Page 87 of The Daredevil

Now it was my turn to lie. Sara’s guilt and pride wouldn’t allow her to accept my help, so I improvised. As I fabricated the lie, I realized that sometimes bending the truth was necessary for a positive outcome. Not everything was what it seemed.

At that moment, I truly understood what Oskar did. He lied to his family and me so he could protect us.

CHAPTERFORTY-FOUR

MICHELLE

As I dealtwith the pile of mail, it reminded me that Thanksgiving was in two weeks, which meant my mom, Charles, and I would have a small dinner together like we did every year.

I tossed the miscellaneous mail into the recycling bin and looked out the window at the gray sky. A sense of longing blanketed me. I missed Royce tremendously. I’d only been back for less than a week, but it felt like a year. I hadn’t worked out in a few days and felt sluggish. I also needed to do some grocery shopping.

My phone pinged with my daily reminder:

Food:Food is your friend. Eat healthy. Don’t overdo it.

Daily Exercise:1 hour of cardio. 30 minutes of weights. 30 minutes of yoga.

Motivation:You’re doing fantastic! Wear that pretty dress you love!

Don’t forget this:What are you grateful for today?

Another message came through as I was about to plan what I needed to eat. My heart skipped at Royce’s name, and I swiped away the reminder to reply to him.

Royce:How’s my woman doing?

Michelle:Good. How’s my man doing?

Royce:Busy wrapping things up. Will be back for Thanksgiving.

Michelle:I’m having Thanksgiving lunch with my mom. Wanna come?

Royce:Always want to come inside you. All over you. (laugh emoji)

Michelle:You’re so bad. (eye roll emoji)

Royce:Your fault. Yes, I’d love to go. Wanna join me for Thanksgiving dinner with my aunt?

Michelle:Okay.I want to hear your voice.

He called immediately, and I spent the next three hours on the phone with him until he had to attend an online conference. I couldn’t remember the last time I chatted on the phone for that long. We talked about everything. Even the silent moments didn’t feel awkward. It was as though the phone offered us the “invisible” touch we craved where words weren’t necessary. The longing I’d sensed earlier lessened after our chat.

I sat on my couch smiling like some high school girl who’d just gotten a date with her secret admirer when a pretty image popped into my phone with the title Eat Your Monsters. I didn’t recall downloading this app, but I often bought interesting apps or was given free ones from vendors I’d promoted.

I should probably delete all these apps I’m not using.

As I clicked on the beautiful landscape, my finger accidentally touched a flower icon, and the screen opened to an option for a male or female version of an adorable little creature. Before I knew it, I was a bunny battling beasts while trying to save a village of cute animals from being destroyed. My reward was a golden apple and a few reminders that looked familiar:

Food:Whatever your heart wants.

Daily Exercise:Running around with compassion.

Motivation:You saved the Lavender Cuties from the Scaly Wolf. You earned five golden points for the accessory shop.

Don’t forget this:You’re awesome!

Smiling to myself that I did indeed save a bunch of cute cranes, I rose and made a mental note to check out the app again later on. It looked like an updated version of my current reminder app. Regardless, I’d spent thirty minutes on the darn thing and didn’t feel guilty one bit. Who said electronics were bad for you? That person had never played Eat Your Monsters.

I had an hour before I had to meet my friends at the Krazee Tavern at seven. The day had disappeared in a blink, and I only remembered doing two things: chatting with Royce and playing on the app. I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad sign.

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