Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 97337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97337 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 389(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“But that’s just it. If you have to hide this relationship, how good can it be? You’re young, bright and handsome, you should be going out on the weekends with girls your age, having a good time. I guess I just don’t see why you feel the need to tie yourself down with someone you’ve only just met.”
“I gotta go mom, it’s already getting late. Tell dad I’ll see him soon.” I left before she came up with any more reasons to keep me there. It wasn’t fair, and she’d have a conniption if she knew this, but the whole time I was sitting there listening to her my mind had been filled with Lizzie.
Not just worrying if she was okay, but just wanting to be with her. It’s come to the point now where I can barely go the few hours it takes in school without seeing her.
I know she wouldn’t want me cutting class to be with her and I’m not inclined to, but the fact that she’s all I think about and being with her is all I look forward to, tells me everything I need to know.
It’s like I’d suspected in the beginning. That if anyone found out about us they’d forget that I’m the golden boy. The one they all praised for having a good head on his shoulders. Right now, mom is probably back to seeing me as the four-year old snot nosed kid she used to run around after.
I felt the tension leave me as I drove to her and didn’t breathe easy until I pulled into her driveway and saw the lights on in the house. She came out to move her car so I could park around back before we headed back inside together after making sure there were no undesirables lurking around.
“I’ll reheat your dinner.”
“You ate without me?” I teased her as I plopped down in the chair while she bustled around the kitchen.
“You were late, I thought…I thought you went home.” Her voice had gone soft there at the end. She’d thought that but she hadn’t called, hadn’t questioned.
I wanted her to, I wanted her to know that she had that right. Something else that blew my mind. I’ve never been into clingy females, and in fact have made it a point to steer clear of that ilk in the past.
Now I took her hand and drew her between my spread thighs. “Why didn’t you call and ask me? Did you wait for me?” She nodded her head and refused to look into my eyes. “China doll.”
“What?” She picked up her head when I didn’t say anything more.
“Nothing, I’m just saying you’re my China doll. Next time call. In fact there won’t be a next time. I should’ve told you I was stopping over there before coming home.”
How strange that sounds, and yet it fits. It felt like home, being here with her. Like we’d stepped into a painting where everything was already set up and all that was missing were the two people to make it whole.
She makes me think the weirdest things, things that seem almost foreign to my mind. But the smile on her face when I called this place home was reward enough. I was coming to trust that lightness in her step and the almost permanent smile at the edges of her lips. I have no answers as to why the change, but I’ll take it.
For the rest of the week things went smoothly and we settled into a routine of sorts. There was no word from Robert and the judge had given her the restraining order only the day before which meant the cops should be passing it onto him any day now.
She was jumpy and nervous that Friday night so I took her out for a ride. I didn’t tell her that Drew had found out some information about Robert, or what I planned to do with that information. I did find it odd that we could live in a town the size of ours and people could still keep certain things secret and separate from one another.
“You doing okay?” I reached for her hand and held it against me knee. She’d been unusually quiet since we got in the truck. “Are you worried about him getting the order?”
She turned towards me and her hand felt weak in mine.
“I read some things during my lunch break today. Sometimes these things don’t end well. I think that’s one of the reasons I was afraid to do it before. Sometimes it seems to accelerate behaviors you know.”
“I get it, you think he’ll come after you. But remember, I’m here, and we have the security cameras set up. Why don’t you take out your phone and check, see if there’s been any activity since we left?” She seemed to perk up at that and took her hand away from mine to reach for her bag.