Total pages in book: 215
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 199344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 997(@200wpm)___ 797(@250wpm)___ 664(@300wpm)
I clap on cue with the rest of the audience as Zoey’s father leans in. “That’s Hazel’s newest boyfriend.”
My brow arches as I gape at the scrawny kid. “The fuck?” I mutter, my gaze sailing over him and knowing this guy is nothing but a fling to irritate her father. Linc would be rolling in his grave if he knew about this one. “What the hell does she see in him?”
“Who knows. The kid looks like he struggles to comb his own hair.”
“Forget about combing his own hair,” I mutter, trying to keep my voice down. “What if there was an emergency? How the hell is he supposed to carry her out of a burning building? He couldn’t even lift his own dick. Hazel would have to carry him instead.”
Erica leans around her husband and swats at us. “Shut up, the both of you. Flynn is lovely.”
“I’m sure he is, but he’s not gonna cut it,” I tell her. “Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Hazel after. I’ll set her straight.”
Erica rolls her eyes, knowing I intend to stick to my word, even if it means going toe-to-toe with Hazel James, but it’ll be fine. She’s always respected my opinion . . . most of the time.
A few more kids get their diplomas before Hazel’s name is finally called, and I sit up a little straighter, watching as a beaming smile cuts across her face. It tears me in two. She looks so much like Zoey. It’s hard to believe that she’s almost the same age as Zoey was when she passed.
A shadow passes overhead, and as Hazel makes her way up onto the stage and toward Principal Daniels, my gaze shifts to the trees, and as that same colorful bird settles onto one of the tallest branches, my jaw drops again.
No fucking way. I’m definitely going insane. Perhaps I really have taken a few too many hits to the head on the football field.
Despite not wanting to tear my eyes off the bird, I force myself to watch Hazel accept her diploma, and as the bird squawks from the trees above, I stand and clap, congratulating Hazel, just as I know Zoey would. A knowing smile spreads across Hazel’s lips, and she glances up into the trees. I can’t help but wonder just how many bedroom windows this bird has been flying through.
When the graduation ceremony comes to a close and all the graduates take off toward their loved ones, Hazel comes right for me, throwing her arms around my neck and squeezing me tight. “I wasn’t sure if you were going to make it.”
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I tell her, pulling back and meeting her stare, the curiosity getting the best of me before I get a chance to reel it in. Or hell, maybe I just need to know if it’s time to be checked into a mental institute. “Hey, when you were getting your diploma, what were you looking at?”
“Huh?” she says way too quickly, nervousness flashing in her eyes.
“You were looking up toward the trees,” I say.
“Oh, um . . . nothing,” she says awkwardly. “I, uh, gotta go. See you later.”
She starts to scurry away, and I narrow my gaze at her back, certain she knows exactly what I’m talking about. “Don’t think we’re not going to talk about this Flynn kid later,” I call after her.
Hazel pauses, whipping back around to glare at her father. “You told him?” she hisses.
“Of course I did,” he scoffs, looking all too proud of himself. “How else am I supposed to get you to break up with him while thinking it was your idea?”
Hazel glares at her father. “Oh, we’re going to have words about this.”
“I look forward to it,” he laughs, and with that, Hazel storms away, heading toward the very boyfriend who’ll be nothing more than an ex within a matter of hours.
When all is said and done, I make my way back toward the parking lot, my hands buried deep in my pockets, when a feminine voice calls out behind me. “Noah.”
I whip back, my brows furrowed as I search through the sea of people making their way toward the parking lot when I spot a familiar face. “Hope?” I ask.
She smiles wide. “I wondered if you’d be here today.”
“Nowhere else I’d rather be,” I tell her. “But the real question is, what the hell are you doing here?”
A stupid grin stretches across her face, and she shrugs her shoulders, holding her hands out wide. “You’re looking at East View High’s newest English teacher.”
“No shit,” I say. “Good for you. How do you like it?”
“Honestly, it sucks. The students think that because I’m young, they can mess with me or that I’ll let them off the hook easier than other teachers would, but they’re starting to learn that I’m not the pushover they were hoping for.”