Total pages in book: 103
Estimated words: 99313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99313 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 497(@200wpm)___ 397(@250wpm)___ 331(@300wpm)
Noah doesn’t glance up as he flips through a stack of mail on the table. “Have you talked to him?” He doesn’t specify who him is, but he doesn’t have to.
Carter dominates both of our thoughts. I may have lost my boyfriend, but Noah lost his best friend.
“No.” I shake my head. “He won’t return my texts.”
I bite my lip, not wanting to ask. If I were smart, I’d drop the subject and move on. At least pretend to move on.
Fake it until you make it, right?
“Have you?” The question slips out before I can stop it.
He shifts from one foot to the other and avoids eye contact. “I saw him at football practice.”
Oh, yeah. Right.
He glances up and shrugs. “And I was here the other day when he stopped by to pick up more stuff.”
Pain blooms in my chest like a gunshot wound. I honestly can’t imagine surviving this. “So, he’s just not going to live here anymore?”
“I don’t know, Daze. I told him that he didn’t have to stay there.” Noah’s lip curls. “He’s sleeping on Owen’s couch and there’s a shit ton of people coming and going at all hours.”
“Does he hate me that much?” The thought is so painful that it’s a miracle I’m still standing upright.
“He doesn’t hate you. He’s just…” Noah shakes his head. “I don’t know what the hell he’s doing. It’s like something snapped inside him. He’s got it in his head that he’s just like his dad and nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve tried talking sense into him, but he won’t listen to me.”
“He won’t talk to me, Noah.” My shoulders droop. “He doesn’t want anything to do with me.”
“I know,” he says. “I think he just needs time to work everything out in his head.”
“I hope you’re right.” Not wanting my cousin to see the wetness that has gathered in my eyes, I turn away.
I’m willing to give Carter his space, but there’s only so much I can take before I’m forced to admit defeat and walk away.
I fear time is running out.
40
DAISY
Islide onto my seat for sociology just as Dr. Stein shuffles through a handful of papers at the podium and glance around the room looking for Carter, but don’t see him. Last week, he would sneak in at the last minute and then quietly slip out again as soon as class was dismissed. Since it was obvious that he wasn’t ready to talk, I gave him his space. But now we’re into the second week and nothing has changed. He’s still crashing at the football house. The only time he ventures to the apartment is when he knows I’m not there.
Does he really need to go to such lengths to avoid me?
Well, I’m done letting Carter skulk around campus and hide from me.
Five minutes into class, I take another peek around the room and discover that Carter has parked himself in the last row right next to the door. For the rest of the hour, I sit and stew. A mixture of emotions roils through me. I’m sad that it’s come to this. I genuinely miss Carter. For years he’s been a part of my life. Sure, he used to annoy the hell out of me, but he was always there. Then we got together, and our relationship shifted. It became more than I ever dreamed possible and now…
Now it’s gone.
A void has been created in his absence. One that is impossible to fill.
I’m barely paying attention to the lecture when Dr. Stein calls on me to answer a question. My day goes from bad to worse as I stumble through an explanation. The more I grasp at straws, the more Dr. Stein’s brows slide together.
By the time I’m done rambling, I want to sink through my chair and vanish.
Five minutes prior to class ending, I pack up my bag and wait impatiently for her to release us. The moment our professor signals the end of class, I jump from my seat, ready to fly out of the room so that I can catch Carter before he disappears. It doesn’t take super sleuthing skills to realize that he intends to ditch me.
Again.
“Daisy, would you mind sticking around for a few minutes, please?”
Everything within me deflates at the sound of Dr. Stein’s voice. Carter turns, his gray gaze latching onto mine. Sadness passes over his face as he slips through the lecture hall door.
I’m so frustrated that I’m tempted to swear a blue streak. Instead of doing exactly that, I plaster a smile on my face as I turn and walk down the steps to the lectern. “What’s up?”
She shuffles a few papers around and tucks them into a sleek burgundy briefcase. “How’s everything going, Daisy?”
I boost my smile and lie through my teeth. “It’s good. Why?”