Page 7 of One More Chapter
Which is true. No matter how much I lovewriting, I couldn’t ever fathom giving up the stability of the classroom.
“Why won’t your publisher agree to your deal?”
“Because I don’t have a plot for it yet,” I shrug, staring down at my lap where I fidget with a folded hoodie branding some sports logo of a Boston team that I definitely bought to impress aguy. “If I had the plot for the three book series, they’d be more on board. Without it, they want the side characters from my current series that I’ve teased. Except that’s all I’ve done isteasethem.”
“Still got writer’s block, huh?”
I lean my head against the wall behind me, and face Claire’s sympathetic gaze, nodding.
“Yep.”
“Ever since…?”
She doesn’t say his name because she knows better. I don’t confirm nor deny because I’m a coward.
“Would it help if you just… talked to him?”
My face heats.
“Absolutely not.” I stand, chucking the hoodie into the suitcase, and start hastily removing hangers from the wire rack. “I tried that.Three times. If he had something to say, he hadplentyof opportunities.”
I recognize the movement, the squeak of the floor, as Claire stands and starts helping me with the hangers. But in my mind, I’ve gone back to that hole I’ve done so well at digging myself out of. Too bad the slope is slippery enough that I can very easily fall right back to the bottom in no time.
“Look, for what it’s worth—and please don’t murder me for saying this—Nathan and the guys have talked to him. It sounds like he really wants to talk now—which Iknowmakes it sound terrible, because it wasn’t convenient for himthen, but Pen…”
Her silence kills me, because she knows what the carrot of new information does to me, no matter how hard I throw up walls against it. I am the poster child for the What-If Game, and the little gremlins inside me feed on new details about Anthony Ellis like it’s their life source.
I sigh, my head tilting all the way to one side as I give her the eyes that say,Go on. I’ll take another hit. Her gaze softens, and she reaches out for my hand. Begrudgingly, I let her hold it.
“He’s sorry. He wants to tellyou, but doesn’t know how.”
“I blocked his number, so it really shouldn’t be that easy,” I deadpan.
She chuckles softly, her shoulders hitching.
“Maybe you try unblocking it?” she offers. “Just to hear him out? At the very least, it’ll give you closure.”
“That’s just it though. I shouldn’tneedthe closure.” I pull my hand from hers and make my way to the other side of my walk-in closet, getting to work on my shoes. “I asked him if he had anything waiting for him back home, and he said ‘work.’ I asked him if he wanted to leave us on vacation, or if he wanted to keep getting to know each other, and he said, ‘I absolutely want to keep getting to know you after this. I would love to see where we can go.’ He had every chance to pump the brakes, and instead, he led me down a dirt road with a dead end and left me out to dry. So yes, Ideserveclosure, but you know what I deserved in the first place? Thetruth.”
It’s a hard pill to swallow, because what I want more thananythingis to give in to everything she’s saying. That Ant wants to talk. That he wants to apologize. But in the end…
“I’m not someone’s convenience. I deserve to be put first.”
“You absolutely do,” Claire concedes. “I’m just looking out for you.”
We work for a few hours before two things become apparent: I have filled every bag I own, and I still don’t have a place to put all of my stuff. Claire seems to read my mind. Before I can say anything, she’s on the phone. I hear her hushed end of things,You’re sure? Okay, thank you so much, baby… Yeah, I’ll let you know how it goes… Love you too. I know what she’s going to offer before I even finish zipping my stuffed-to-the-brim duffel.
“You’re staying with us until you find a place. And before you say no!” Ah. She knows me too well already. “You took me in when I didn’t even ask. You’ve been the big sister I neverknew I needed. And you’ve become one of the bestfriendsI never thought I’d get to have. Please? At least until you find somewhere else to stay.”
“You little shit. I don’t cry.”
I wrap Claire into a hug, sucking in the tears before they have a chance to even think about falling.
“You can be like our Joey!” she says into my shoulder.
“I never should have introduced you toFriends.”
By the time we have my packed things hauled over to Nathan’s parents’mansion, a little of the guilt has subsided. You know what hasn’t subsided? The fact that I’ll be crashing with my boss. Or the fact that I’m still getting used to seeing my boss in casual clothing.