Page 48 of Loathe at First Sight

Still, I can’t help but sense a nagging feeling inside of me. I was a total jerk to her. She opened up and told me something, and I shut her down faster than I don’t know what.

Do I regret shutting her down?

No.

But I probably could have been nicer about it.

And I still feel like shit that I wasn’t there earlier when she fell and got hurt.

Was it my fault?

No.

Could I have prevented it?

I have no idea. Probably not.

But I could have kept her from lying there for so long. My mom always raised me to help however I can—even if I don’t necessarily like the person.

The entire drive back to the shop, I wage an internal battle with myself. I go back and forth between telling myself to stay as far away from Liz as I can to wanting to do something to say I’m sorry.

When I hear my mom’s voice in my head telling me to be a good person, I know which one will win.

seventeen

Realization and Ammends

Liz

Leaning back in the chair, I prop my feet up on the front desk of the inn. Maybe it’s not the most professional look, but my ankle hurts, and I don’t have any guests at the moment. To be honest, I’m a little surprised this place is still in business. Looking back at the check-in logs for the past year, I see that there’s never been a time when it was completely booked.

It’s not like Lilly Leaf Falls gets a lot of tourism. Around holidays, people will come into town and visit family, but besides that, almost everyone is long-term.

Although this isn’t my dream job by any means, it’s not a bad one. I have a lot of free time to listen to podcasts or read a book on my phone. I guess it’ll do until I figure out what I want my next move to be.

I’m thankful for the slow day since my ankle is still throbbing, and I am trying to stay off of it as much as possible. Not being able to run in the mornings is throwing off my whole routine.

Just the idea of my daily jog makes me think of Jack, which prompts me to grab one of the donuts he dropped off on the other end of the desk. I take a bite and let out an involuntary moan at how decadent it is. Back in LA, I was always on the go, and most of my meals consisted of salads, lettuce wraps, and smoothies—mainly because those were the easiest things to find. I forgot how much I love sweets.

It was nice of him to bring them by and apologize. I still have no idea why he’s so weird about where he came from or what happened.

Okay, that’s a lie.

I do understand.

I’m in no hurry to talk about what happened to me. Because of that, I’m trying to just let it go. Quite frankly, I don’t know why I even give a fuck. It’s not like I’m going to have some deep relationship with this man. We just run together occasionally, and he’s fixing my car.

That’s it.

There’s no way I’m dropping my pants for Mr. Paul Bunyan—no matter how big of an axe he may be swinging.

I shake my head in an attempt to rattle any thoughts like that right on out. Ronnie must be rubbing off on me.

I pull up the eBook on my phone and get back to reading a book about Jeffrey Dahmer. I’m so immersed in it that I don’t hear the front door chime, and I get the shit scared out of me when I look up to see someone standing at the desk.

“Holy hell!” I practically yell.

It takes me a second to realize that it’s Michelle.

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