Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“Dani?” I ask, rolling to my back and staring at the popcorn ceiling of my hotel room.
There’s a pause. “Yes?”
“I think you lost the metaphor there. But why don’t you tell me how you really feel?”
“Vaughn doesn’t deserve you, Charli.”
“Everybody deserves a chance,” I counter.
Dani groans. “To a point, maybe. But you’ve given this guy more attempts than a billionaire’s favorite son gets at being a self-made man.”
“Well, maybe this is the last chance?”
“Is it?” Dani sounds skeptical.
“Maybe it is!” I don’t sound confident.
She sighs again. “I think an honest conversation between you two would be a better way to handle this. Surprising him out of the blue… it just feels like it could go so wrong.”
“I’ve tried calm and rational. He doesn’t want to talk about ‘us’. He just rolls his eyes and says he really doesn’t have time for my drama–that work is crazy. Or that I’m trying to turn our life into one of my books because I’m bored. He always asks when I’m going to be finished with my book, but when I try to talk about the possibility of him helping me pitch it to agents, it’s like he shuts down. I think he doesn’t believe it’s worth publishing, even though he has never read it.”
“Charli…” There’s so much disappointment in my sister’s voice that I feel like doubling over and holding my face in my hands. I hate how clearly I can see myself when I talk to Dani. “You know you deserve better than this. You have to know that.”
“There’s one more thing,” I say slowly.
“There’s more?” Dani already sounds exhausted.
“Well, I kind of got fired when I told my boss I was coming to this. He said he didn’t have anyone to cover my shift and he’d fire me if I left. I thought he was bluffing, because, you know, if you’re short staffed, how does firing someone as a punishment for missing work make sense? He wasn’t bluffing.”
Dani groans. “Okay, okay. Do you have money? Like are you going to be able to pay rent this month?”
“I have some stashed away. And I kind of spent a lot of it on these tickets and this hotel.”
“Duuude,” Dani says. She can’t seem to help but laugh. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Love me for my impulsive, optimistic personality?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she sighs. “We’ll figure that out. I have some money saved up. I can help you get by while you look for a new job if you need it.”
“You’re the best.”
“Although I might only give you money if you promise to cut Vaughn off. Just end things and call it.”
“One more chance,” I say. “That’s all I’m giving him. Like, what if this was all part of his plan to motivate me, you know? He created that whole freaking app to help me write. He really can be a good guy.”
“That WritingBusy thing?” she asks.
“Yeah. I mean, it’s kind of buggy, but the way it lets me change the background color of my document is cool.”
“It’s not cool. It’s a shitty version of every word document that changes colors. It’s a glorified widget.”
“Yep. No idea what a widget is. But he made it for me. Or at least he paid that guy to make it for me. That counts for something, right?”
“No, not really.”
Maybe I’m being stupid. Maybe Dani and every ounce of common sense I have is right. But I’m already here. I already blew money I shouldn’t have on these tickets, the hotel, and my admission to the convention. Wouldn’t it be even dumber to go back without following through? “Well, I’m still doing this. I’m going to go up to him tomorrow morning and tell him I’m almost finished. I’m going to ask him to point me to the right person to pitch my story to, and I’m going to do it. I’ve got my elevator pitch all worked up and ready. It’s all going to work out for the best.”
“Wait,” Dani says. “When did you go from ‘working on it’ to ‘almost finished’?” She sounds absolutely floored, and her shock makes me smile.
“I didn’t want to tell anybody I was getting close and risk losing my momentum. But, yeah, you know… I’m almost done with the book. No biggie.”
“Dude!” I hear some kind of commotion, like my sister is jumping up and down or slamming her palm on something in excitement.
I chew my lip. “It’s really not that big of a deal.”
“It’s a huge deal. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you.”
“Now I’m only going to say it one more time because I don’t want to be annoying. But would you seriously consider just, you know, not doing what you’re planning to do tomorrow? I’m really worried you’re going to get hurt.”
“I have to do this. If I don’t, things between us are going to just keep limping along. At least this way, I’m going to figure out if he really cares about me and my writing. If he does, he’ll help me. If he doesn’t? Well, then I’ll know it’s time to move on. Right?”