Truly Madly Deeply by L.J. Shen

Author:L.J. Shen [Shen, L.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Forbidden Love#1- UK
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2024-09-10T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Five

Cal

“What’s Up?”—4 Non Blondes

I discarded my backpack on the ground, rushing toward the swings. I grabbed the frosty chains and planted one foot over the rubber seat, hoisting myself up, finding my balance, then started rocking my body, creating momentum. “Now all that’s missing is a stolen bottle of your dad’s Tito’s!” I howled into the night, a cloud of condensation rolling through my lips.

Row sighed like a wary parent, producing a bottle of vodka from his messenger bag and raising it between us. I wasn’t sure whether he’d planned this or if it was just another item to add to my evidence file that he was an alcoholic. First shaking hands, now this.

“Ambrose Rhett Casablancas!” I shrieked, beaming in delight. “You knew our darkest secret?”

“That was a secret?” He scowled. “I’ve met thongs more discreet than you two.”

Row trudged toward me, holding the vodka bottle by its neck. He perched on the swing next to mine and cracked the bottle open, taking a swig and passing it to me. I sat down and took a gulp, kicking my feet to sway back and forth.

I squinted at the mountains draped by the night. Suddenly, I had the distinct feeling I was in exactly the right place, at the right time, with the right person. A tiny part of a trillion-piece puzzle that neatly fit into this universe.

“So.” Row received the bottle from me, unscrewed the vodka cap, sipped, then handed it back to me. “Start from the beginning. What happened that made you stop running and swear off humans?” He swished the clear liquid in his mouth. “Who did this to you?”

“Sure you want to find out?”

“How else would I know who to kill?”

His face told me he wasn’t kidding.

My heart told me he was a safe person to open up to.

“I was bullied at school.” The words rolled off my tongue without prior consent from my brain. Like Row’s heartbeat next to mine was enough to squeeze the truth out of me. “Actually, it started in preschool. That’s when kids realized not only was I an odd bird but I also came from an eccentric nest. My parents would send me out with socked feet and sandals in the summers. I looked ridiculous, and ridiculous makes five-year-olds laugh.” It was silly for my throat to clog up about something that had happened almost two decades ago. “But what my peers found amusing in kindergarten, they found worthy of antagonizing meabout in elementary school. I dressed odd, I spoke odd, I lived odd. I had my eye tic every time I was nervous, which made me shy away from all the plays, parties, and major school events. To rub salt on a corroding wound, my parents were thrifty, so instead of eating at the school cafeteria, they sent me with cold meat sandwiches. They’d buy liver sausages and pork tongue at a deli and tuck them in my sandwiches. My lunches smelled from miles away and I’d be teased for it mercilessly.

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