Total pages in book: 195
Estimated words: 185573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 928(@200wpm)___ 742(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 185573 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 928(@200wpm)___ 742(@250wpm)___ 619(@300wpm)
“Bianca.” Her name leaves my lips for a third time, but it’s barely heard.
“Sorry, but I don’t know you.” She tries to jerk away.
“You do know me.” I tighten my grip on her arm.
Panic washes over her features, and she shakes her head violently in refusal.
“Is there a problem here?” A dickhead tourist tries to butt in, and in that split second, Bianca pulls away. She slips out of my grasp and runs.
“Motherfucker.” I shove the asshole out of my way and stalk after her.
I chase her down the sidewalk, but like an apparition, she disappears into the crowd and doesn’t resurface. After thirty minutes of searching for her, I’m questioning if it was even real. Have I progressed to full hallucinations now?
Something tickles my arm, and when I glance down, there’s a single strand of blue hair hanging from my sleeve.
It was real.
She’s alive.
And everything I’ve ever believed was a lie.
Chapter 6
Madden
—PAST—
“Hey.”
Bianca stares straight ahead, watching the television with her arms folded tightly across her chest. It’s been five days, and she hasn’t spoken to me since the lake incident. She passes me in the rec room and at mealtime without a word, and in our group sessions, she hasn’t bothered to look my way once. It’s exactly what I wanted, but for reasons I can’t fathom, it irritates the fuck out of me, too.
What anyone in this place thinks of me is of little consequence. If I’m being honest, Bianca is the first person to even look at my gnarled, overgrown walls and think she has a chance of getting in. She tried knocking politely, and I hit her with a fucking bazooka. It’s what I do. And up until now, I’ve never been sorry for being such a sanctimonious prick. But there’s something about that hurt puppy look on her face I want to fix even though I know I’m bound to do it all over again.
“Brown eyes, I’m talking to you.”
Her brows pinch together, and she shakes her head as if to say she’s washed her hands of me.
“So that’s it, huh?” I persist. “One little insult and you’re running away.”
She blinks, tilts her chin higher, and intensifies her focus on the TV like she actually gives a shit about the program.
“It must have been a pretty accurate assessment, or you wouldn’t be so offended,” I observe casually.
At this, she stiffens, and I know I’m getting somewhere.
“I’ve seen you at the group sessions,” I tell her. “Still quiet as a mouse while you sit there and listen to everyone else’s problems. When are you going to share, Bianca? When are you going to tell the world it’s all an illusion? Little Miss Perfect has flaws, just like the rest of us mere mortals.”
“What do you want from me?” she hisses.
“She speaks.” I raise my eyebrows, feigning surprise.
She stares at me, all long lashes and dark eyes, and fuck, she’s pretty. For a second, I wonder what it would be like to kiss her. Not that a girl like her would ever slum it with the likes of me. I should probably get that thought out of my head before it sprouts roots.
“You want to get out of here?” I ask. “I’ll show you how to break some rules. Who knows, there might be hope for you yet.”
She gives me a dry look. “Where would we go?”
“Down by the lake?” I suggest, already knowing she won’t take the bait.
“Why, so you can murder me?”
“How do I know you won’t murder me?” I retort.
She smirks, and a thought dances in her eyes. “Maybe I will. Keep being an asshole and test me.”
My mouth curves into a lazy smile, and suddenly this place isn’t so boring. I don’t know what game we’re playing here, but I think I actually fucking like it.
“I’ll go on one condition.” Bianca leans into me, her breath tickling my ear as she whispers. “You have to play a song for me.”
Tension bleeds into my muscles as I shake my head. “I don’t play for anybody.”
“Then no deal.” She crosses her arms and returns her attention to the TV. “Come find me when you’re ready to play by my rules.”
Chapter 7
Lyric
“Everything’s so expensive here,” Eden whines, dividing what remains of our change from this morning’s shift between two worn-out baggies.
I nod, stuffing another mini donut into my mouth, barely tasting it as I choke it down without water. My eyes are on the crowd, scanning faces for the man with the haunting hazel eyes. I’m beginning to think I imagined the whole scenario since I haven’t seen him again in the three days that have passed. I keep telling myself he was probably just a drunk tourist. But that doesn’t explain this weird feeling in my gut.
Logically, I know it was a case of mistaken identity. My past is a black hole, but I can’t imagine that I would have spent much time with the biker crowd, which this guy clearly was. Right down to the leather vest, low-slung jeans, and motorcycle boots. Beneath his striking features, something was rough and off-balance about him. Something guarded, maybe. But the way he looked at me like he could see into my soul terrified me. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it, wondering who it was he thought he saw.