer during the day. “I’m good. Just chilling.”
The woman stopped. “Sweetie, no one chills in a park this late at night. Not unless they’re either selling drugs or buying drugs or nursing a broken heart. Guy trouble?” The woman sat down on the end of the bench leaving plenty of space between them. “I’m sorry. I’m being way too traditional. It could be girl trouble.”
Kala sat back, kicking one combat-booted foot over the opposite knee. “Guys are assholes.”
The woman nodded. “Definitely guy trouble then. They are assholes. It’s why I so rarely work with them anymore. I’m a PI. I try to avoid male clients.”
Private investigator? A cool profession. Something to distract her from the heartaches of the evening. “You’re an investigator?”
She had dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Yeah. I usually do things like track down dudes who are cheating or dudes who skip out on child support. It’s not all fun murders and stuff. Sometimes the job sucks, but the pay is so good you can’t turn it down.”
“Really? Like what?” Kala asked, still wanting to put off the moment when she had to make the long walk home. She was going to have to face him on Monday. She would have to walk into American History and sit in the chair next to Cooper’s and pretend he didn’t exist because Mrs. Jenkins had told them to pick their seats well on the first day since they wouldn’t be changing. Well, everyone knew she made poor choices.
The woman sighed and glanced down at her cell phone, one handedly replying to something she read. “So many things. It’s hard to be on your own. The whole spy thing feels like it’s going to be super fun, but it’s actually kind of lonely and the good jobs don’t pay well. And when you’re independent the clients range from dudes I don’t like to scary motherfuckers I can’t cross no matter how much I want to.”