Read Online Everything You Need by Evelyn Lyes - Free Book Online Page A

around, passing them with their hands in their pockets and with curved spines, as if they were trying to huddle deeper into the warmth of their clothes. “What do you want to talk with me about?”
    “About Ashton.” Mary fell into step with her.
    “What about Ashton?”
    “The only reason he’s interested in you is because you resemble his former girlfriend.”
    So Kate was his girlfriend. “I know. Kate, right?” Kris said with her eyes fixed on the pavement before her.
    Mary stopped for a second and then she was back at Kris’s side again. “He told you?”
    Kris looked at the brunette and at the surprise written on her face, then without saying anything, she shifted her focus to the road before her.
    “It doesn’t mean anything.”
    Kris agreed. It didn’t mean anything, especially since she had stumbled over Kate’s existence accidentally, but she didn’t tell that to the girl beside her.
    “Just because you know, it doesn’t mean anything,” Mary said, her voice laced with stubbornness. “So he told you and you look like her, it doesn’t mean anything. After he sleeps with you, he’s going to toss you aside like all the rest.”
    Sleeps with you. A small shiver shot up Kris’s spine. To sleep with Ashton... warmth knotted itself in the pit of her stomach. Swallowing, she pushed the strap of her brown bag higher on her shoulder, glancing at the girl walking beside her. She said, ‘after he sleeps with you, he’s going to toss you aside like all the rest.’ “But not you?”
    “I have been there from the beginning, I know him. I know what makes him tick.” Mary frowned. “I don’t mind sharing him, but I will not --” She bit her lip.
    She was in love with him. Did he know? If he did, did he care? Kris sighed. “What do you want from me?”
    “Stay away from him.”
    “I can’t do that,” Kris told her. “He has already paid for my time.”
    Mary’s mouth thinned and Kris expected that ‘don’t sleep with him’ would be next, but instead in a small voice Mary said, “You’re going to hurt him.”
    “Isn’t it going to be the other way around?” Kris stopped. “Isn’t he going to be the one tossing me away, not I him?”
    Mary, who also stopped, faced her. “You don’t understand.”
    “No, I don’t.”
    “How could you, when you don’t even know him? And what he went through.” Mary’s gloved hands curled. “He wants you, but only because you look like Kate. Once he realizes that you can’t take her place, he’s going to...” She trailed off without finishing her sentence. Her eyes narrowed at Kris.
    ‘Toss you aside’ should have been the end of the sentence, according to what Mary had said, but... It could also have been: ‘He’s going to be hurt.’
    “He’s going to sleep with you and then he’s going to forget you,” Mary said in a high voice, then turned on her heel and stomped away.
    Kris watched her until she disappeared around the corner. She sighed and continued her walk home. She tried not to think about Mary or Ashton, and tried not to feel pity for the girl, but twelve minutes later, after she entered her apartment building, she was still thinking about Mary. One couldn’t choose whom to fall for. Unfortunately.
    On the stairs, she ran into an older lady, her upstairs neighbour, who dragged a heavy bag. “Can I help you?” she offered.
    “Oh, Kris, is that you?” Mrs. Smith leaned toward her to see her better.
    “Yes.”
    The older lady gave her the bag. “You are always so kind.”
    “How are you?”
    “You know how it is,” Mrs. Smith said. “But you look well. How is your mother?”
    “Okay.”
    “You’re such a good child.” Mrs. Smith patted Kris’s arm. “Such a good child. Your mother’s lucky to have you.”
    Tell her that , Kris thought. She carried the groceries to the fourth floor, then after a goodbye to Mr. Smith she returned to the third floor where her apartment was. She unlocked the front door and stepped