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ed it back together with his blood still covering my knuckles

If I opened the box, it would be the last gift I ever got froot to see ift and wrap it Sometimes it was only in newspaper, but the look on her face when I peeled back the paper always made whatever was inside extra special It was stupid not to open it For all I knoas a box of decade old Tastykakes, but I couldn’t bring h that paper

I flicked the business card froent back and forth in my hand Jerseys were tacked to the walls from charity events the team had run My lucky number eleven on a few I’d have a jersey like one of those in a year from now, if I didn’t fuck up

The card stock thwipped against my palm Before my rational brain took over, I snatched my phone up off the bed and made the call

In less than an hour, I had an agent A businessin my bank account

And a private investigator on the case with the full run down of everything I could rehn

I’d accepted ent and if anyone found out I was toast and so was the FU season Everything I’d worked for to set myself up andcould be destroyed in the blink of an eye to track down soht not even want to see , or maybe she couldn’t find me, but Mom hadn’t tracked me down so far, and I needed to know this I needed to find out why she’d givendown roots easier Finally, having the stability I’d longed for

It wasback now It was done

I sat against ainst the wall

Jules’ shadow moved across her bedroomThe shades were always drawn, but her silhouette was backlit like the perfect torture device Her ar in a circle, but was cut off by the edge of theI could al laundry, a dryer sheet tucked inside so it always s back and forth with flashcards to study She was definitely that kind of person

My night was restless

My bed felt e the warmth of someone else in the room Not just anyone—Jules

My mind wandered to the curly-haired brunette across the street

I flipped onsun would blind me and despite the fact that it made me feel like a stalker

Jules had her shade down Did it feel weird for her to be sleeping in a bed alone after the two nights besidesoundly with one of her legs thrown over a pilloishing it was rip, man