Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Hopelessness like I haven’t felt in a long, long time sits heavy on my shoulders as I walk into the arts building. It feels like the whole universe is conspiring against me.
“Ooh, you look extra grumpy today,” Stella murmurs, falling into step beside me.
I turn and shoot her a withering glare. The last thing I need right now is little Stella Sunshine picking at the scab that is my life.
“No, wait.” She grabs ahold of my wrist and pulls me to a stop. “Not grumpy. You look…distraught. Is everything okay?”
My initial instinct is to lash out at her, but I force a smile onto my face instead. “I’m peachy.”
She crinkles her button nose. “Maybe like a Tim Burton peach. You know, with bugs and a little boy living in it?”
“I got the reference,” I mutter as I take my seat.
Predictably, Stella slides into the spot next to me, and keeps right on talking. “I don’t mean to be rude. I just—”
“You just what?” I cut her off, exasperated with her pep and my whole day.
“I’m just worried about you.” She lowers her gaze, and I immediately feel bad. It’s not her fault my life sucks at the moment.
“You don’t need to worry about me, Stella. You hardly know me.”
She scoffs. “You don’t have to know someone to care about them.”
“Pretty sure you do.” I pull my sketchbook from my bag and place it on the table in front of me.
“Well, I don’t,” she bites back right as Professor Clayton walks in.
She doesn’t waste a second and jumps right back into where we left off on Wednesday. And while sketching isn’t my strong suit, I’m thankful for the reprieve from the ball of sunshine to my right.
By the time class ends, I’m pretty sure Stella’s forgotten all about me. That is, until she turns and asks, “What’s your next class?”
“Marketing,” I mumble as I try to scoot past her.
But she’s not having it. “When?”
I contemplate lying, but despite her overwhelming nature, Stella’s never been anything but nice to me. “Not until two.”
“Perfect.” She loops her arm through mine.
“For what?” I try to tug my arm back, but she’s stronger than she looks.
“For us to get lunch, so we can get to know each other better.” She sets off down the hall, pulling me along. “And so you can tell me what’s bothering you.”
I barely manage to suppress my sigh as we wind through the quad toward the dining hall.
“Come on.” Stella releases me so she can pull the door open. “I have a feeling this calls for pizza.”
My stomach growls loudly at the mere thought of doughy goodness.
Stella smirks, as if to say I told you so. I scowl, but follow her all the same. It’s just lunch with a classmate. It’s pizza—not a commitment to bare my soul to her.
I mean, opening up to her a little wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen, right? Maybe we could even be friends…or something.
“Let’s sit by the window?” Stella asks, once we’re through the line.
“Sure.” I follow her to a two-seater table with a view of the quad.
I don’t waste any time diving into my pizza. You’d think cafeteria pizza would be gross, but this is a slice of cheesy heaven.
Stella doesn’t waste any time either—only instead of eating, she’s back to prying. “So, what’s going on? I’m a really good listener.”
“Um.” I stall by taking another big bite of pizza.
“Okay, let me share something about me first.” She taps her pink-painted nail against her chin. “I’m an education major—which you know—and I’ve lived here my entire life. Literally, my childhood home is like five minutes down the road. I live with my best friend, and I’m dating my older brother’s best friend. I’ve loved him my whole life, and now we’re finally together. It took a long time and a lot of work, but he was totally worth all of the drama and heartache. Oh, and the sex is out of this world.” She pauses, sucks in a deep breath then releases it slowly before taking a small bite of her pizza.
“Wow. That was…a lot.”
“Yeah.” Heat blooms across her cheeks. “But now you know me—or about me, anyway—so you’re not opening up to a complete stranger.”
“You are so…”
“Charming?” she offers when I trail off.
“I was going to say odd. But yeah, you’re kind of charming, too.”
Stella bats her long lashes and takes another bite.
“Fine.” I relent. “When I left this morning, there was an eviction notice on my door.”
“Oh my God!” Her eyes widen and her hand flies to her chest. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head. “No. We have to be out by Sunday.”
“We?” she asks, leaning ever so slightly forward.
“Um.” I swallow hard. “Me and my son.”
“You have a son? How old is he? What’s his name? I bet he’s so cute. Where’s his dad? Do y’all have somewhere to stay?”