Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25089 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 125(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
“That’s impossible,” I say stiffly. “You’re lying.”
Janice shakes her head. “I wish I was, girl. I truly do. I see the pain in your eyes now, and I know you think I put it there, but search your heart. You know whose fault this is.”
“How can I believe you?” I snap, feelings of betrayal boiling up within me like magma sweltering beneath the earth.
“Well, let me ask you this. Did Parker ever camp out in front of your house and watch you through your window? Did he ever break into your apartment while he thought you were asleep?”
The pit in my stomach grows.
This can’t be happening.
“You’re just making things up,” I lash out as more emotions crash through me like a meteor striking the planet.
“475 South Bleaker Drive,” Janice says slowly. Parker’s address. Any remaining doubt I had left is quickly eroding.
But how can I believe this woman? Where is my loyalty to Parker?
Maybe we’ve only been official for a few weeks, but he confessed everything to me when I confronted him. I put my trust in him.
Did I make a mistake?
“How could you know this?” I ask, not sure if I even want to know the answer.
“Because he did the same thing to me.” Janice nods, not even trying to hide the pity in her eyes. I hide mine as they begin to fill with tears.
“And…what did you do?”
She shrugs. “At first it kind of weirded me out. But Parker convinced me it was romantic, and well, we just ended up together. We’ve been boyfriend and girlfriend now for a few months. We just try to keep things discreet at work as they have a policy against co-workers dating.”
I can’t stop it now. My heart shatters into a thousand tiny, irreparable pieces. My insides sting as if each one of those shards has embedded itself into my flesh, causing internal bleeding. Cold betrayal bleeds into my bones like icy sludge.
It all makes sense now. Parker and Janice’s interactions in the lobby. The way she dresses for him, the way she flirts with him. How he pretends not to be into her. They’re a couple pretending not to be a couple because they don’t want to get fired. And according to her, they’ve been together since before he even began stalking me.
“I’m really sorry to have to be the one to tell you this,” Janice continues. “I mean–he’s screwing us both over.”
The image of my mother’s face fills my mind–the moment she found out my father had cheated on her. Is that what I look like now? Like mother like daughter?
No. I won’t make her mistake. I won’t be left.
“Thank you, but I have to go,” I say, quickly starting the car. I hear Janice calling to me as I pull away, but I ignore her. I have to get home as fast as possible. It won’t be long before Parker realizes I’m not at school and comes by the apartment. I have to be out of there by then.
I will not be like my mother. I will not let another man betray me and break me.
I’m going to leave Parker before he can leave me.
8
PARKER
For some reason, I’m even more excited to see Ali today than I normally am. And that’s saying something.
She’s the light of my life. The sun that cuts through the clouds. When I first saw her, I was instantly overwhelmed by her beauty. Her essence. She captured me like a fish caught in a net. And now that we’ve been together and I finally have her, I know I can never be without her.
I arrive at her school only to find that her class ended early today, which means she’s either already home or on her way. I catch her friends, Amy and Christa, eyeing me from the café. Did Ali tell them about us? The way they’re looking at me could mean two things: either Ali showed them a picture of me–which would be surprising—or she told them about me and described me to them, and they’re wondering if I’m the guy she was talking about.
I’m pretty sure it’s the second option.
To the best of my knowledge, Ali doesn’t have any photos of me. And if she does, they’re ones she took while stalking me from a distance. And those would be weird photos to show to her girlfriends to prove you have a new boyfriend. It’s more likely she just told them about me and what I look like. I’m sure she’ll introduce me to them some day, and I’ll have to do all I can to act like the nice, normal boyfriend she’s probably convinced them I am.
I’m grinning as I hop back in the car and drive over to her place. Will I stake out her apartment from the vacant house and sneak in later? Or will I go up early so we can have dinner together? Such a tough decision to make. I love it when Ali cooks for me, and I’ve been promising to help her out more in the kitchen. We even joked about me being her sous chef. Maybe I’ll finally follow through on that this evening.