Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 79147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79147 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 396(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
When we finish up at the party, we head back to Metropolis with our crew, where we have a gift exchange. Mom passes presents out to me, Gary, Derek, Travis, and Doc. Then she gets the last one out and hands it to Cody, and he looks at her, his eyebrows raising in surprise.
“What?” Cody asks.
“Oh, I assumed that was fine.” She looks to me like she thinks she might have done something wrong.
“No, no,” Cody says. “I just…it surprised me is all. Thank you.”
“Oh, no problem. I hope you like it. Fingers crossed. I was annoying Hayden all last week trying to find something that would work, but you know how he can be.”
“I was busy trying to keep the good present for myself,” I tease. “But I’ve saved that one for later.”
“Don’t leave me in suspense, Cody. Just open it,” she insists.
He looks at the present and then to Mom and me.
I can tell he’s touched by her generosity.
But there’s something else there, too. Sadness.
30
Cody
“I know I’m pretty, but damn, people, take your eyes off me,” I tease as everyone watches me, hoping I can stop the freaking out I’m doing inside. Although everyone is paying attention to me like I’m the main attraction, there are three sets of eyes trained on me the most intensely—Hayden, Doc, and Travis. The three people who likely know what this moment means to me.
“Stop stalling and open it,” Travis says because that’s his style. He’s a pushy son of a bitch, but I love him for it.
Before they can get on my ass even more, I ignore the loud thumping in my ears and rip open the package from Hayden’s mom. It’s a book on graffiti art.
“I hope you like it. Hayden said you enjoy that kind of thing, but I wasn’t sure which one was a good one to get. I can return it if—”
“It’s perfect,” I cut Julie off. Like the day at the park with Hayden, it shows she wanted to do something special for me. That she cares enough to put thought into what she did, even if it is only because I’m the guy her son is dating. “I love it.” I flip through some of the pages, before setting it aside and giving her a hug. “Thank you.”
When I sit back down, I glance Hayden’s way and he gives me a small, supportive grin before pressing his lips to my cheek gently.
Things were never like this for me as a kid. Even when I lived at home, my parents couldn’t be bothered with me much. They cared and worried more about each other and what they wanted than the kid they’d brought into the world.
It’s not as if I was neglected. I had food in my stomach and clothes on my back. I had the latest Nikes like my friends, or whatever the hell else was popular at the moment, but I always knew I was a burden to them. That oops child for two very selfish people who should have never had kids.
Much like Thanksgiving, today doesn’t feel that way. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that every person in this room is happy to be here, and they all care about each other.
Hayden’s mom has done the very thing my parents never did, the thing Doc did—not just accept me, but it’s almost like she wants me.
We continue making our way through the gifts. I give Julie a gift card for a day at the spa, figuring she would enjoy some pampering. Travis growls at me when Gary opens his certificate for a free tattoo.
Hayden and I swap gifts. “You go first,” he says.
I unwrap a set of sketching and drawing pencils.
“Holy shit,” I say. “This is awesome.”
“You’ve practically gone through your other ones, so I figured you’d need more at some point. I checked to see the company that manufactured the ones you use before I ordered. I hope you like them.”
“I love them! Thank you. Now your turn.”
“Is it okay if I open this in front of my mom?” he teases and everyone in our living room laughs.
“It is. You get the second part later,” I wink at him and Julie’s cheeks turn pink.
“Too much information, boys. But you’re playing safe, right? No, I didn’t mean that as a question. Play safe…or…oh, just open the gift, Hayden.”
Hayden cringes, nearly as embarrassed as Julie about her verbal diarrhea. But it’s adorable. Just shows they’re cut from the same cloth.
My stomach does an unfamiliar roll as Hayden begins opening the package. It’s not often I feel insecure about things, and I hope he doesn’t think this gift is silly.
When he finally gets it open, he takes a sharp inhale of breath.
“It’s a whole story,” I tell him. “You haven’t seen any of it. I’ve been working on it while you’re at work and shit.”