to the hallway.
The tears welled up and panic set in as I raced across campus to get to the Light Rail. What the hell just happened? If I thought I wanted to punch Ryan before, I really wanted to let him have it now. And who would’ve thought such an elegant, demure-looking woman could be so ruthless? How could he ever be with someone so hostile? Did he like all of his bimbos rabid and feral?
I jumped onto the Light Rail and tried to regain some composure, loosening my scarf and jamming my iPod earbuds into my ears, this time opting for Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” I was blowing off the rest of my classes, but I didn’t care. I wanted to get as far away from school as possible. And the one person I wanted to run to, the one person I knew that would accept me in open arms was back in the cafeteria, still refusing to speak to me. Dean would be great company too, but things were getting serious with him and Crystal. The last thing I wanted to do was encroach on their space and make Crystal uncomfortable. She already knew how Dean felt about me. No need to rub it in.
It would have been the perfect, chilly afternoon to take a drive up to Anacortes and hop the ferry to Orcas Island for some peace and quiet, some time to think. But I didn’t have the time or the funds on my side this afternoon. Instead, I headed home to my flat and ate some lunch, letting the morning’s events sink in as I sipped my tea.
A knock at the door startled me from my reflections and I jumped to my feet to answer.
“Ms. Parker?” The delivery guy asked.
“That’s me.”
“This is urgent, from the university. Sign here, please.”
I signed and took the envelope, opening it before I even shut the door. Neat, sharp handwriting danced across the letter, slanting in a crooked direction toward the bottom.
Kate,
I’m so sorry you had to go through that. She never should’ve spoken to you that way. Please forgive me, and don’t miss out on this conference. You can hate me, but don’t pass this up. Take this ticket and go. I won’t be there. If by some chance you do want to talk, I’ll be at Easy Street Records tonight at 9 pm in Queen Anne. I’d really like to talk, but I understand if you don’t want to see me. Either way, I’m begging you to go to the conference and hope you’ll finish up my class.
Ryan
I read it twice, trying to decide whether or not I should take him up on his offer. Staring at the ticket wrapped inside the letter, I grabbed it and pinned it to the fridge, resolved to think about it later. As for his other offer, to talk, that was an entirely different decision all together. What was there to talk about? He clearly had unfinished business with this Alisha person, wouldn’t pursue anything with me unless I wasn’t his student, and promised he wouldn’t do or say anything to make me uncomfortable. Plus I didn’t want a relationship. No. I couldn’t afford that sort of drama.
Yet here was a desperate express mail letter telling me to meet him tonight to talk. And he almost kissed me. And I encouraged it. The whole thing was so damn confusing. What did you get yourself into, Kate? Eyeing my cell phone on the counter, I picked it up and scrolled down to Carter’s number. It went straight to voice mail. He was probably in class.
“Hey, it’s me. I know you’re still pissed. I thought a lot about what you said. And I might be on my way to do something really stupid tonight, but I need to talk to you about it first. Maybe then you won’t think it’s so stupid. I didn’t really get the chance to explain Campbell to you the other day. There’s something good about him, Carter. I just can’t put my finger on it. And I wasn’t being honest with you or myself.” I sighed. “There’s so much I need to say to you. Can you please just call me? Or come over after class tonight? I’m home. Bye.”
A few hours passed and no word from Carter. Nine o’clock was inching closer and closer, and I still
The tears welled up and panic set in as I raced across campus to get to the Light Rail. What the hell just happened? If I thought I wanted to punch Ryan before, I really wanted to let him have it now. And who would’ve thought such an elegant, demure-looking woman could be so ruthless? How could he ever be with someone so hostile? Did he like all of his bimbos rabid and feral?
I jumped onto the Light Rail and tried to regain some composure, loosening my scarf and jamming my iPod earbuds into my ears, this time opting for Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” I was blowing off the rest of my classes, but I didn’t care. I wanted to get as far away from school as possible. And the one person I wanted to run to, the one person I knew that would accept me in open arms was back in the cafeteria, still refusing to speak to me. Dean would be great company too, but things were getting serious with him and Crystal. The last thing I wanted to do was encroach on their space and make Crystal uncomfortable. She already knew how Dean felt about me. No need to rub it in.
It would have been the perfect, chilly afternoon to take a drive up to Anacortes and hop the ferry to Orcas Island for some peace and quiet, some time to think. But I didn’t have the time or the funds on my side this afternoon. Instead, I headed home to my flat and ate some lunch, letting the morning’s events sink in as I sipped my tea.
A knock at the door startled me from my reflections and I jumped to my feet to answer.
“Ms. Parker?” The delivery guy asked.
“That’s me.”
“This is urgent, from the university. Sign here, please.”
I signed and took the envelope, opening it before I even shut the door. Neat, sharp handwriting danced across the letter, slanting in a crooked direction toward the bottom.
Kate,
I’m so sorry you had to go through that. She never should’ve spoken to you that way. Please forgive me, and don’t miss out on this conference. You can hate me, but don’t pass this up. Take this ticket and go. I won’t be there. If by some chance you do want to talk, I’ll be at Easy Street Records tonight at 9 pm in Queen Anne. I’d really like to talk, but I understand if you don’t want to see me. Either way, I’m begging you to go to the conference and hope you’ll finish up my class.
Ryan
I read it twice, trying to decide whether or not I should take him up on his offer. Staring at the ticket wrapped inside the letter, I grabbed it and pinned it to the fridge, resolved to think about it later. As for his other offer, to talk, that was an entirely different decision all together. What was there to talk about? He clearly had unfinished business with this Alisha person, wouldn’t pursue anything with me unless I wasn’t his student, and promised he wouldn’t do or say anything to make me uncomfortable. Plus I didn’t want a relationship. No. I couldn’t afford that sort of drama.
Yet here was a desperate express mail letter telling me to meet him tonight to talk. And he almost kissed me. And I encouraged it. The whole thing was so damn confusing. What did you get yourself into, Kate? Eyeing my cell phone on the counter, I picked it up and scrolled down to Carter’s number. It went straight to voice mail. He was probably in class.
“Hey, it’s me. I know you’re still pissed. I thought a lot about what you said. And I might be on my way to do something really stupid tonight, but I need to talk to you about it first. Maybe then you won’t think it’s so stupid. I didn’t really get the chance to explain Campbell to you the other day. There’s something good about him, Carter. I just can’t put my finger on it. And I wasn’t being honest with you or myself.” I sighed. “There’s so much I need to say to you. Can you please just call me? Or come over after class tonight? I’m home. Bye.”
A few hours passed and no word from Carter. Nine o’clock was inching closer and closer, and I still
Similar Books
