Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93699 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
“Go take care of Penelope, Travis,” she says, tears falling down her cheeks. “We’ll talk again someday.”
She ends the call, and I wait a few seconds before calling her back.
It doesn’t ring, though.
It goes straight to voicemail.
I call her an hour, a day, and a week later, and the result is always the same.
ACT 15 AND A HALF
BACK THEN
TRAVIS
Several Months Later
Manhattan, New York
Penelope opens her eyes for the first time today. She tends to forget that I moved her to another facility to recover and that I’ve never left her side, so I cling to hope that she remembers today.
“Travis?” she asks, slowly turning her head to face me. “Travis?”
“Yeah, Crown?”
“You can get the hell out of my room now.”
“Excuse me?”
“Give me the remote before you leave, so I can talk to the screen instead of you.”
“You do know that I’ve been here every day taking care of you, right?”
“Hayden has been, too.” She shrugs. “I’m still pissed at you for missing out on my last ten or so competitions before Chicago.”
Why are you able to remember that shit but not anything else?
“You haven’t been there for me when I needed you.” She blinks a few times. “Before that, you pretty much ghosted me and left me with Hayden. He’s a manwhore, you know.”
“Be quiet, Crown.” I fluff the pillow behind her head.
“Why did you change your mind at the last minute about coming to the Sochi Olympics?”
I stare at her, wanting to test how much she recalls. “What do you mean?”
“I refuse to believe it was because of some sponsor deal that came up.” She struggles to sit up, so I help her.
“I wasn’t born yesterday, so I know you probably were off doing something else,” she says. “You’d already bought the plane ticket and we’d made an itinerary of things to do together. Then you acted like I was the one in the wrong for being upset.”
“Penelope, it’s complicated.”
“Is it?” The pained look in her eyes makes my heart ache.
“Mom wouldn’t be okay with you changing your mind at the last minute,” she says. “Dad wouldn’t understand it either.”
They both would understand…
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you in Russia.” I kiss her forehead. “If there was any way that I could’ve made it work, I would’ve been there. Promise.”
“Was whatever you did instead that important?”
“I thought so at the time.”
“Like, on the level of life or death?”
“In a way, yes. Someone’s dreams were on the line.”
“You mean, mine?”
“No, Crown.” I kiss her forehead again. “I was already doing everything possible to ensure that you achieved yours.”
Silence.
“I’ll be mad at you about this for a while.” She gestures for me to pick up her memory journal. “But I’ll write a slight amendment about it for your apology, though.”
“Don’t,” I say. “I deserve your wrath on that.”
She sighs, holding her pen mid-air. “Who was on top of the podium in Chicago? I want to know.”
“They didn’t do a formal presentation,” I say. “A certain someone’s health and survival were far more important.”
“I’m sure they listed the standings on the website. I was the last one to skate, so I don’t see why they couldn’t at least do that. Can you pull them up on your phone?”
“Tatiana Brave won first,” I say, knowing she won’t let it rest. “Almost a perfect score.”
“Is she ranked number one in the world right now?”
“Yes.”
“How many competitions has she won since I’ve been in recovery?”
“I’ve lost count.”
“Well…” She sucks in a slow breath and exhales. “That’s good. Very good.”
“Good?” I raise my eyebrow. “Don’t you mean you hate that?”
She shakes her head, staying silent for several moments.
“Can I tell you a secret, Travis?”
“Always.”
“I’ll never admit to saying this, but Tatiana skated better than me on several occasions and I never once worried about losing my ranking until she came along…” She looks wistful. “If I ever had to lose to anyone, she was the only person I could accept that from, because she always made my other competitors look like amateurs.”
“That’s very mature of you, Crown. I’m glad you came to that conclusion.”
“Thanks. She’s still a terrible cunt-faced bitch, though.”
Jesus. “Penelope…”
“And she’s not that pretty.” She shuts her eyes. “Her skating is mediocre at best. At. Best. Why don’t you ever agree with me on that?”
She drifts into a deep sleep, and I hit the lights.
ACT 16
BACK THEN
TRAVIS
Reno, Nevada
A year & a half later
Tatiana is starting a brand new business called Brave Beauty Marks.
I know this because I broke down and read every post on her Instagram account in a drunken rage last night, but I don’t care how pathetic that sounds.
I miss her that fucking much.
After hiring a nurse to look after Penelope for half a day, I flew to Reno to see if enough time had passed for Tatiana to come to her senses and change her mind about us.