Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 60131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60131 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 200(@300wpm)
“See you.” I shut the door.
Tossing the envelope onto the coffee table, I returned to the sofa.
The doorbell rang again.
No. I refuse to get up.
I turned up the volume and focused on the bread pans.
Whoever was standing outside would eventually get the point.
Crick. Crick. Crick!
The lock turned, and Lauren stepped inside.
“You’re looking at a ghost,” I said. “Harlow isn’t home.”
“That makes sense.” She shrugged. “You haven’t answered my calls in over a week.”
“Because I already know what you’re going to say.”
“Enlighten me, then.” She shut the door. “What am I about to say?”
“Millions of things I don’t want to hear.”
“I can’t argue with that.” She nodded. “Before I address them, are you taking care of yourself?”
No. “Of course, I am. I’m not a child, Lauren.”
“You revert to one whenever you’re going through a personal crisis.” She eyed my leaning tower of pizza boxes.
Without saying a word, she pulled a trash bag from her purse and stuffed the boxes inside. Then she wandered down the hall.
The sound of running water echoed off my walls, and the next thing I knew, she was pulling me to my feet and helping me slide under fluffy white suds.
“Take a good, long soak while I straighten this place,” she said. “I’ll make your bed first, in case you want to take a nap when you’re finished.”
“I’m fine, Lauren,” I said. “I don’t need any help, I promise.”
“Then why are you crying?” She wiped stray tears from my cheeks.
“Seasonal allergies. I get those a lot now.”
“I see.” She propped a plastic pillow behind my neck. “So, if I were to leave now, you’d be your normal happy self by tomorrow?”
“No. Not at all…”
“I thought so.” She kissed my forehead. “Soak for as long as you need to.”
She left me alone, and I leaned back in the tub and tried not to sniffle too loudly.
Three crying spells later
I lay in bed while Lauren brushed my hair.
“Do you plan to tell my dad about this?” I asked.
“About what?”
“Me and Pierce breaking up.”
“No.” She tilted my chin to face her. “I didn’t even tell him that you’ve been moonlighting as a nanny and thinking we’re dumb as hell about your nonexistent pastry job.”
“What? How’d you find out?”
She gave me a blank stare.
“Was it that obvious?”
“Well, I thought something was suspicious when we ran into you two at Central Park that day, but I didn’t tie it together until I talked to Sasha later. She seemed to be quite confused when I called her with ideas for her new billionaire-seeking-nanny book.”
“She threw me under the bus?”
“She rolled over you like roadkill and left you splattered in the street.”
“Such a traitor…” I laughed for the first time in weeks.
“I’m glad she exposed your lies. She called me crying this morning because she was extremely concerned about you.” She looked into my eyes. “I’ve told you time and time again that it’s better to tell the truth, Harlow.”
“I know.”
“Did the bath help you feel any better?”
“Only physically.”
“Well, that’s a start. I bought you something from home that might help you mentally.”
“If it’s not a time machine, I doubt it.”
“It’s better than a Time Machine.” She brushed a few stray hairs off my forehead. “Be right back.”
I rolled onto my back and waited for her to return.
“You have a choice between the afternoon or early evening session. Which one do you want?” She held up two tickets to Scared Straight Prison Tours.
“Please tell me those are expired.”
“I bought them before I drove here.” She smiled. “We’re heading there first thing in the morning.”
FIFTY
PIERCE
The following morning
Itucked a blanket around the twins, securing them in their stroller.
They stared at me in confusion, questioning the change in their Sunday morning routine.
“Nan-neeee,” William said.
“Hol-lowww,” Charlotte chimed in.
“No,” I said, stunned that they still called for ‘Hol-low’ every day. “Today’s walk through the park is just us and Olivia. No Harlow, and don’t ask me why. She’s not your friend anymore.”
William shook his Binky Bunny like he understood what I meant, like he was beyond furious.
“I don’t need your permission, son,” I said. “She’s not coming back.”
I pulled down their shade and looked at my watch.
Before I could tell Olivia to hurry, she jumped out of the car. She handed the twins matching cups and motioned for me to walk alongside her.
“Okay, so this week had so much drama that I don’t even know where to start,” she said. “You want the drama with my guy friends or the saga with my girlfriends first?”
I may not be cut out for this.
“I’ll start with the girls.” She chose for me, rattling off the drama like a professional reporter.
When we reached Harlow’s empty storefront, I couldn’t help but stare.
It looked the same as it did weeks ago.
The dream additions she’d mentioned weren’t there, and her plans to paint the front pink had fallen through somehow.