Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
But maybe he doesn’t understand that, “It’s also cold, Matty. It’s late November. We could freeze to death in a treehouse.”
“We won’t freeze to death. It has walls, electricity, and a fireplace. It even has a view. You’ll be perfectly safe,” he says, pushing on before I can speak, “Much safer than if Wimpy finds you and decides to take out his frustrations with me on someone he thinks I care about.”
“Oh,” I say, studying the top of Clyde’s head as I stroke the fur behind his ears, not wanting Matty to see how much that hurt.
Someone he thinks Matty cares about…
But Matty doesn’t actually care. He cares enough not to let me die or get beaten to a bloody pulp by a crazed mobster, but not enough to date me or even call me a friend.
That hurts.
It hurts so much, I can’t look up when Matty adds, “It won’t matter that you aren’t really my girlfriend. Wimpy thinks you are and once he gets something stuck in his thick head, it stays there. Which means, until I can get back on his good side, you need to stay off his radar.”
“I have to call Gram,” I whisper. “She’ll be worried. And if you think this is going to take more than a night or two, I should call Aaron, too. See if he can take a couple days off to be with her until I get back. She’s fine on her own in the house, but she can’t drive, and I’m pretty sure we need groceries.”
“You should call Aaron,” Matty says without hesitation. “In case Wimpy figures out where you live, I’d feel better knowing your Gram has someone with her. I don’t think he’d hurt her,” he hurries to add when I look up with a no-doubt terrified expression, “but he could scare her if she spotted him walking around outside or looking through the windows. If he sees your brother in there, he’ll stay away. That’s how Wimpy got his nickname. He’s massive, but he’s a coward. He only picks on people smaller and weaker than he is.”
“I think I hate him,” I say, the words making me sad. “And I don’t hate anyone.”
“Well, if you’ve decided to start, he’s a good candidate,” Matty says, before adding in a softer voice, “and I’m not ransoming Clyde. I’m keeping the Sweetwaters from ransoming Clyde and will return him to his owner as soon as possible. I don’t believe in kidnapping. Or catnapping.”
Chest tightening, I nod. “I knew it. And I’m glad.”
“Yeah, well…” He glances up as thicker clouds roll in from the west. “We should get going. Not as much light in the evening this time of year. You can call Gram and Aaron on the way, but don’t tell them who you’re with or what’s really happening. Tell them you have to go help a sick friend out of town or something.”
“I’ll tell them it’s a work emergency, and I have to go track down a shipment of sweaters in Chicago,” I say, climbing into the SUV with the now sleeping Clyde still cradled against me. I carefully shift him to my other side as I buckle in. “It’s happened before, but I keep using the same company. They’re disorganized, but they hire actual adult workers instead of little kids to work in their factory so…”
Matty stands in the door, watching me for a beat after I’m ready to roll. “You’re a good person.”
I give a little shrug. “I try.”
“You succeed,” he says, sadness in his eyes. “I’m sorry I got you mixed up in all this.”
“You didn’t,” I say. “You tried to warn me. I didn’t listen.”
“I should have tried harder. Once this mess is smoothed over, I promise I’ll stay far away from you. No matter what.”
“Okay,” I say softly, trying not to let the fact that my stomach is bottoming out show on my face. Matty’s made it clear he doesn’t share my feelings. The quicker I wrap my stubborn head around that, the better.
But it still hurts.
It hurts the entire drive back down the gravel road, across miles and miles of smooth pavement, and back onto gravel again. But at least my calls to Gram and Aaron go smoothly—Gram clearly thinks I’m going on a spontaneous fornication vacation with Sam, no matter how many times I assure her that I’m actually headed to Chicago, and Aaron says it won’t be a problem to take leave. He has a couple days off from practice already, so he plans to fly in from Iowa tonight, rent a car, and be at our house by midnight, before the storm he says is bearing down on the region.
After I hang up with my brother, I briefly consider telling Matty about the storm, but he probably already knows. And I doubt it would change his mind about the whole “treehouse” thing anyway. Matty is nearly as stubborn as I am.