Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69413 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
“Damn it,” I muttered under my breath, stopping in my tracks.
I didn’t want to go inside. There was nothing for me in this house, other than a tiny bedroom and the smell of stale beer.
I turned around, heading straight back down the walkway and along the street, walking the few short blocks to the ocean. Our house wasn’t on a particularly ideal portion of the water, because the beaches had more rocks than sand around here and it wasn’t a nice tourist destination.
The moment I stepped foot on the shore, though, I knew it was all I had been needing. I yanked off my boots and socks, my feet finally free after being trapped for sixteen hours. I pulled off my shirt next, tossing it in a pile by the steps that led down to the beach.
I let the breezy night air hit my skin, closing my eyes for a moment and pulling in a long breath of ocean scent. The waves lapped at the dark rocks, and I found a small patch of sand and plopped down onto my ass.
I didn’t care if I got damp or sandy. My clothes were already covered in grease, and I couldn’t care anymore.
For the first time since being home, I remembered myself.
The beach had a way of erasing everything else in the world, if only for a moment. Even if I felt rotten and unlovable, I at least always felt like I belonged, when I was by the water.
That had to be enough.
After staring out at the foam on the waves for who knew how long, my phone buzzed in my front pocket. My heart kicked in my chest.
Would it be another distress call from Mom about her hip or about money? Would it be work, or my roommates, or a damn bill collector asking about similar things?
Or would it be Landry, probably sending me the last message I’d ever see from him?
In another minute, I summoned the courage to pull my phone out of my pocket. I glanced at the screen and when I saw it was Landry, my heart rate doubled.
I opened it up.
It was a photo of a cat—not just any cat, but probably one of the more adorable ones I’d ever seen in my entire life. He was grey all over other than a patch of white between his eyes and two white paws up front. His eyes were wide in the photo, and one paw was outstretched toward a radiant orange tulip. It looked like he was playing with the tulip bud like it was a toy on a string.
Sprinkle, Landry’s beloved neighborhood stray.
A smile spread across my face and the sensation almost felt unfamiliar.
I probably hadn’t smiled like that in days, I realized.
I let out a breath that I hadn’t realized I’d been holding, wiping away a tear that had fallen down my cheek at the same time I smiled wide.
My hands were shaking a little again, but for a different reason this time. I let my thumb hover over the phone button on Landry’s message, pausing for a beat, feeling like the fate of the world was hanging in the balance.
And then I let my thumb down. The phone started ringing, and I held up my phone to my ear, forcing my hands to be steady. My heart was a drum in my chest as I waited one ring, then two, then three.
“Jamie,” came Landry’s voice when he finally picked up, and it was as if every cell in my body relaxed, just a little, hearing that familiar sound.
“Hi,” I managed to say.
“Is… everything all right?” he asked, his tone kind.
“Yeah, yeah. Things are okay. In this moment, at least. They haven’t exactly been very good for the past few days.”
He hummed on the other end of the line, and I could feel that he didn’t know what to say. I sure as shit had no clue what to say either. I hadn’t planned any of this out, to say the least. I hadn’t even thought I’d be calling him until the moment I’d noticed the little green button, right there on my phone.
“Hey, no, that’s not food, you little beast,” I heard Landry saying quietly on the other end of the line, and I could picture it now.
“Is Sprinkle trying to eat your tulips?” I asked.
“He sure as hell is,” Landry said, and I heard a faint mew sound a moment later. “That’s right, you. Eat the cat food instead.”
“You feed him sometimes?” I asked.
“I buy him the best cat food in the store,” Landry confirmed. “Sprinkle eats like a king around here.”
I puffed out a laugh. “No wonder he likes you so much.”
Landry sighed. “Is that how I can get you to like me again, Jamie? Should I feed you some cat food, and then everything will finally fucking make sense to me again?”