Series: The Laws of Opposite Attract Series by Vi Keeland
Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 494(@200wpm)___ 396(@250wpm)___ 330(@300wpm)
“I hope so.”
Alex and I walked to the elevators together. Inside, I pushed the button for the fifth floor. “What floor?” I asked.
“I’m on five, too.”
We both turned right as we exited, and Alex stopped at room 519. I pointed to the door right next to hers. “Seriously? I’m right there, five twenty-one.”
She swiped her keycard. “It seems like the universe knew we might need each other today.”
I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from saying, I need you every day.
“Is eight okay for breakfast?” she asked.
“Yeah, sounds good. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
***
“Morning.” I was already on my third cup of coffee when Alex came downstairs at ten before eight the next morning. I’d also already finished my breakfast.
She looked at my empty plate. “Am I late? I thought we were meeting at eight?”
“We were. But I was up early and wanted to get on the road. Sorry. I thought about knocking since I know you’re an early riser, but I listened at your door and didn’t hear anything. I thought maybe you slept in.”
“I did. I had trouble falling asleep last night, so I slept until almost seven thirty. But if you want to get on the road, I don’t need to order anything for breakfast. I can just grab a cup of coffee to go. I always keep a protein bar in my purse.”
“Actually…I’m going to get on the road to Philly. That’s why I waited for you. I wanted to ask if you would mind running things for Ryan’s House today, in my absence.”
“Oh. Of course. But is everything okay?”
I wiped my mouth with my napkin. “Yeah. I just need to take a quick road trip to visit Ryan.”
“Ryan?” Alex’s nose scrunched up. “Your friend who…”
I nodded. “I go there sometimes to talk things out. That’s what Ryan and I were to each other—sounding boards. He might be gone, yet he’s oddly still here for me. I didn’t sleep so well last night, but I woke up with clarity this morning—I need to go visit him today. It’s been too long.”
“How far is the drive from here?”
“It’s a few hundred miles, should take about four-and-a-half hours. So I’ll be gone all day.”
“Do you want me to take the ride with you?”
I smiled. “It’s nice of you to offer, but it’s something I need to do on my own. Plus, I need someone to fill in for me at the house. I already typed up a list of things that need to be done, in case you didn’t mind. I can text it to you.”
Alex waved me off. “Alright. You should get going. Don’t worry about the project at all. I’ve got you covered.”
I stood and kissed Alex’s forehead. “Thank you.”
***
“Hey, buddy.” Later that day, I dusted some dirt off the top of Ryan’s headstone. “It’s been a while. Sorry about that.”
There was a heavy feeling in my chest, but Ryan’s gravesite could always make me smile. He’d made sure of that. After he passed, his dad had handed out letters he’d written to everyone important in his life. They all ended the same way. P.S. Don’t come to my grave empty handed. Bring me something to eat. It had seemed like a bizarre request at the time, but it was always fun to see what random things were here when I arrived. Usually I could guess the recent visitors by the snacks they’d brought. Like today, I could tell Ryan’s mom and Lala had both been here in the last few weeks. The potato that leaned against the gravestone had sprouts growing out of it. Mrs. Miller always brought a potato since Ryan’s favorite food had been her homemade mashed potatoes. The dude could eat five pounds by himself. Lala must’ve come more recently since the bag of fortune cookies sitting opposite the old potato wasn’t even dirty yet.
Ryan’s little sister was a few years younger than us and the smartest person I knew, but she’d also been the most gullible when we were kids. When Ryan was maybe ten and Lala probably eight, he’d convinced her that the fortunes in fortune cookies came true if you believed in them enough. For the longest time, he had replaced all the fortunes in her fortune cookies with ridiculous shit—
Girl with blond hair, must dye pink to live long life.
(Lala used red Kool-Aid to dye her hair pink the next day.)
Woman who speaks three languages solves world hunger.
(She’s fluent in Spanish and Mandarin to this day.)
Lala wasn’t much of a cook, so every time she came to visit, she brought the same thing—a bag of fortune cookies. It was their thing. Which reminded me… I reached into my pocket and took out the small bag of Oreos I’d brought. Ryan and I used to devour an entire package, along with a gallon of milk, while watching Saturday-morning cartoons together.