Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45210 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 226(@200wpm)___ 181(@250wpm)___ 151(@300wpm)
I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m sorry for taking you away. I wouldn’t have bothered you if I’d known. You should go back.”
I’m starting to ramble, and he reaches for me, wrapping his hand around one of mine. “Stop. Emmy, what’s going on?”
I shake my head. “I shouldn’t have come.”
I start to get up, but he puts his hands on my shoulders, holding me where I’m at. He’s rolled his chair toward me, and my legs are fitted between his thighs. I’m not small by any means, but being this close to Kanan makes me feel like I am. “Stop. Talk to me. What’s going on? Why are you not in school? Does your mom know you’re here?”
I scrunch my nose up at him. “Kanan, I’m twenty-four years old.”
He nods, not the least bit surprised by the news. “I know exactly how old you are. Answer my questions.”
I jut my chin at him. “Listen, this was a mistake. I didn’t know where else to go, but—”
He cuts me off. “You’re not fuckin’ leaving.”
His eyes widen, and I think he’s as surprised as I am at what he just said. He pushes his chair back and jumps up. He strips off his jacket and tosses it onto the back of a chair. While he walks back and forth, all I can do is watch him as he undoes his tie and tosses it and then undoes the top buttons of his shirt. He looks as if he’s about to undo the buttons on his sleeves but thinks twice about it and stops. I’m not surprised. I know he doesn’t let people see his arm.
I have no idea what it looks like. I heard people whispering at my dad’s funeral that it was mangled, but he’s only worn long-sleeve shirts when I have seen him.
He seems to calm himself. “Look, Bug…”
“Don’t call me that. I’m not a little girl anymore, Kanan. And you can’t tell me what to do. This was a mistake coming here. I should have…” But my voice trails off because I don’t know what I should have done. I don’t have many choices. Maybe I should have had them call Walker and his wife, Brooklyn, instead of Kanan.
He holds his hands up, and his voice is softer. “I’m sorry, okay? You’re right. You’re not a child anymore. I know you’re not. Talk to me. Tell me what’s going on, and we can figure it out. Why are you not at school?”
I lift my shoulder in a shrug. “I got kicked out.”
I try to hide the embarrassment I feel about this by staring straight into his eyes, but he sees it. He sees everything. Kanan has always been super observant and in tune with people.
His hands fist at his sides. “Why did they kick you out? It’s your last year. You’re an honors student. You’ve been on the dean's list every semester since your first year.”
I shake my head in wonder. “How did you know that?”
“Why did they kick you out, Emerson?”
I cross my arms over my chest. I’m feeling every emotion right now, and I’m struggling to stay on top of any of them. “Because my tuition and boarding payment came back insufficient funds.”
“What?”
I nod.
He’s shaking his head. “Did you call the bank? Maybe there was an error.”
I let out a breath. “I did call the bank. My trust fund that was funding my school had been emptied. My car was repoed three weeks ago.”
He’s getting angrier by the minute. “Your car was paid off.”
I shake my head, but then it dawns on me. Of course that makes sense. “Yeah, I tried to tell Mom I thought it was paid off, but she came and got it and said it was being repoed. I went home, Kanan, but everything was boarded up. I barely ever went home, so I don’t know how long she’d been gone, but it’s obvious it’s been awhile. I pried open a window and went inside, but everything was gone… all my dad’s things.” I pause to get myself together. “I didn’t know what else to do. My dad always told me that if I needed anything, I could come to you, but I realize now this was wrong to put this all on you—”
He holds his hands up to stop me. “Don’t do that. Don’t act like I’m just somebody off the street, Emerson. You know I’ll always be here for you.”
“Unbreakable bond,” I mutter.
He comes to sit next to me on the couch. “What?”
I’m staring at my hands. “That’s what my dad called it. Unbreakable bond. He said that after everything you and I have been through together, we have an unbreakable bond. He said from that point forward you and I had a connection that nothing or no one could come between. He felt so bad he couldn’t be the one to save me.” The memories are all coming back, and I usually try to shove them away, but today, I let them take over. The memories hit me hard. It was the worst experience of my life, but I know it could have been worse.