Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
Are you joking? she texts back. I can almost hear the vitriol in her voice.
Sorry I write back.
There’s a long pause before her next reply – long enough that I start to wonder if she’s going to reply at all. When she doesn’t, that’s when she’s really angry.
Well, there goes my dinner plans.
Sure, I’m making this all up, but if I wasn’t, Delilah would be guilt tripping me over something completely out of my control, and that’s just completely not okay. I bet if I showed Yara these texts, she’d have something to say about them.
Sorry, I text back. She won’t respond again – I know that.
Next, I send a text to my longtime friend Jim asking if he wants to hang out after work, to which he enthusiastically replies that he would. I don’t get much time to see Jim anymore now that Delilah takes up so much of my time, which I hate, considering he’s been my best friend since high school and has always been there for me. He’s also the only one I’ve told about Clint forcing me into dating his daughter.
“Pete!” I call out to my boss, who’s finishing up putting a caliper back on a Ford F-150. “You need me for anything else?”
“Finish up that genius’s donut?” he asks with a chuckle.
“He’s good to go,” I reply. “Until his next blowout.”
“Then you’re set. I’ll see ya tomorrow.”
“Thanks!” I grab my coat off the wall and head to my car.
Jim looks at me like he’s seen a ghost when I knock and he opens the door to his apartment.
“Holy shit, there he is!” He throws his arms around me and yanks me in for the biggest bro-hug I’ve ever experienced.
“How you doing, man?” I laugh.
“I thought she’d killed you,” Jim replies. “I thought that crazy girl had finally had her dad cut your dick off and choke you to death with it.”
He backs up and looks at me, shaking his head like a proud father whose son has just returned from the war – or maybe just done really well in a soccer game.
“Still here.” I shrug with a smile, feeling suddenly exposed. But Jim, always knowing how to read a situation, hands me a cold beer and ushers me inside.
“Well, get your ass in here, pal. I feel like I haven’t seen you in years.”
I nod as we go over to the couch. “Well, you know what it is.”
“It’s that woman of yours,” Jim says, taking a swig of his drink. “And her criminal overlord father. Don’t you think it’s time to put those two in your rear view?”
“Yeah, I’m thinking it might be,” I reply
“Say what?” Jim almost jokes on his beer. “Damn, bro. I never expected that to come out of your mouth.”
“Me neither…” I take a sip of my drink and sit back. I feel as though my life has changed so much in the last couple of days that it’s almost like I’m an entirely new man. And by the way Jim’s looking at me right now, he can tell.
“Bro, what’s going on?”
I need to say it.
I want to say it.
But it’s a lot harder than just letting the words bounce around in my head. Vocalizing what’s on my mind would put that truth that I now know out into the world, and that’s going to change everything.
But I have to. It’s why I came here.
“I can’t do it anymore. I can’t just be his bitch and do his bidding. Not after what’s happened.” I thought the words would sting coming out of my lips. I thought I’d get that sinking feeling in my stomach that you get when you say something really difficult.
But to my surprise, it’s like a massive calm comes over me once they’ve left my mouth, and I’m staring at the world through new eyes.
Jim’s eyes light right up like he can’t believe what he’s hearing.
“Bro!” he blurts out, clapping me on the shoulder. “I cannot believe you just said that. What brought this on? You take some shrooms and have a revelation or something?”
“Not quite.” I laugh and take a few minutes to relay the story to him about coming upon Yara on the side of the road, the truckers and me kicking the shit out of them, and how I’ve got her hidden up in my apartment, unable to tell Delilah about it. When I’m finished, Jim’s got this sly look in his eye.
“What?” I ask.
“So it’s her. You’ve got a thing for her.”
“Yeah,” I reply. “I guess I do.”
“You guess?” he laughs. “Bro, you’re ready to knock her up and make her have fifteen of your babies!”
Jim’s always been the yin to my yang, and I guess that’s why I knew I had to come over here after work today. We’re both cracking up and I have to set my beer on the coffee table so I don’t spill it.