Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 518(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
On the bed, she lay in the center, smoking one of the fattest blunts I’d ever seen. It looked like something out of our college years.
“Where did you get the marijuana?” I asked.
“Chase.”
“Oh he’s Chase now, not pimp or dog man?”
“Yes, I’m calling him Chase now. He saved me.” She blew out a cloud of smoke. “I thought we would die in that rotting mansion, and your lover sent in all of those men and I swear it looked just like a crazy scene out of one of those Die Hard movies. Men crashed through the windows attached to rope. Shots blared. I woke up, rolled off the bed, and got under it. I came close to pissing in my pants.”
I sat down next to her small frame. “I’m sorry you went through that.”
“No need to say sorry. We know whose fault this is.” She handed me the blunt.
“Yes we do.” I took it from her.
“Have you talked to Sherman yet?”
“No. You’re the first person I’ve seen.”
“Our butler is bringing breakfast.”
“Our butler?”
“I see you haven’t met him yet.”
“Can Chase do anything in an unfabulous way? Must it always be Big Willy style?”
“I doubt he knows what Big Willy means.” I blew out and tried to make a floating smoke circle, but it didn’t happen. “How are you doing?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. I just want to live vicariously through you.”
“But, Vivian—”
“Please, just tell me about Chase or somebody. I can’t think about me ... I just can’t right now.”
“Okay.”
She grabbed the blunt from me. “So what’s new in our sensitive playboy’s world?”
“Sensitive playboy?”
“Since he saved my freaking life, I must say, he’s growing on me.” She inhaled and then coughed. “What has he done now?”
I raised my hand and displayed the finger.
Vivian coughed some more, so much I had to hit her back twice.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“He proposed? He fucking proposed? Is he absolutely insane?”
“Yes.”
“But ...”
I shrugged. “This is Chase we’re talking about. He does what he wants. He doesn’t consider traditional anything. He’s now decided we should be married.”
“And what have you decided?”
I blinked. “That I can’t live without him. I mean, I could ... maybe, but it would be the worst days of my life, and I’m not going to waste any more days. I want to live life to my fullest.”
Vivian took a hit. “That’s death talking. When Mom passed away from cancer, I refused to pursue anything but art. Before, I’d considered doing something safe like computer science. Then Mom died, and all I could think about was doing my best to explore my passions.”
She gave the blunt back to me. “Months ago, I would’ve said no, but the more we move forward, the more he wins me over. He loves you. He may see you as an object at times—”
“Vivian.” I rolled my eyes.
“You know what I’m saying. He’s all possessive like a vampire.”
“Chase doesn’t suck blood.”
“But he sucks away your energy. He exhausts you.”
“Yes.” And I couldn’t even hide my smile. “But I love how he makes me tired.”
Vivian twisted her face into disgust. “Ewww.”
“I’m just playing.”
“No, you’re not.” Smiling, she stared at me, and her cheeks shivered as if she struggled to keep her expression up. “You love him, and he’s going to make you so happy.”
Her look faltered into a sad frown and her eyes watered into a stream of tears. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Vivian.” I took the blunt from her, stabbed it out in the ashtray, and pulled her into my arms. “It’s okay. I’m here, and I know how you feel.”
“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I am happy for you. I am.”
“I know, but you miss Troy. I do, too.”
“I loved him.”
“And he knew you did.”
“And that monster took him.”
“Yes, and we’re going to make him pay.”
“How?” Vivian asked.
“Don’t worry about it. Chase and I have a plan.”
She leaned away from me. “That makes me worry more.”
“We’re going to lure him to our engagement party and then ...”
“What?”
“We didn’t figure that part out yet, but I’m sure it’s going to be him dead on the floor.”
Vivian’s eyes widened. Her frown deepened. “You say that you both are going to kill him like it’s no problem.”
My voice came out flat and with no emotion. “It’s not. For once, Chase and my intensity toward killing Benny is the same. It’s our new passion. We’re going to kill him together.”
Wrinkles gathered around her forehead. “Yeah. That scares the shit out of me. You two may want to seek some counseling after this.”
“I will, after I kill Benny.” I winked at her and held back my own tears. “And frankly, nothing will be better than watching his blood spill as I celebrate my engagement party.”
“This idea is insane.”
“Our entire situation is insane. You want to make sense of this, then take your time. That’s my present to you. I’ll give you the time to lay in bed and ponder the wrongs and rights of what we’re about to do, but me, I’m going to do anything to kill this man. He took away my brother, and I now have the financial capability to crush him, and I’ll do it with Chase right by my side.”