Page 68 of The Longshot

“Get going? But I thought you were staying for dinner? Staying the night?” Dad pursed.

I zip up my jacket and secure my bag over my shoulder. “Looks like you both got another guest you’d much rather entertain instead,” I snap, making my way towards the door.

“Chelsie.” I can hear the remorse in my mum’s voice as she calls out my name. “Please, don’t go.”

I make an attempt to look back into her eyes and change my mind, but all I can seem to see is Simon and my secret that rests in the palm of his hand.

He’s smirking. Grimacing at the way his presence has completely derailed my parents' view of me, while helping to steer him in closer.

I swallow hard to choke back tears. I’ve cried so much these days I fear I’ve run myself dry, but as a single tear drop slips down my cheeks and I wipe it away, I know that I’ve spoken too soon.

“Have a nice supper.”

SEVENTEEN

C H E L S I E

“I can’t believe Mum and Dad would do something like that.” Ruby ruminates on Simon's sudden appearance at last night's dinner as she aggressively sweeps the floor.

It’s shocking to me that she’s shocked. I mean, isn’t this the norm by now? Chaos. There hasn't been a dull moment since I’ve arrived in Crawley. Why would this be any different?

Every time Ruby and I talk, I always seem to have something to update her on. Frankly, I don’t know how she’s put up with me for this long. Everywhere I go, drama seems to follow. That drama being Simon.

I didn’t get back to Ruby’s until 2 AM last night, and even then, I laid awake till the daylight rolled in, attempting to understand Simon’s motive.

I know he’s just trying to intimidate me. Pressure me. Simon’s always craved one thing his whole life—power. And with that power, a part of me fears that he’ll use it to spill the beans of my double life to my parents, yet in my insomnia, I couldn’t help but find this unsettling sense of peace in the fact that he won’t.

Why?

Because this sliver of truth is the only thing he has left to hang over my head, and if I know anything about Simon, he won’t give up without a fight. I just wish my parents weren’t a part of the collateral.

“Well, believe it.” I lean up against the counter, staring up at the ticking clock above my head. “They did. It’s like they want me to get back together with Simon. What were they even thinking?”

Ruby stops and slumps her shoulders. “I mean, to be fair, Chels. Mum and Dad have no idea what actually went on between the two of you. They probably just thought that maybe you two had a fight and wanted to see if they could find a way to bring you both back together. Does that mean it was right? No. But still, they don’t have the full picture. Do they?”

I let out a breath. There’s merit to what she’s saying, but even then, they shouldn’t have invited him. It was wrong of them to spring him onto me like that—regardless of whether they know the truth or not. At the end of the day, this is my life. My choices, and all I want is for them to respect them.

“Do you want to know the worst part?” I change the subject matter momentarily as she looks over at me. “That I had to sit on a train for eight hours in one day.” I watch as the little hand circulates around the clock. “It was excruciating.”

“As excruciating as talking to someone whose eyes are glued to a clock?”

Ruby’s counter forces me to immediately jolt my attention away from the time. It’s nearly 3:30 PM, and even despite the fact that Gary's week of swooning has long passed, I can’t help but long for his arrival.

It’s stupid to think that he’d show. It’s been forty-eight hours since our date came to a dramatic end, and I haven’t heard a peep from him since. Mind you, he doesn’t have my number, and I just told him I needed time to think. But still, does this lack of communication mean that we’re done? Was what I said enough to push him away without looking back?

I don’t know.

All I know is that I haven’t stopped thinking about him—the distance away from this town did nothing but lure me back in and make me question why I even left to begin with.

“What exactly are you looking at it for, anyway?” Ruby questions. “Are you trying to get out of work early or something?”

“No.” I shake my head, rubbing along my brow. “I’m just…” Thinking about Gary. “Zoning out,” I opt for instead. “That’s all, I’m sorry.”

I slump my shoulders back, resting my elbows on top of the countertop, opting to stare out at the doorway in fantasy instead.

“Ugh.” I see Ruby toss the broomstick to the side in my peripheral vision. “I promised myself I wasn’t going to get involved.” She walks her way over to me, completely fed up. “But you’re making it impossible. With your sad expression and repeated sighs. How can I not tell you?”

I peer over at her in interest. “Tell me what?”

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