tried to become
independent from his family only to do whatever they wanted for the next ten
years of his life? What had changed? It couldn't have just been the issue of
money. His parents were plenty generous with that. Offering me five million
dollars to disappear to supposedly protect their son. They never would have
really cut him off, would they? It didn't make any sense. There must have been
something James hadn't told me.
I put the piece of paper back and closed the book. I didn't
need to ask myself all those questions. His parents had taken away the love of
his life, and I knew better than anyone how strongly James loved. So he had
given up on life. He realized he was destined to be miserable and just seemed
to accept it. James wasn't weak. He was the exact opposite. He was stoic. His
parents repeatedly tried to break him and he just took it. Anyone would have
needed an escape. A book, a bottle of scotch, sex. His escapes had matured with
him.
I set the book back down on the nightstand. He wasn't
addicted to me. We were both an escape for each other from our normal lives. We
were each other's happy endings. The fairytales in the books that lined his
shelves really did exist. It wasn't an addiction. It was our reality. We were
the lucky ones because we had found each other. No one could ever convince me
otherwise.
The door squeaked but I didn't turn around. I could feel that
it was him. "You really did like Harry Potter?" I put my palm down on
top of the book on the nightstand.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," he said,
ignoring my comment. He sounded on edge, like he really had searched through
the whole house for me.
"I texted you to tell you I was in your room." I
stood up but kept my face turned to the ground. I knew there was a bruise
forming on my cheek and I didn't want him to see it. Not until we were far away
from this awful party.
"There's no cell reception in this stupid house."
"Oh. Is it okay if I take this?" I asked and picked
up the book. "We don't have a copy at our place."
"No." He cleared his throat. "We'll buy a new
copy for us."
He hadn't wanted me to see the paper inside. I shouldn't have
come in here. I had invaded his privacy. I put the book back down. "Okay,
let's go then." I pretended to scratch my cheek and I walked past him so
that he wouldn't be able to see my face.
"Penny?" He grabbed my wrist, moving my hand away
from my face. "What the hell happened?" His words were harsh, but his
thumb tracing over the bruise on my cheekbone was soft and delicate. "Are
you okay?" His touch felt even gentler than it had a second ago. It made
me feel like crying. But I didn't want him to think it was worse than it was.
"Nothing." I didn't look up at him. "It's
fine."
"Baby?" He kept his hand on the side of my face.
"Who did this?"
"No one. I was upset and I made a wrong turn. This house
is enormous, I just ran into..."
"Why are you lying to me?" He sounded hurt. I still
hadn't made eye contact with him.
Why was I lying? We didn't lie to each other. Not anymore.
And it didn't matter if he knew the truth. Making him hate Isabella even more
was only for the best. I never wanted to see any of these people ever again.
"Penny, tell me."
"Isabella slapped me. It's not a big deal. Can we please
just go?"
His hand fell from my face and he grabbed the door handle.
"Don't. Don't you dare walk away from me again."
He let go of the handle and turned back to me. "I didn't
walk away from you earlier. I told you it was time to go and you refused to
come with me."
"Exactly, James. You told me it was time to go. You
didn't ask if I was ready to leave."
"Penny, I couldn't stand there and pretend that
everything was alright."
"I know, I'm sorry. Please don't leave me alone in this
house again, though. Can't we just leave? You were right about everything.
Talking to your parents was pointless."
"You talked to them?"
"They think I just want your money. They offered me five
million dollars to walk
independent from his family only to do whatever they wanted for the next ten
years of his life? What had changed? It couldn't have just been the issue of
money. His parents were plenty generous with that. Offering me five million
dollars to disappear to supposedly protect their son. They never would have
really cut him off, would they? It didn't make any sense. There must have been
something James hadn't told me.
I put the piece of paper back and closed the book. I didn't
need to ask myself all those questions. His parents had taken away the love of
his life, and I knew better than anyone how strongly James loved. So he had
given up on life. He realized he was destined to be miserable and just seemed
to accept it. James wasn't weak. He was the exact opposite. He was stoic. His
parents repeatedly tried to break him and he just took it. Anyone would have
needed an escape. A book, a bottle of scotch, sex. His escapes had matured with
him.
I set the book back down on the nightstand. He wasn't
addicted to me. We were both an escape for each other from our normal lives. We
were each other's happy endings. The fairytales in the books that lined his
shelves really did exist. It wasn't an addiction. It was our reality. We were
the lucky ones because we had found each other. No one could ever convince me
otherwise.
The door squeaked but I didn't turn around. I could feel that
it was him. "You really did like Harry Potter?" I put my palm down on
top of the book on the nightstand.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," he said,
ignoring my comment. He sounded on edge, like he really had searched through
the whole house for me.
"I texted you to tell you I was in your room." I
stood up but kept my face turned to the ground. I knew there was a bruise
forming on my cheek and I didn't want him to see it. Not until we were far away
from this awful party.
"There's no cell reception in this stupid house."
"Oh. Is it okay if I take this?" I asked and picked
up the book. "We don't have a copy at our place."
"No." He cleared his throat. "We'll buy a new
copy for us."
He hadn't wanted me to see the paper inside. I shouldn't have
come in here. I had invaded his privacy. I put the book back down. "Okay,
let's go then." I pretended to scratch my cheek and I walked past him so
that he wouldn't be able to see my face.
"Penny?" He grabbed my wrist, moving my hand away
from my face. "What the hell happened?" His words were harsh, but his
thumb tracing over the bruise on my cheekbone was soft and delicate. "Are
you okay?" His touch felt even gentler than it had a second ago. It made
me feel like crying. But I didn't want him to think it was worse than it was.
"Nothing." I didn't look up at him. "It's
fine."
"Baby?" He kept his hand on the side of my face.
"Who did this?"
"No one. I was upset and I made a wrong turn. This house
is enormous, I just ran into..."
"Why are you lying to me?" He sounded hurt. I still
hadn't made eye contact with him.
Why was I lying? We didn't lie to each other. Not anymore.
And it didn't matter if he knew the truth. Making him hate Isabella even more
was only for the best. I never wanted to see any of these people ever again.
"Penny, tell me."
"Isabella slapped me. It's not a big deal. Can we please
just go?"
His hand fell from my face and he grabbed the door handle.
"Don't. Don't you dare walk away from me again."
He let go of the handle and turned back to me. "I didn't
walk away from you earlier. I told you it was time to go and you refused to
come with me."
"Exactly, James. You told me it was time to go. You
didn't ask if I was ready to leave."
"Penny, I couldn't stand there and pretend that
everything was alright."
"I know, I'm sorry. Please don't leave me alone in this
house again, though. Can't we just leave? You were right about everything.
Talking to your parents was pointless."
"You talked to them?"
"They think I just want your money. They offered me five
million dollars to walk
Similar Books
