“I do. And I’m really smart, so…”
Chuckling again, I say, “How’s this for honest? I love you, my friend.”
“That’s a great start. I love you too.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.
~ Elvis Presley
The next morning, I wake to a text from Lauren.Just checking in to see how you are.
Raw. Sorry. Ashamed.
I was worried about that. You want to talk?
No, but thank you, my friend. I'm sure you have a client waiting and I need to face myself alone.
Promise you won’t stay alone with this too long? And you’ll call if you need me, no matter what time of day or night?
Yes to both.
Okay, then. Get on with it. Take a day to say goodbye to that scared liar and usher in a brave new era of Abby.
I laugh, then cry a little, then text her back.The next time you see me, I’ll have a cape and a lasso of truth—but I’ll only use it on myself. ;)
I cannot wait.
Even though it’s Thursday, Liam and Olive won’t be coming. Liam has to go to Halifax for some kind of appointment, which will take the entire day. Olive is at her grandparents’ until tomorrow night. I'm grateful for the time on my own. I need to think and sleep and think some more. I woke up around two o'clock with the entire ugly conversation playing on a loop in my mind.
How did I get to be this old without knowing myself at all? My ability to bullshit everyone, even myself, is almost terrifying. I start the day with a long soak in the bath, then sit at my desk for a while, only to find that I'm too emotionally raw to write the next chapter of my book—Beatrice and Ian's first kiss. After wandering around the house, I go out and pull some weeds in the front flower beds, needing something mindless to do.
I'm not out long before I hear the sound of tires crunching on my driveway. When I look up, I see Colton riding up on his bicycle. I stop what I'm doing and stand.
"Hey, Abby," he says as casually as if he were just here yesterday.
"Hi. I thought you were down in sunny California?"
Shrugging, he says, "Didn't work out. Turns out it was kind of a scam." He stops his bike near me and puts one foot down to balance himself. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, California was a bad idea.”
My shoulders drop. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Not as sorry as I am. All the money I made is gone, plus I owe my parents for my flight home."
"Well, that’s shitty,” I say.
Colton laughs, looking a little shocked, then his face falls again. "It really is. I thought those guys were my friends, you know? I played with them for like, over a year.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Okay,” he says, getting off his bike and planting himself on the grass.
I do my best to hide my surprise, then sit down next to him and wait.
“It’s just so fucking embarrassing, you know?” he says, then he looks up. “Sorry, I hope you don’t mind if I say fuck.”
“I said shitty, so…”
