Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 100628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 503(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 335(@300wpm)
“You told me not to wait,” Nana replied defensively.
“It’s fine,” Pop said, going to the stove.
I followed Bird out of the house, shoving him when he made a face. All we needed was for him to piss Pop off and ruin the entire night. It didn’t even occur to me that a few months before I wouldn’t have even believed that Bird could do something that would make our grandfather angry enough to ruin my celebration.
“Stop being an ass,” I ordered under my breath.
“He’s been in such a bad mood lately,” Bird replied after I’d shut the door. “What’s up his ass?”
“I have no idea,” I replied, pulling the lid off the little fire pit. “But why would you try and make it worse?”
My phone continued to buzz. Pulling it out of my pocket, I turned it off without opening it.
“I don’t get it,” Bird grumbled. “You think it’s just ’cause he’s gettin’ old?”
“I honestly have no idea.”
“Got the s’mores stuff,” Nana announced as she came outside.
“Cake and s’mores?” I dropped into a lawn chair. “I’m getting spoiled.”
“You deserve to be spoiled,” she replied, running her hand over my hair. “You’ve been workin’ so hard for this.”
“Thanks, Nana.”
“You know,” she said as she pulled out the little sticks we used and passed them to me and Bird. “I’ve always been sorry that we couldn’t send you to college.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, pulling the marshmallows from her lap. I’d choked down dinner and the idea of actually eating a s’more made my stomach twist, but I wasn’t about to ruin her celebration for me.
“Well, I just wish that we could’ve paid for you to go to school.” She shot me a sad smile. “Always felt bad about that.”
“Are you kidding?” I asked, reaching out to playfully push her shoulder. “No one can afford to pay for their kids’ college.”
“Some people do,” she countered.
“Yeah,” Bird said with a scoff. “Rich people.”
Nana just shrugged.
“I never thought you’d pay for school,” I told her, tossing the bag of marshmallows to Bird. “It never even occurred to me that it was an option unless you won the lottery or something.”
“If we won the lottery, why would we still go to college?” Bird pointed out, his mouth crammed full of marshmallows.
“You’re going to choke.”
“I’m not wrong, though,” he said with a shrug.
“Well, I just wish we could help you more,” Nana said, leaning back in her chair and pulling out a cigarette. “That’s all.”
“You let me live here,” I pointed out with a smile. “Even though I work two jobs and I’m a grown-ass adult. I think that qualifies as you helping me out.”
“Who’s a grown-ass adult?” Pop asked as he followed us outside.
“Nova,” Bird answered, his mouth still full.
Pop scoffed. “She’s still a pup.”
“I disagree with that statement,” I joked as he passed me, flicking my ponytail. He sat down in the chair next to Nana’s.
“That’s right,” Bird said, grinning like an idiot. “She’s a full-grown dog and don’t you forget it.”
“Shut it, buttface,” I shot back, pretending to throw my roasting stick at him like a spear.
“It’s starting to feel like spring, finally,” Nana said, ignoring us as she tilted her head back to sniff the air.
“I can’t wait until summer,” I replied with a sigh.
I was doing a damn good job pretending that everything was fine, but if I lifted my hands out in front of me, I knew I’d still see them trembling. Split-second memories of Rumi banging that beautiful woman on his couch kept popping into my head, interspersed with the feeling of being pulled toward the road as it raced past. If it was up to me, I would’ve gone to my room and curled up in a ball on my bed until I had to go to work the next day, but as I looked around the fire at my family, I knew I couldn’t leave. They were so excited for me.
“You gonna slow down on work now?” Pop asked casually, poking my pant leg with a marshmallow stick.
“Why the hell would I do that?” I grinned at him. “Not sure what I’d do if I wasn’t working.”
“Nova doesn’t have a life,” Bird chimed in.
“I do too!”
He made a buzzer sound and gave me a thumbs-down. “Even when you’re not working, you barely go anywhere.”
“I go to Rumi’s,” I argued. My stomach churned.
“When does Meg come home from school?” Nana asked. “You always had fun with her.”
“I’m not sure,” I mused. “Sometime in June, I think.”
“Well, why don’t you ask her?”
“She’s—” I waved my hand. “Off doing school stuff. New friends and all that.”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Nana replied. “She was your best friend.”
“Rumi’s my best friend,” I corrected automatically. My heart started to race and I took a deep breath, trying to ignore and forget his hands on that woman’s skin.