AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Does it matter?”
What the hell did I ever do to this guy? “What do you mean?”
“You couldn’t tell us apart in high school—even though none of us look anything alike. So what difference does it make if it was Noah, Levi or…Elliot,” he adds quietly and my heart aches.
“Elliot,” I whisper.
He tosses a towel set on the bed for me. “These look new enough.”
I watch him vacantly. “Chase, I know what it’s like to lose someone very close to you. Really, I—”
“Look, I don’t know why you’re here or how long you’re staying and I don’t care. I was asked to bring you here and now I’m leaving. I’ve got a long ride back to the city.”
He marches out of the room before I have a chance to speak.
I race after him, dodging cobwebs in the dark halls. “Wait—you’re not leaving me here alone?”
“What are you afraid of? Another toad? Maybe you should kiss it and put that veil to good use.”
I swallow and wrap my arms around myself. I should say something. But is there a comeback to being caught with your veil in your bag? I remember shutting people out this same way. I didn’t want pity.
I still don’t.
My eyes are getting heavy and I’m likely on the verge of tears out of pure exhaustion.
He brushes his hair back. “It was a joke. Look that was an odd occurrence, okay? Guarantee you there isn’t a toad infestation here. Maybe a spider or two, but I haven’t had a chance to hire anyone to clean it out.”
My eyes shut for a moment as I remember what that was like—and how unfair it was. “Why you?”
“Because he left it to me.”
“I’m sorry,” I croak.
For the first time—well ever, Chase Reeves looks up at me like I’m the only one who gets it.
And I very well may be.
He sighs and moves back to the linen closet, pulling at a thin throw blanket. He then moves to the bed and snatches one of the two pillows.
“I’ll be on the couch. But if you stay here another night, you’re on your own.”
3
If ever there was a motivator to get me to clean up or clean out my brother’s place, the stench of this sofa is it.
My back is sore, and I’m relieved there’s no game tonight. But I need to see my physical therapist first thing when I get back to the city.
I stretch my muscles and groan. I give the hard couch a pat as I push off to stand. “Yep. You’re on the everything must go list.”
Behind me, I hear the tearing of fabric and turn with a scowl. “The hell are you doing?” I bark at Pepper, who’s tearing off a sizable piece of the black silk curtain.
She pauses mid tear. She’s in a thin white t-shirt I assume must have been under that pink hoodie she wore yesterday and the same pink velour pants. Her brown eyes are brighter and with the morning sun streaming through the windows, I catch a hint of green in them when they widen at my tone. She scans herself as if the answer is obvious. “I don’t have another outfit. I can’t walk around in the same thing I wore yesterday.”
I shake my head. So many questions.
“First, the three people you saw yesterday aren’t going to remember what you were wearing. Second, those are my brother’s curtains, have you no respect?”
“You just said everything had to go. Surely, you’re not thinking of keeping these?”
