Read Online Yours Truly, Taddy by Avery Aster - Free Book Online Page B

were ten times worse than all three of us girls put together. I hope his injury wasn’t going to leave any scars.
    “Take me to Blake.”
    “You can stay with him. He has two bedrooms and this insane marble tub. I’m already unpacked in Lex’s suite.”
    Thank heavens I wasn’t sleeping near Vive. She snores loud enough to make the wallpaper peel. 
    “Why does Theodosius Vardalos sound familiar? Is he from Manhattan? Did he live on the Upper West Side?” I smoothed my hair back. Lordy, it was getting hot out here. I wanted to take off my towel and be naked again. There was something freeing about not wearing a bathing suit in the water.
    “No. Don’t you remember the article that came out on him last year in Vanity Fair touting him as the next Richard Branson?” Vive loved her gossip magazines. Lex and I refused to read them.
    “Ahhh…yes. You tried to get Avon Porter to book our senior trip here.”
    “Right! Eden wouldn’t allow minors. But now we’re adults. It’s fate.”
    “Fate?”
    She nodded with enthusiasm and said, “We need this trip, Taddy. Avon Porter, the court trials, juvie, Lex’s mom being a junkie, it’s all been a funky few years. I can’t imagine college being any easier. The universe brought us here.”
    “To do what?”
    “Heal!”
    “I see,” I said, and licked my blistered lips. I didn’t want to argue with her. She hadn’t been excited about anything in a while.
    “The Master’s staff put us up for free. Joely is Eden’s pilot. She gave us seats on the next charter flight back to Miami.”
    “Tell her thank you, but no more flights. I’ll take a boat back to New York.”
    “I hear ya, girlie. Eden has ferry service. They say it’ll take about eight hours to get to Florida from here.”
    We glanced out at the water. The waves weren’t as intimidating as before, when I was in the middle of it all. Regardless, as nice as this place appeared, I didn’t want to stay.
    “What time is that boat?”
    “Not for two more days.”
    “What?” I panicked. That meant I’d have to spend the next 48 hours avoiding Leon and Fabian. I’ll just stay locked in Blake’s room. I don’t trust myself around them.
    “The ship is on its way back from England. Apparently Eden is all the rage with the Brits.”
    “I can see why…”
    “Joely is nice. She’s been working with the passengers, helping them overcome their anxieties about the crash. That’s how we met.”
    “No flights. Not now. I’m sure I’ll fly again, just not this soon.”
    Vive stopped walking and grabbed me by my shoulders. Her disappointment was obvious. “My VBF who just survived a plane crash doesn’t want to get sushi, book a facial, and tan at the beach?”
    “No fish. No sun. Maybe a spa treatment.” My cheeks hurt from being outside for so long. I shook my head and said, “I want cement and noise. Let’s go home to Manhattan.”
    “What about the photo shoot for their magazine?” Vive started walking again. I could tell by the spring in her step she wasn’t going to quit. Raised by a Swedish mother who advocated socialism, Vive’s mantra was all for one, one for all. Meaning we pretty much did everything together.
    “I can’t go through with another round of pictures. Not again. They can use what they’ve got.”
    “Won’t they refuse to pay your fee if you don’t finish the job?” Vive eyed me as if I hadn’t thought this through. “Maybe after you eat and rest you’ll change your mind.”
    No way. I’d already been made an idiot by Leon. In a snit, I tied the towel around my breasts tighter and looked back at the beach. They were gone. Leon and his lover were out of sight. Now if I could just get them out of my mind, I’d be good. “Can I take you up on that offer to borrow money for school? I’ll pay you back.”
    “Including your living expenses?”
    Calculating the money in my head, I picked at my lip and said, “Seventy thousand dollars. Man, that’s a lot of