Page 84 of Come to Me
Leaving me alone with Nicholas.
"You should talk to Luke if you're feeling this conflicted," he says when Ellen's out of ear shot.
"I'm not conflicted."
"And I'm not an idiot." I look over at him. "I've never seen you look more anxious, more worried. Not even your first night on stage."
I look down at the table.
I don't like knowing he can see that.
"I... there's just a lot happening in my life right now. I'll be fine."
Luckily, Ellen arrives with fresh shots right then.
"Down the hatch!"
I slam another one.
We'll need more of these. A lot more.
Enough to drown the thoughts that keep trying to surface.
Chapter Eighteen
Luke
"I'm scared."
It's two little words. Two tiny words.
Even if the initial shock is a kick to the throat, they're a good sign.
Alyssa is talking to me.
It's something.
I check the time. Just after seven.
She sent this hours ago, around one a.m. here. It's too early to call her. Too early for work.
There's only one thing that will help me deal until I can talk to her.
Running until my legs are numb.
I change into my shorts and slather on sunscreen. It smells like her when she's at the pool or the beach. She's always on my case about wearing fucking sunscreen.
It's warm outside. The early morning light casts a white glow over everything. There's a softness to it, a certain lack of vibrancy.
She's trying to talk to me. It's not exactly a love poem, but it's something.
* * *
I stay busy at work.
There is so much piling up. I have too many clients, and several of them are difficult.
Mrs. Waters has been in the throes of her divorce for almost a year. She rejects every one of her husband's very reasonable settlement offers, insisting she deserves more.
