Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 54287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54287 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 271(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
“Shit.” He groans.
I laugh. “She loves you. She misses her baby boy.”
“Har, har, Abby. So what about you? What have you been up to?”
I roll my eyes, not ready to get into this conversation. “We’ll have to talk about my life another time. I need to get back into my classroom.”
He groans. “Puleeze, Abby Campbell. I know you better than anyone. We can discuss your life in about two seconds.”
“Really? You think so?”
There’s a loud noise on the other end and then a slamming of the door. “Absolutely. Because you don’t have a life.”
I shouldn’t care what he thinks, but of course I’m not going to just let that slide. “I have a life. I actually have a pretty busy life. You would be surprised by how many activities Alexis has.”
His tone is bored. “Oh, I know. Your six-year-old has more of a life than you do. Face it, Abby. You work, hang out with our parents, and take your daughter to all her things, and that’s it. You don’t go out with your friends—”
I interrupt him because even though he’s right about a lot of those things, I do have friends. “Uh, I do go out with my friends. My book club—”
He starts to cackle, and the sound is completely obnoxious. “My book club is great. We—”
He interrupts me again, and I try not to get mad. “You read books. You meet up with friends to read books.”
I look in my classroom again, and it looks like Julian completely has it under control. “We do more than read books, thank you very much. We’re actually going out this Friday night.”
“Do you want me to call Red’s Diner to reserve your favorite table for you?”
I grit my teeth. Yes, the book club meets at Red’s quite a bit actually. We’ve tried The Whiskey Whistler, but it was just too loud. I don’t want to be angry, but I am. I’m dealing with all these stupid insecurities, and Zach is not helping matters. What if Davis thinks the same thing about me? Shoot, who am I kidding? He probably does. “I’ll have you know that on Friday, I’m going out with my friends to The Club.”
He starts to laugh but then stops suddenly. “You’re not joking, are you?”
“No, I’m not joking. We’re going.”
He stutters. “To The Club? You’re going to THE club? The one in Jasper? That club?”
I should never have opened my mouth. I only did it because he was getting under my skin, but I should have kept my lips sealed. I blow out a breath, “Yes, THAT club. Our book club has talked about going for a while, but with Natalie and Ally having babies, we thought we should go. Of course, Natalie and Ally are not going. Beau and Austin are not having any of that. But Olivia and Chloe and I are going. I’ll be fine.”
He’s muttering, and I can’t make any sense of it. “Zach, I really have to go.”
“You know I always worry about you. Hell, now I’m probably going to be freaking out come Friday night.”
I roll my eyes. I swear, sometimes he acts like I’m still a child instead of a grown woman. But I do feel bad. I never want him to be thinking about me when he should be worrying about himself. I know what could happen if he was distracted on his job. “Bub, please don’t worry. I promise, I’ll be fine. Olivia’s cousin is an Uber driver, and she’s taking us there and picking us up. I’ll watch my drink, and I won’t go anywhere by myself. I’ll be fine, I promise.”
He’s quiet for so long I almost think he’s hung up. “Zach, you there?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Please be careful, Abbs. You’re the only sister I got, and you’ve sorta grown on me.”
Instantly emotion wells inside me. Knowing what Davis let slip the other day about how my brother was the only one that escaped that mission physically unharmed still has me all in my feels. I suck back a sob. “Oh yeah, same to you, big brother. I’m sorta fond of you. Take care, okay? And Mom keeps saying you’re coming home soon. Alexis is all excited to see her uncle.”
“Fuck, I miss you guys. Okay, I’ll let you get back to class. Take care. Love you, sis.”
I barely get “Love you too” out and he’s hanging up.
I pocket my phone, take a deep breath, and make my way back into my classroom. I stand next to my desk and listen to the conversation around me. They’re comparing a popular song to last night’s chapter in the book. Julian looks at me, and I lean against my desk. “No, continue. I want to hear this.”
He excitedly turns to the class, and they keep talking. My thoughts sway to Davis and to my conversation with my brother, but I know I need to focus. I’ve already slacked on my job enough today, and even though this wasn’t the direction I thought class would go today, I am glad to see them critically thinking about the story.