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"I’ll be fine," I assured her
"Who wants to be fine all the ti "Be crazy Have a fling Get that asshat Harris out of your systeood roet the prick and hed, not quite knohat to do with this new Emerson She had turned into the eternal optimist who believed in love and happily ever after
But so had a kernel of truth I’d just had a taste of what she was describing with Logan, and Harris’s memory was already dimmer When I did think of Harris these days, it ithtime, but habit had kept me chained to hiether
Could a roan exorciseToo bad it couldn’t happen Any other guy,with Reece’s younger brother and keep it uncomplicated
She pressed a quick kiss to ood for you"
"Yeah?" I asked as she irlfriend, the perfect daughter forever Maybe you need to spend the summer and just find the perfect you" She s And they did
I’d always viewed , smart, and independent, but she’d just called me out I was a fake--not nearly as independent as I had pretended to be I could think of no reply
"I’ll text you," she said, her s through e And yet she’d thrown the me to see them "Bye"
The door clicked shut after her Alone in our empty suite, I fell back on the barethe idea of irl who didn’t have to worry about what her parents thought A girl without a hovering boyfriend
I could be anyone I wanted
Chapter 7
I’D BEEN TO REECE’S apartment above Mulvaney’s once before Pepper had cooked dinner and we’d played cards afterward to the quiet rumble of the bar below us
The apartht They had left the bed, futon, kitchen table, andnew stuff for their new place Even with the basic furniture, all the little flourishes that had raphs and wall art Reece’s bike in the corner The books crammed into the bookcase It felt like an echo of what it had been before
The bar was a low murmur underand hanging clothes, stopping occasionally to eat some of the fried pickles that the cook had forced on h the kitchen to take the stairs up to the apart to pack on the pounds living above Mulvaney’s kitchen--hoer, and Fried Pickle Chips with Chipotle Ranch Sauce
Pepper had made sure I met all the staff earlier when I arrived this afternoon Those ere on the clock anyway Mike was the hts, and the cook, a forly--just Cook
I’d seen Mike and Karla plenty of ti out at Mulvaney’s-- Mulvaney’s after firstReece Since Harris and I broke up, I hadn’t been here as often, figuring that any guys I met here wouldn’t be the kind I was interested in Good, studious types that I could bring hoht home would have to be pretty spectacular, at least in my parents’ eyes, to replace Harris Especially since Mo up on the idea of Harris andwhen I finally finished arranging the apart was put away and organized Emerson called me anal Granted she was a er, but I had been raised to be tidy and organized It was si Clothes had to be color coordinated in the closet Books in alphabetical order in ain, I think it reri hair up into a knot and took a shower, enjoying the fact that this shoice as big as the showers in the dorm I let the warm spray of water beat down on my body and loosen my muscles Once I was out of the shower, I slipped on panties and a soft tank top
Still feeling a little restless, I curled up on the futon, pulling my fuzzy throw blanket over me, and watched so Theory, I turned off the TV and tossed out the re pickle chips As I passed the couch, I noticed that I hadn’t put away everything My guitar, still in its case, sat propped between the futon and the side table I hesitated, staring at it with a funny tightness in my chest
When I’d pulled it out of otten its existence I hadn’t left it at hoet rid of it She had tried to cart it off to Goodwill a few tiround and insisted on keeping it For some reason, she had always capitulated Mostly, I think, because she never saw me pull it out and play it anymore That would have concerned her and forced her hand So I ignored it foron the couch, I pulled it out of the case and brought the co the colorful blue-and-green-patterned strap beforefilled ers instinctively went to the knobs, stru the knobs until the sound was just right
When I had it perfect, I played a few chords of "Landslide" I s o I shouldn’t have, but I couldn’t stop o Surrendered to that part of methe part of myself that reminded my mother so much of my father The part that terrified her