Текст книги "After We Fell"
Автор книги: Anna Todd
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Текущая страница: 49 (всего у книги 49 страниц)
I bring the phone to my ear again. “You want me to meet you at a bar? Are you fucking stupid?” A drink sounds good right about now . . . the burn of hot whiskey on my tongue . . .
“Not to drink, only to talk. A public place would be the best spot for us to meet, for obvious reasons.” He sighs. “We can meet somewhere else if you want.”
“No, Gabriel’s is fine,” I agree. Tessa’s eyes go wide, and she tilts her head slightly, obviously confused by my change of heart. It’s not affection that makes me want to hear him out; it’s purely curiosity. He claims that there’s an explanation for all of this, and I want to hear it. Otherwise, my barely existent relationship with my mum won’t exist at all.
“Okay . . .” I can tell he didn’t expect me to agree. “It’s noon now. I’ll meet you there at one.”
“Sure,” I snap. I don’t know how this little meeting could possibly not end in blows.
“You should bring Tessa by Heath—that’s where Kim and Smith will be. It’s only a few miles from Gabriel’s, and Kimberly could really use a friend right now.” I want to laugh at the note of shame in his voice. Fucking asshole.
“Tessa will be coming with me,” I tell him.
“Do you really want to bring her into a potentially violent situation . . . again?” he asks.
Yes. Yes, I do. No, I don’t. I don’t want to be out of her sight, but she’s seen enough violence from me to last a lifetime.
“You’re only saying that because you want her to comfort your fiancée after you fucking cheated on her,” I growl.
“No.” Vance pauses. “I just want to talk to you alone, and I don’t think it would be especially wise of us to have either woman present.”
“Fine. I’ll fucking meet you in an hour.” I hang up the phone and turn to Tessa. “He wants you to hang out with Kim while we talk.”
“Does she know?” she quietly asks.
“Sounds like it.”
“Are you sure you want to meet with him? I don’t want you to feel like you have to.”
“Do you think I should?” I ask her.
After a moment, she nods. “Yes. I do.”
“Then I’ll meet him.” I pace across the room.
Tessa gets up from the bed and wraps her arms around my waist. “I love you, so much,” she says against my bare chest.
“I love you.” I’ll never tire of hearing her say the words.
WHEN SHE STEPS out of the bathroom, I nearly choke on my breath. “Fuck.” I cross the room in three steps.
“Does this look okay?” she asks, turning in a slow circle.
“Um, yeah.” I nearly choke again. Okay? Is she fucking insane? The white dress that she wore to my father’s wedding looks even better on her now than it did then.
“I could barely zip it.” She smiles, embarrassed. She turns around and lifts her hair off of her back. “Can you zip the rest?”
I love that I’ve seen every inch of her hundreds of times, yet her cheeks still flush and she still holds on to some of her innocence. I haven’t completely tainted her.
“Have you changed your mind? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.” Tessa’s voice is soft.
“Yes, I’m sure. All I’m doing is giving him fifteen minutes to listen to whatever bullshit he has to say.” I sigh. I sure as hell don’t want to go anywhere except to the damn airport, but after seeing the look on her face while she repacked that suitcase, I felt like I had to do this—not only for her, but for myself, too.
“I look like a fucking bum next to you,” I tell her, and she smiles, her eyes running over my face and body.
“Please!” She laughs. I look down at my black shirt and ripped jeans. “You could have shaved,” she comments with a smile. I can tell she’s nervous and she’s trying to lighten the mood. I couldn’t be further from nervous . . . I just want to get this shit over with.
“You like this.” I take her hand and rub it along the stubble on my jaw. “Especially between your legs.” I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss her fingertips. She jerks her hand away as I wrap my lips around her index finger, and swats at my chest.
“You never stop,” she playfully scolds me, and for a moment I forget about all of the bullshit.
“Nope, and I never will.” I reach around to squeeze her ass with both hands, and she yelps.
The drive to Hampstead Heath, where Kimberly and Smith are staying, and to the park where we’re meeting her, is nerve-racking. Tessa picks at her painted fingernails in the passenger seat and stares out the window.
“What if he didn’t tell her? Should I?” she finally says as I pull through the gate. Despite her worry, I watch as her eyes take in the scenic view of the park. “Wow,” she says, sounding many years younger than her age.
“I knew you’d like the Heath,” I say.
“It’s beautiful. How could someplace like this be in the middle of London?” She gapes at the surrounding landscape, one of the few places in the city that haven’t been polluted by smog and office towers.
“There she is . . .” I drive slowly toward the blonde who’s sitting on a bench. Smith is sitting on another bench about twenty feet away with a piece of a toy train on his lap. That little boy is so weird.
“If you need anything at all, please call me. I’ll find my way to you,” Tessa promises before getting out of the car.
“Same to you.” I gently pull her across the console to kiss her. “I mean it. If anything goes wrong, call me immediately,” I tell her.
“I’m more worried for you,” she whispers against my lips.
“I’ll be fine. Now go tell your friend how big of a shitbag her fiancé is.” I kiss her again.
She frowns at me but stays quiet as she leaves the car and walks across the grass to meet Kimberly.
chapter
one hundred and forty-two
TESSA
I try to gather my thoughts as I cross the grass to meet Kimberly. I don’t know what to say to her, and I’m terrified that she may not be aware of what happened last night. I don’t want to be the one to tell her—that’s Christian’s responsibility—but I don’t think I have it in me to pretend like nothing happened if it turns out that she doesn’t know.
My question is immediately answered when she turns around to face me. Her eyes, though covered mostly in shadows, are swollen and sad.
“I’m so sorry,” I say. I sit down next to her on the bench, and she wraps her arms around me.
“I would cry, but I’m afraid I’m all dried up.” She tries to force a smile that doesn’t meet her eyes.
“I don’t know what to say,” I admit, glancing across the way at Smith, who, thankfully, is out of earshot.
“Well, you can start with helping me plan a double murder.” Kimberly gathers her shoulder-length hair in one hand and pushes it to the side.
“I can do that.” I half laugh. I wish I had even half of Kimberly’s strength.
“Good.” She smiles and squeezes my hand. “You look really hot today,” she tells me.
“Thank you. You look beautiful,” I tell her. Bright sunlight breaking through the overcast makes her pale blue beaded dress glitter.
“Are you going to the wedding?” she asks.
“No, I just wanted to look better than I’m feeling,” I reply. “Are you going to the wedding?”
“Yeah, I am.” She sighs. “I don’t know what I’ll do afterward, but I don’t want to confuse Smith. He’s a smart kid, and I don’t want to alert him to anything that’s going on.” Her eyes focus on the little scientist and his train.
“Besides, Sasha’s skanky ass is here with Max, and I’ll be damned if I give her something to gossip about.”
“Sasha came here with Max? What about Denise and Lillian?” Max’s treachery knows no bounds.
“Exactly what I said! She has no shame, coming all the way to England to attend a wedding with a married man. I should beat the hell out of her to get some of this anger out.” Kimberly is so tense you can practically see it emanating from her. I can’t imagine the pain she must be feeling right now, and I admire the way she’s holding herself together.
“Are you . . . I don’t want to pry, but—”
“Tessa, all I do is pry. You’re allowed to, too,” she says with a warm smile.
“Are you going to stay with him? If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to.”
“I do want to talk about it. I have to talk about it, because if I don’t, then I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay as angry as I am.” She grits her teeth. “I don’t know if I’ll stay with him. I love him, Tessa.” She looks at Smith again. “And I love that little boy, even if he only talks to me once a week.” She laughs weakly. “I wish I could say that I’m surprised by this, but honestly, I’m not.”
“Why aren’t you?” I ask without thinking.
“They have history, a long, deep history that I’m just not sure if I can compete with.” Hurt fills her voice, and I blink back my tears.
“History?”
“Yes. I’m going to tell you something Christian told me not to tell you until he can tell Hardin, but I think you should know . . .”
chapter
one hundred and forty-three
HARDIN
Gabriel’s is a pretentious bar set in the middle of the wealthiest section in Hampstead. Of course he’d choose this place to meet me. I park my rental car in the lot and walk toward the door. When I step inside the stuffy place, my eyes scan the room. Seated at a round table in the corner of the bar are Vance, Mike, Max, and that blonde. Why the fuck is she here? And more importantly, why is Mike sitting next to Vance as if he wasn’t on the verge of fucking his fiancée less than twelve hours ago?
Everyone in the place is wearing a damn tie, except me. I hope I trailed dirt in behind me. A hostess tries to speak to me as I pass her, but I brush her off.
“Hardin, nice to see you.” Max stands first and puts his hand out to shake. I ignore him.
“You wanted to talk—let’s talk,” I snap at Vance when I reach the table. He brings his glass, filled to the brim with liquor, to his mouth and gulps it down before standing.
Mike’s eyes stay focused on the table and it takes all of my strength not to tell him how fucking stupid he is. He’s always been a quiet man, the dependable neighbor that my mum would always pester for milk or eggs when she ran out.
“How’s your trip going so far?” Sabrina’s voice rings out. I look at her, dumbfounded that she would even speak to me right now.
“Where’s your wife?” I glare at Max. Next to him, the blonde’s smile drops from her overly made-up face and she starts swirling her empty martini glass in small circles.
“Hardin . . .” Vance says, daring to try to shut me up.
“Fuck off,” I bark at him. He stands to his feet. “I’m sure she and her daughter miss him while he’s here parading around with a skan—”
“Enough,” he says and he gently grabs me by the arm in an attempt to get me away from the table.
I jerk my arm from his grip. “Don’t you fucking touch me.”
Stephanie’s shrill “Hey!” cuts through my growing anger. “That’s no way to treat your father, now, is it?”
How fucking stupid is she? My father is back in Washington. “What?”
Her smile grows. “You heard me. You should really treat your old man with more respect.”
“Sasha!” Max grabs her thin arm with brutal force, nearly dragging her to her feet.
“Oops, did I say something I wasn’t supposed to?” Her laugh rings through the bar. She’s a fucking idiot.
Confused, I look at Mike, who has no color left in his round face. He looks like he could pass out at any moment. My mind begins to shift, and I look over at Vance, who is equally pale and nervously shifting from one foot to the other.
Why are they being so dramatic over some dumb chick’s random nonsense?
“You shut up, now.” Max removes the woman from the table and practically drags her through the bar.
“She wasn’t supposed to—” Vance runs his hand over his hair. “I was going to . . .” He balls his fists at his sides.
She wasn’t supposed to what? Make some stupid comment about Vance being my father when clearly my father is . . .
I look at the panicked man in front of me, his green eyes on fire, his fingers frantically running over his hair . . .
It takes me a moment to realize that my hands are doing the exact same thing.
acknowledgments
I can’t believe I’m writing acknowledgments for the third book already! Time has literally flown, wings and all, away from me, and I’m so grateful for this crazy ride. I have so many people in my life worth thanking, and I’m going to try and fit as many as I can here.
First, my readers and loyal Afternators. You guys never fail to amaze me with your support and love. You show up in numbers to every event I have, you tweet me about your day, you care about mine, and you are always my cyber-sidekicks everywhere I go. I feel as if we have this bond beyond the typical reader/writer relationship where we are more than that, more than friends, even. We are family, and I could never thank you enough for being there for me and for each other. We have one more book to go in this series, and I hope you feel the sense of pride and ownership as you always have. I love you all so freaking much, and you mean the world to me.
Adam Wilson, my superhero of an editor at Gallery. We have gotten through so much work together, and we’ve been a steam train at getting these books done at a super speed, with you making it “easy” for me. You teach me to be a better writer through your comments and jokes, and you get my sense of humor. I was afraid at first to have a “big, bad editor,” but you’ve been everything I could have hoped for! Thank you!
Ashleigh Gardner, you have become a very close friend to me. I’ve said this before, but honestly, you’re the type of woman I look up to. You’re strong and fierce, but so sweet and silly at the same time. You always have excellent book recommendations, and you take me to strange food places and don’t make me feel stupid for needing a fork to eat ceviche or when I don’t understand something (un-food-related, too—haha). I really just admire you a lot, and I’m so happy for your new marriage, and I want to thank you for everything.
Candice Faktor, since we met, we had so much in common to the point where it was creepy. I knew instantly that you and Amy were my type of people, and I was so relieved when you turned out to be awesome. I love the way you speak about everything so passionately—we are alike in that way as well. You are always so genuine and so organic, and I’m just thankful to be working with you and consider you a friend.
Nazia Khan, thank you for helping me learn to speak in public and make it through an interview without becoming a total disaster. You always make things fun, and you only get a little mad at me when I give people my email address without telling you first (haha). You’re a good friend to me now, too, and we are getting ready to go to AMA’s (in actual life, not when you’re reading this), and I’m so, so happy you are the one to come with me! Thanks for everything!
Caitlin, Zoe, Nick, Danielle, Kevin (both of you), Tarun, Rich, everyone at Wattpad—you guys are beyond a doubt the best team imaginable. I know none of you signed on to Wattpad thinking you would have to do so much for After and for me, and I want to thank you for welcoming me into the family and helping me with everything After-related and some things not. I can’t wait to see what the future brings all of us! You guys are the most creative, most daring and fun group, and I care so much for all of you. Thank you for all the laughs, Nick’s picture taking, the wine drinking, the rainy but super-awesome condo crawl, and the massive amounts of food that seem to be there every time I visit.
Allen and Ivan, without Wattpad I wouldn’t have found myself, so thank you for creating one of the most important things in my life. I know others share this sentiment as well.
Kristin Dwyer, thank you for making me laugh and calling me “dude” all the time. I’m so happy to work with you and appreciate all the hours of work you put into me. I really love you and your humor, your hard work, how you make me remember that the good always overcomes the bad, and everything else you do for me!
Everyone at Gallery who has welcomed me, the inexperienced, overly fangirlish, weirdo author who mostly has no idea what she’s doing but loves doing it! I appreciate all of the work you all do for this project, from the sales team to the production team. Jen Bergstrom and Louise Burke, for letting Adam sign me up. Martin Karlow, I know you’ve worked so hard on this, and I’m grateful for that! Steve Breslin, as Adam says, “You keep this train somewhat on track!”
Christina and Lo, you two have been great mentors and friends to me, and I love you both!
To all the Tessas and Hardins in the world who love fiercely and make mistakes along the way.
All of my friends and family who have supported me since I let the cat out of the bag that I just happened to, you know, write four books without them knowing. I love you all.
Last but not least, my Jordan. You are everything to me, and I can’t thank you enough for being my rock this last year and the many before. We are so lucky to have found each other so early in life, and it’s been the best adventure growing up with you. You make me laugh and make me want to murder you (not actually, because I would sort of miss you, sometimes). I love you.
AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH BY J.D. WITKOWSKI
ANNA TODD is a first-time writer spending her days in the Austin area with her husband, with whom she beat half the statistics by getting married one month after graduating high school. Between her husband’s three deployments to Iraq, she worked odd jobs from a makeup counter to the IRS processing center. Anna was always an avid reader and boy band and romance lover, so now that she’s found a way to combine the three, she’s enjoying living a real-life dream come true.
Find her at AnnaToddBooks.com, on Twitter at @imaginator1dx, on Instagram at @imaginator1d, and on Wattpad as Imaginator1D.
FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR: authors.simonandschuster.com/Anna-Todd
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ALSO BY ANNA TODD
After
After We Collided
After Ever Happy
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Gallery Books
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Anna Todd
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All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Gallery Books trade paperback edition December 2014
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Interior design by Davina Mock-Maniscalco
Cover design by Damonza
Cover image © Ase/Shutterstock
Infinity symbol courtesy of Grupo Planeta, Art Department
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-1-4767-9250-7
ISBN 978-1-4767-9256-9 (ebook)
contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Chapter Sixty-Five
Chapter Sixty-Six
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Chapter Seventy
Chapter Seventy-One
Chapter Seventy-Two
Chapter Seventy-Three
Chapter Seventy-Four
Chapter Seventy-Five
Chapter Seventy-Six
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Chapter Eighty
Chapter Eighty-One
Chapter Eighty-Two
Chapter Eighty-Three
Chapter Eighty-Four
Chapter Eighty-Five
Chapter Eighty-Six
Chapter Eighty-Seven
Chapter Eighty-Eight
Chapter Eighty-Nine
Chapter Ninety
Chapter Ninety-One
Chapter Ninety-Two
Chapter Ninety-Three
Chapter Ninety-Four
Chapter Ninety-Five
Chapter Ninety-Six
Chapter Ninety-Seven
Chapter Ninety-Eight
Chapter Ninety-Nine
Chapter One Hundred
Chapter One Hundred and One
Chapter One Hundred and Two
Chapter One Hundred and Three
Chapter One Hundred and Four
Chapter One Hundred and Five
Chapter One Hundred and Six
Chapter One Hundred and Seven
Chapter One Hundred and Eight
Chapter One Hundred and Nine
Chapter One Hundred and Ten
Chapter One Hundred and Eleven
Chapter One Hundred and Twelve
Chapter One Hundred and Thirteen
Chapter One Hundred and Fourteen
Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen
Chapter One Hundred and Sixteen
Chapter One Hundred and Seventeen
Chapter One Hundred and Eighteen
Chapter One Hundred and Nineteen
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-One
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Two
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Three
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Four
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Five
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Six
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Seven
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Eight
Chapter One Hundred and Twenty-Nine
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-One
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Two
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Three
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Four
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Five
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Six
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Seven
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Eight
Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Nine
Chapter One Hundred and Forty
Chapter One Hundred and Forty-One
Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Two
Chapter One Hundred and Forty-Three
Acknowledgments
About Anna Todd
