Page 25 of Puck Me Back to Life

The corner of his mouth twitches. “I know. It's a controversial hobby.”

A laugh escapes me before I can stop it. Interesting. There's a person in there after all.

I point toward the book. “What's it about?”

Hayes blinks. “You've never heard of it?”

“No.”

His expression shifts into something between disbelief and amusement. “It's one of the most famous novels ever written.”

“That doesn't answer my question.”

He closes the book around a bookmark. “It's about a sailor who's falsely imprisoned for years. He escapes, finds a fortune, reinvents himself, and spends the rest of the book getting revenge on the people who ruined his life.”

I stare at him for a second. “That is unbelievably depressing.”

Immediately, Hayes shakes his head. “No, it isn't.”

I laugh. “The guy gets thrown in prison for years.”

“Then he escapes.”

“And becomes obsessed with revenge.”

Hayes smirks. “He's very good at it.”

“That doesn't make it less depressing.”

Hayes actually smiles. A real smile this time. “It's hopeful.”

“That is not the word I would've chosen. The main character loses everything!”

“He gets it back.”

“Through elaborate revenge, I assume?”

“You're focusing on the wrong parts.”

The smile grows slightly. God. There really is a sense of humor buried under all that sadness.

I lean back in my chair.

“So what? You just sit around reading—What is it?” I pick up the book to read the author’s name. “Russian suffering all day?”

“Sometimes French suffering.”

“That's somehow worse.”

Hayes laughs softly. The sound surprises both of us. For a brief moment, I catch a glimpse of who he might have been before everything happened. Not the ghost that wanders around the rink. Not the tragedy everyone whispers about. Just a guy. A funny one, apparently.

Before I can think about it too much, I point at the book. “Recommend me something.”

Hayes pauses. “What?”

“A book.”

His eyebrows lift. “You want a recommendation?”