Page 17 of Hurts So Good
With my past, it’s safer to know who’s asking in case they start digging. The less people know about me the better.
“Your opponent from last night has a friend who saw you fight. She wanted to meet you,” he says.
I swallow.
Shit. She does know.
“What’s her name?” I probe to make sure.
“I don’t know. Something to do with water. Can’t remember exactly. It was unique?—”
“Lakelynn.”
“That was it!” Tomas says. “You know her?”
“A little.” I hang up and scowl up at Lakelynn’s apartment.
She’s figured out I’m the fighter from last night. It would seem my charade is finally over. Well, for the most part anyway. She still doesn’t know the real me.
Would she be happy or afraid if she found out I’m Ty? Does she even remember me?
It was so long ago, I’m unsure if she will. I’ll have to put that to the test after I find out how comfortable she is with her stalker. She knows I murdered her boss; it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to put that together. If she can live with that information and accept me, she may be able to accept Ty.
I let my thoughts run through every scenario possible as I get to my feet. I’m not ready to reveal who I am, but it doesn’t matter. It’s time to take a step in that direction. I knew it would happen eventually; I just didn’t know when.
I let myself into the building using the key I bribed the maintenance man into giving me when Lakelynn first moved in. This could end very badly. Normally, when I visit, I leave stuff on her counter and go back out without disturbing her. I’m not planning to do that this time.
I climb the stairs up to her floor and use another key to unlock her door. My footsteps are silenced by the carpet in her living room. The hinges on the door move with ease, allowing me to close it back with little noise.
As I peer into the kitchen, my lips curve into a smirk. I can just barely make out the outline of my flowers in a vase on the counter. My boots thud lightly over the hard wood in the hallway. I pause at the entrance of her bedroom. The door is slightly ajar.
When I push it open, the hinges creak. Lakelynn snores softly, completely unaware of my intrusion. Stepping closer to the bed, I watch her sleep. I’m used to seeing her sleeping form through a camera lens, but she’s even more beautiful face-to-face. Her blonde hair shines, reflecting off the moonlight streaming into the room.
The journal on her nightstand catches my eye. Picking it up, I take a seat by her window and open it. While I’ve seen her write in it often, I’ve never zoomed in to read the words.
Many emotions run through me as I take in what she’s written: surprise, excitement, relief. I can do nothing except sit here in awe.
She remembers me.
Not only that, but she wants me as I want her. Any doubt I’d been feeling is erased. I haven’t felt so at peace since the first time she smiled at me. Lakelynn is mine, in every way possible.
Losing track of time, I read through the entire book, front to back. By the time I finish it, the sun has risen. Lakelynn stirs in her bed. I glance over. She lets out a short scream and jerks upright, seeing me in the room.
“God!” She places a palm over her chest. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“I heard you were looking for me.” I set the book on the floor and stand.
“So you are the fighter from the other night.”
“Surprised?” I walk to the end of her bed and watch her.
“No. I knew it was you.” She hugs the comforter closer to her chest.
I smile at the confidence in her voice. “You know a bit more than that, don’t you?”
Lakelynn shrugs. “Only assumptions, but you know that.” She peers down at the journal and then back at me. “So, are they right or wrong?”
“Why don’t you come over here and find out?”