Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94609 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
“Can people die from being too high?” she asked, completely solemn, which made me laugh again. She placed a hand on my forearm. “Theo, I’m being serious. Am I dying? Oh my gosh, I can feel my eyeballs.” She gasped, covering her eyes with her hands.
“You can’t feel your eyeballs, Willow.”
“I can. I feel them.” She started mumbling in her hands like a weirdo, then she dropped her hands into her lap. “You know what sounds good? A vegan pizza.”
“A vegan pizza never sounds good.”
“Yes, it does. With pepperoni!”
“I hate to break it to you, but pepperoni isn’t vegan.”
She pursed her lips together, seemingly falling into deep thought. “Oh yeah.” She giggled some more, slumping back against her seat. I hated that I didn’t hate the sound as much as I should’ve. “Are you high, too?”
“I’m not high, too.”
“Why aren’t you high?”
“I didn’t eat Matt Turner’s brownies.”
“Why didn’t you stop me from eating Matt Turner’s brownies?”
I shrugged. “I figured you knew what type of brownies you were eating when you took them from a guy like Matt Turner.”
“Oh.” She pouted. That was sort of cute, too. “Am I dying, Theo?”
“You’re not dying, Willow.”
Her pout deepened. “Do I annoy you?”
“Yes, but don’t take it personally. All people annoy me.”
She laughed. “You sound like my brother-in-law. He hates people, too.”
“Sounds like a smart man.”
She kept staring at me, and I noticed as I kept my eyes on the road.
“It’s rude to stare.”
“Sorry, can’t help it.” She continued to fiddle with her fingers. “You know what?”
“I bet you’ll tell me.”
“One day, we’re going to be friends, Theo. I just know it.”
“Don’t hold your breath.”
She blew air into her cheeks like a chipmunk.
Christ, this woman would be the death of me if she had her way.
I brushed a thumb against my nose as one recurring thought shot through my head. “Peter’s an asshole,” I blurted out.
She tilted her head toward me. “I thought you were the asshole.”
“I am,” I replied. “But I’m a different kind of asshole. He’s…” I took a deep breath, thinking about my cousin and the jerk he’d been. He’s a real asshole type of asshole, not just an asshole like me. “Just be careful around him, all right?”
“Oh…” Her voice dipped low, and a sweet grin found her. “It sounds like you care about my well-being.”
“I don’t.”
“Right, right.” She nodded dramatically. “Because you’re an asshole.”
“Correct. A total dick.”
She smiled and turned to look out the window. “Theo?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really freaking high.”
I smirked when she wasn’t looking.
Fucking fairy.
When we got home, Willow trailed me into the house. I grabbed a few beer cans from the fridge and tossed on a sweatshirt.
“Do you want to eat dinner together?” she asked, following me around like a damn puppy who wanted love.
“Nah,” I replied, opening the back door. “Going fishing.”
“I have some free time before the party tonight,” she expressed.
“Okay?” I didn’t know why she told me that because I didn’t care.
She stepped closer to me. “Can I go fishing with you?”
“No.” I shook my head, and I felt her frown without even looking at her. I glanced over my shoulder and grimaced. “Willow?”
“Yes?”
“You can have my cookies in the fridge. Sober up before the party.”
“And then I can go fishing with you?” she asked with hope in her eyes.
“Nope.”
After fishing for less than an hour, I’d received a text message from Peter asking me where Willow was. He said he’d shown up at the house and there was no answer. I sat in the middle of the lake, wanting nothing more than to be left alone. I’d also wished that Peter wouldn’t text me. The only reason his number wasn’t blocked was because if something happened to his son, Jensen, I’d want to know. Otherwise, I’d tell him to fuck all the way off.
I read his message repeatedly but didn’t reply.
She’s fine, I told myself, looking in the direction of my place. She’s a grown-up.
That was putting it nicely, though. She was hardly an adult when it came to her livelihood, and she lived as if she wasn’t terrified of death. Diving naked off cliffs in the middle of the night. Eating random brownies from strangers. Considering dates with fucking Peter.
Willow was the definition of childlike, just like Grandma. That stressed me out more than anything. It was like having a toddler who had to touch everything and talk to everyone. I bet Grandma put PaPa through the wringer when they were younger. Whenever I asked if Grandma was a handful for PaPa, he’d smile and shrug. “What can I say? She’s my vibrant rainbow.”
I wasn’t one for much color in my life. I liked my neutrals.
I kept staring at the house.
I’d hardly caught any fish.
She’s fine. She’s good. She’s an independent woman.
“Dammit,” I muttered once before packing things up to head back toward the house to check on the problem child. I knew I wouldn’t be able to fish in peace while wondering if she was okay. Sure, I was an asshole, but I wasn’t a massive asshole. Just a regular ole asshole.