WilsonGeorgia kept staring at me as we made our way down the street, trying to hunt down her driver. I tried not to feel self-conscious, but it was hard not to. I wasn't used to being so... decked out. And it also kind of irritated me that she hadn't stared at me before I'd gotten all dolled up, but even I could begrudgingly admit that I'd gone from a solid six to a ten with my new makeover."Why don't we just take the subway?" I suggested, turning back to frown at her and catching her ogling me again.She coughed a bit and placed a hand over her eyes to shade them from the sun as she looked around for her driver."Were you aware that about fifteen percent of the air you breathe in on the subway is actually skin particles? And not just from exposed skin. From the whole body.""How in the world do you know that?""I like to read," she answered. "It was in a study of the metro back in 2008."She didn't seem like the type of person to read. But it kind of explained how she knew such ran
WilsonThe elevator opened and we walked down a dimly lit hall, my heels clicking on the hardwood floors. I tried to walk lighter, but the sound was still deafening in my ears. I swallowed nervously as we passed a pair of stumbling women who were giggling loudly. They eyed Georgia and whispered to each other. I tightened my grasp on her.We pushed through a set of glass doors and stepped outside and suddenly my ears were blasted with the sound of laughter and music. A gust of warm air brushed my bare skin and my mouth fell a little. The lights from the city twinkled all around us, only blocked by one side of the hotel towering above us. There were pillars put up sporadically with little lantern lights hanging from them, emitting a soft glow. It was beautiful. The sun was setting now and I could only imagine what the view would be like when it was completely dark.Wooden tables were set up on the floor, many of them right along the edge of the roof to give the customers the best view.
Wilson"What are you doing here?" I asked Solene. I thought Georgia and I were on a date."Georgia was scared of being alone with you so she made me tag along.""That's not it at all!" Georgia snapped, leaning back in her seat a little."I thought you would feel more comfortable if it wasn't just the two of us."I wondered why she thought inviting a third person who was also a stranger to me would make it any less awkward. But Solene did have this calming aura around her. I already felt more comfortable."Is it cheesy to say that you look handsome?" Solene said, smiling at me a little.I touched my hair and grinned back at her. "Maybe a bit.""Of course, she's beautifully handsome. Would you expect anything less from those whom I employ?" Georgia said haughtily and thank God a waiter appeared with our wine just then."Sassicaia Red, sir?" he asked, the words foreign to my ears.I took a glass and let him fill it up, immediately taking a sip when he pulled away. The taste of it made my
Georgia"Georgia, what are you waiting for?" I stared at the door Wilson had just exited through, my mouth hanging a bit. For the first time in a while, I was left speechless. Not only from the insult of her words, but also from her fierceness. No one had ever spoken to me like that. Not even my best friend. And the hairflip? Was it necessary?"Georgia," Solene repeated, a hard edge in her voice.Turning to her, I cleared my throat and sat up in my seat a little straighter."W-what?"Her eyebrows lifted a litle but she quickly schooled her featured into a disapproving look. "Why are you just sitting there? Go after him."Go after him? "Why would I do that? You heard what he just said to me.""Have you even been listening to yourself all night?" She interjected."Seriously, George. I knew you were ignorant but I didn't know it was this bad."I tried to think back and remember what I said. None of it seemed outrageously offensive to me. Maybe I could've worded a few things better, but
My heart skipped a beat and I found myself frozen. Wilson couldn't have gotten into trouble in this short span of time. That was impossible. But why was his phone on the ground and his nowhere to be seen?"Hey!" a sharp, very high and very familiar voice cried. I clenched the phone in my hand and turned. That was definitely Wilson's voice. And he was close. I looked around-how had I missed him walking by? The group of businesswoman were still standing on the sidewalk as I passed them again and I slowed my pace, listening hard for his voice again."Don't touch me, I'm fine!"I stopped dead in my tracks. His voice had come from the middle of the group."We're just trying to help," one of the woman said. She was old and I couldn't see her face because her back was to me. She bent down and as she straightened up Wilson appeared in front of her, his hair disheveled."Let go," he demnanded again, his voice as huge as him.What did they think they were doing?My jaw clenched and I stepped f
Wilson's POV"Ughh," I groaned, pressing on my temple and trying to ease the pounding of my headache. I really hadn't thought it through when I'd decided to get drunk the night before. Not to mention the fact that I hadn't even gotten home until two in the morning and then had to wake up at eight to get ready for my nine-to-five shift. All in all, I felt like crap.Arian smirked at me from the other side of the store, where he was currently wiping down tables. I'd volunteered to do it initially, but the smell of bleach made me want to puke. I glanced at my phone, expecting to see a missed call from Georgia, but there was nothing. Had I scared her away last night? She'd definitely deserved my attitude, but I wondered if I was too harsh.I snorted. I wasn't even going to entertain that thought for a moment. She totally deserved it. Hopefully, she'd learned something from it. Admittedly, I was still a little worried. What if she didn't want to use me as his pretend boyfriend anymore? T
She'd left me Aspirin? That was surprisingly sweet. I'd been in such a rush to get to bed I hadn't even emptied out that bag though. "I missed it. Did you go out to buy it? You didn't have to. It was my choice to drink and I'll deal with the consequences.""I carry it around with me," she told me and I imagined her shrugging. "I get headaches often.""Oh. Well still, thank you," I said awkwardly. She sounded weird today. Meek, almost. Maybe I had been a little too rude to her. I couldn't remember my exact words, so I wasn't sure. But it was definitely weird to have Georgia acting this way. Creepy, almost. "Listen, Georgia, about last night.""It's okay," she said immediately. "I've been, for lack of better words, a bitch. Don't apologize because you haven't been doing anything wrong. It was me."Just what exactly had I said the night before? Whatever it was, it worked. I was impressed. "Okay.""Can we move past this? I want this to work and not be awkward between us. I will do my b
Back at home and after showering, I was once again facing the dilemma that all my clothing was old and baggy. I debated wearing the suit I'd worn last night but didn't want to wear dirty clothing. Which left me with a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt, my usual attire. I didn't think it mattered this time since I was just going to her house it wasn't like I was meeting anyone.Hopefully.The minute I saw a car pull down my street I rushed out of my apartment and locked it behind me. As I hurried down the stairs I looked at the apartment below me and was surprised to see a couple of squatters hanging out instead of the usual woman. A couple of them stared at me and a couple waved and I waved back a little awkwardly. One squatter was fine but five? Our landlord was going to notice eventually. And I wasn't sure how comfortable I felt with all the locks in this place being shodd.Shaking my head, I exited the main door. I'd figure that out later. I headed over to Georgia's black BMW a
Georgia's Pov"Be there at six o' clock sharp, no later. I've already ordered the flowers, as you apparently couldn't handle that task last time, so you simply have to pick them up. Be polite and courteous. Next week I want to set up dinner with Cecil and his wife, so you better leave a good impression. Carlo picked the restaurant so let him suggest what the best meal is and take his advice."It was hard to focus on my mother's words as I stood in front of my bathroom sink, trying to keep my stomach from twisting and crling and its contents from coming out. My mouth was dry and tasted like old leather, no matter how much water I sucked down. And then there was the headache. I didn't know how I was handling her shrill voice when it felt like Muhammad Ali was having a boxing match with my brain. I couldn't remember the last time I had a hangover this bad.I never wanted to drink again."Are you listening?""Yes.""Why do you sound like that? Did you go drinking?"How did she know these
No, not something. Their mother. She Uses one to control the other. I guess I found my first question. "Why do you let your mother control your life so much?"Lee's response was simple. "She's my mother.""But you're a grown adult.""You've met my mother. There's not much you can say against her. She's cruel, but she is caring. Even if she doesn't show it.""Is she the one who sent you away?"He nodded."Where did you go?" I asked slowly, unsure if my question crossed the line or not."An inpatient rehabilitation center in California. I've been there ever since the accident."I tried my best to swallow inaudibly."Your accident?"He tilted his head to the side and grimaced. "Well, I'm sure you know. An intended accident. I barely remember it, to be honest. I know I purposely wrecked the car, but after that, I don't know. I had a pretty bad concussion so they said there would be some memory loss. I was in the hospital and then shipped across the country to recuperate. And I haven't bee
Wilson's POVWhat. The. Hell.I stared out the window of the car, my heart racing. Georgia's words rang in my ears-I love you, I love you, I love you. Why did she say that? How could she say she loved me when she was the one who broke up with me?Why ask me to stay when a few hours earlier she'd told me to leave? Was I just supposed to go along with her mood swings? Whether it was her mother's doing or not, why did I have to be dragged along?My hands balled into fists. It wasn't fair to me. Bennett had said he made his choice. He made it pretty dang clear. I was confused enough as it was. I kept telling myself to pin it off as drunken babbling, but there was that part of me that wanted it to be true. A very stupid, pitiable part of me."Are you okay, Henley?" Henry asked quietly."I don't know," I said honestly. "I'm not sure if you've noticed but I'm not good at, you know, emotions.""Do you want to talk about it?"My lip twitched, breaking my temper. Henry was too good of a person.
Before I knew it I was gasping on the ground, the phone falling out of my hand. I couldn't find the strength to get up. The world was spinning and suddenly I felt nauseous. Closing my eyes, I rest my head against the foot of the stools. "I'm sorry, Wilson. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."Walter forced me off the ground, leading me over to one of the booths."Wait here. I called someone to pick you up.""Not my mother," I said, my blood going cold with dread."No, Georgia. I didn't call your mother."My muscles relaxed slightly. I was afraid if I tried to relax completely my body would slide back onto the floor. It vaguely registered that I was being embarrassing, but I didn't know how to stop. Like everything else in my life. How to stop my mom from controlling me. How to stop Lee from throwing his life away. How to stop Henley from leaving me.I wasn't aware I'd fallen asleep, but I jolted awake when I felt a small pair of hands shaking my shoulder. "Bennett? Wake up. I'm going to take you
Georgia's POVEmpty.That's how the house felt. Maybe it was how I felt too. Rain beat against the windowpanes, blurring my view of the outside world from where I stood in my living room. Droplets of rain fell from my hair and dropped onto the tiled floor, already muddy and marked from my shoes. I realized belatedly I'd forgotten to take them off.The windows reflected my white washed image but I could barely process it. All I could see was the image my mind kept replaying- of Wilson, tears in his eyes, walking away from me. Straight into Lee.I gasped, grabbing my chest as it clenched agonizingly. My body tensed, trying to fight the pain and waiting for it to pass. Spots blurred my vision and I staggered to the stairs, using the railing as support to pull myself up them and into my bathroom. Locating my strongest bottle of pain relievers, I dumped a couple into my hand, swallowing them down dry.What was Lee doing here? How was he here? Why didn't anyone tell me he was coming? Had I
The sound of a ringtone filled the car and Lee picked up an iPhone from the center console. "Hi, Henry. Yes, she's with me now. No, you don't have to come out to meet us- it's raining, stay inside. We'll be there soon.""Uh, where exactly are we going?" I asked when he hung up, feeling it was a question I should of asked before we started driving."To your place. Henry sent me the address."Again, I thought I should be a little dubious about Henry giving out my address to Lee, but Lee seemed like a safe enough person. And I trusted Henry. Lee couldn't be worse than the hobos, anyway. When we pulled up to my house, Henry was waiting outside on the porch, despite Lee saying not to."Are you that excited to see me?" Lee teased as we climbed up the steps together.Henry cleared his throat, turning his chin up. "It's been awhile.""It has," Lee agreed, shaking off his umbrella. "Still alive, I see."The joke fell short as the happy expression on Henry's face slid off, replaced by a serious
Wilson's POVLee Calloway.His form towered above me, a puzzled expression on his well-featured face. Maybe it wasn't right to think this now, but I couldn't believe how handsome he was. He was like some kind of model or Disney prince or something. He shared Bennett's dark hair and green eyes, but Lee's were contrasted by his pale skin. The word angel flitted to mind.This wasn't how I pictured him to look like, mainly because I pictured him in a coffin, but somehow it made sense that he looked like this. It just fit. Lee Calloway, the angel.Who wasn't dead."Are you okay?" he asked, his gaze lingering on my face.His question starled me and I quickly brushed some stray tears away, feeling embarrassed. Crying in front of strangers wasn't my thing. Especially not my whatever's older brother.Well, ex-whatever."Lee," Bennett said again, his voice sounding more frantic. "What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Does Mom know you're here? Are you okay?""One question at a time, Ben,
"How could she do this?" I whispered, staring at it, my heart beating like crazy in my chest. When had she bought this clothes? When had zhe planned on giving it to me?"What's wrong?" Brandon asked.Zipping the dress back up into the garment bag, I tossed off my apron. "I need to see her. I have to go. Arian, can you close up? Please?"She nodded, seeming bewildered. "Of course. Where are you going? To his house?""Yes." My whole body was trembling.This didn't make any sense. If he was going to end things with me, he wouldn't have bought this dress."Are you going to be okay alone?""I'll bring her."My eyes snapped to the door, where Henry stood, hair matted dovwn from the rain that had just started falling. He pushed his glasses up and gave me a nervous smile. "Hey, Henley.""Henry? What are you doing here?""I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to come see you," he apologized. "Mrs. Calloway made Bennett and I go to Hawaii last week. We just got back today.""Wait, what? You guys hav
Wilson's POVTurns out fighting for our relationship was easier said than done. No matter how hard I tried, I could not contact Georgia. She blocked my number. She blocked my work number. She refused to answer any calls from Solene's phone. When I stopped by her house, her car was never there. It was like he hadn't been home once since zhe'd decided to cut me out of her life, She was doing everything she could to avoid me. I had no doubt in my mind his mother was behind this- especially considering the fact Curtis had coincidentally decided to drop his lawsuit the same day Bennett disappeared. But that didn't mean I was only pissed at her. How could Bennett have given up on me so easily? Why didn't he even try to fight?Why couldn't he just tell me what happened? Why couldn't he have at least ended it face-to-face? There was so much I wanted to say to both of them. There was so much I wanted to say to him. but I just couldn't get to him. I groaned, dropping my head into my hands. Thi