Read Online Impossibility of Tomorrow by Avery Williams - Free Book Online

clearly meant for each other.” I laugh. “But if you start coming over only to see Bryan and ignoring me, then you’re in trouble.”
    “Never!” She gasps theatrically. “You’re right, though. I think the last time we hung out alone was, what? Three weeks ago, when we got coffee? Way too long.” My heart lifts as she speaks. There’s no way Cyrus could know that.
    “Yeah, what was the name of that café again?” I ask. I need to be sure.
    Leyla stares at me. “Seriously? You don’t remember?”
    My heart starts to pound. “It’s on the tip of my tongue.” My voice sounds strangely high-pitched.
    “Jeez, Kailey,” she admonishes. “We’ve only been going to Caffe Strada for three years.”
    “Right! Duh. Of course.” I clap my hand to my forehead. Leyla’s shaking her head and laughing at what an airhead I am, but I can’t stop smiling.
    “You know what? I think we should hit up Caffe Strada right now,” I say. “Gelato on me.”
    It’s a small victory, but I need to celebrate it. Noah isn’t Cyrus, and neither is Leyla. This knowledge makes me feel much less alone in the world: the opposite of how Cyrus promised I would find myself.
    It makes me wonder what else he was wrong about.

ELEVEN
    When Noah’s father answers the door later that night, I’m blasted with the smell of whiskey on his breath. “Kailey!” he shouts. “Come in, come in.” He closes the door behind me with a slam, the hinges creaking in protest. “Guess I should oil that,” he says.
    I just nod. I’ve never actually spoken to Mr. Vander before or seen him up close. He’s got Noah’s deep blue eyes, but his skin is sallow, his nose a garden of broken capillaries. He’s tall, though, like Noah, and strong. His beard covers up what I suspect to be a twin to Noah’s sculpted jawline. It’s grizzled and shot through with gray. He’s wearing shortsand a stained T-shirt, despite the late fall chill that hangs in the air. The house is freezing.
    Noah’s dog Harker bounds into the room, eyeing me suspiciously. He backs up slowly, tail bristling, a deep growl emanating from his throat. “Stop it, you jerk,” commands Mr. Vander. “It’s just Kailey.” Harker yelps and sits down but doesn’t move his eyes from my own. I subtly bow my head, trying to show canine submission in my body language. I don’t blame the dog for not liking me. Most animals don’t.
    “I swear, that dog’s insane. He doesn’t like anyone but Noah,” Mr. Vander says, folding his arms across his chest.
    “He doesn’t bother me,” I say, looking around. I’ve never been in Noah’s house before. The foyer is covered in dark wooden wainscoting, its oiled finish dull in spots. To my right is a staircase leading to the second floor and Noah’s room. To my left, an open door reveals a small living room, where a TV fills the room with cold blue light. The oak floors are scratched and warped.
    “Well,” says Mr. Vander, focusing on me with bleary eyes, “I should go get Noah. It’s not polite to keep a pretty girl like you waiting.” He looks me up and down, and I momentarily regret the dress I chose to wear. Fitted around the bodice before flaring out at my waist, it’s a robin’s-egg shade of blue that reminds me of Noah’s eyes in the sunlight. I wouldn’t call the neckline indecent by any means—it’s justlow enough to frame the birdcage necklace that Noah gave me, on its long silver chain. But the way Mr. Vander looks at me makes me wish for a jacket that buttoned up to my neck.
    He puts his hand on the banister of the staircase for balance, running his hands up and down the smooth surface. I shiver. He never breaks eye contact with me. I wonder how he’s even upright. Judging from the whiskey fumes that emanate from him, he’s been drinking all day. But he doesn’t slur his words, not a bit. And somehow that’s more unnerving than if he had.
    “Kailey, sorry, I didn’t realize you’d be here so quickly.” Noah