Why did I say that?
Because I was a jerk.
Because I was immature.
Because I thought I was tough when I was really a fool.
Because I wanted her for myself, but she wasn’t mine, and I could feel that killing me day in, day out.
Taylor tried to shove me, but I knocked him away. He hit the car, and the alarm went off.
“Taylor, you don’t want to take me on, and you know it,” I said. I didn’t wait for him to respond. I hurried upstairs and packed my bag for New York.
I sent Mom a message telling her I wouldn’t be home that night, strapped on my backpack and hopped on my motorcycle. I’d finally finished repairing it the week before, but I hadn’t wanted to use it because of the snow and cold. My leather jacket didn’t do much to keep me warm, and by the time I left the bike in the parking garage at the airport, I was shivering.
I didn’t have to check a bag, so I had a lot of time to wait. Finally, they called for boarding, and I got on and found my seat. I’d booked a cheap room in Brooklyn so I could reach the girl’s school on the subway without having to walk a thousand miles to get to Williamsburg. I got to my hotel around midnight. I had Amelia Warner’s number in my phone. I wanted to call her—I was desperate to find out as soon as possible what the hell was going on—but I knew it was best to wait until the next day. I did send a message to one important person, though.
For once in your life, I’m begging you, listen to me and don’t trust Julian. I promise I’ll explain soon enough.
I got no response.
I had a bad feeling when I went to bed. I couldn’t stop thinking to myself that whatever I discovered the next day, it was bound to change everything.
***
The alarm sounded early. I still didn’t know how exactly I was going to convince this girl to talk to me, but I did know I’d have to get out of bed first.
The hotel was a dump, and I had tossed and turned all night; the mattress was nothing more than a jumble of springs sticking out in every direction. I got dressed and hurried out before dawn to soak up that amazing, chaotic city.
My plan was to try to intercept Amelia on her way out of school. According to what I could find on the internet, classes ended at three. Since I had time to kill, I took the subway to Manhattan, and in half an hour I was strolling around Central Park. The cold had let up a bit, and at twelve, I took a seat on a bench and started reading a half-finished book. As I did, I heard a soft voice, and I looked up to see an attractive woman talking to her son, who must have been around four or five years old.
I said son, but who knew—maybe he was her little brother? Because she was pretty young—a few years older than me at most.
“Noah, come on!” came a man’s voice further up the path. “It was supposed to be funny.”
“Don’t listen to him, Andy, we’re staying right here,” she said to the little boy. “To hell with Daddy, right?”
“Yeah, to hell with Daddy.”
Noah seemed to regret those words as soon as they came back at her from the little boy’s mouth. Her cheeks turned red, and shesaid, “Good lord, son, you don’t have to repeat everything that comes out of Mama’s mouth.”
“Daddy, Mama’s mad at you!” the boy yelled. I caught a glimpse of his face under his wool hat. He had striking sky-blue eyes.
“No kidding. Who’d have ever guessed?” the father said. By now he had walked back to where they were standing. They looked like a typical rich couple without a care in the world. She was pretty and young and looked sweet. He was the stereotype of a Wall Street stockbroker in his impeccable suit and polished shoes. He took hold of the little boy’s hand.
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Couldn’t at least one of them have been ugly or old?
“Freckles, it was a joke, OK?”
“There was nothing funny about it!” she said, showing some gall under that sweetness.
“But everyone was laughing,” the guy said, covering the kid’s ears so he wouldn’t hear them arguing.
“Yeah, laughing at me! You find that amusing, do you now?”
“They were laughingwithyou, babe.”
“Don’t you dare call mebaberight now!” she said, pointing a finger at him. “I’m going back to the apartment right now to call all the guests and cancel that goddamned fucking party, you’d better believe it!”
