Pull (Seaside #2)(24)

“There’s a lot about her that you don’t know.”

“Tell me about it,” I mumbled. She’d been ignoring my phone calls all weekend. When I stopped by her parents’ store they always had some sort of lame excuse or said she was using the bathroom.

Either the girl had some serious bathroom issues, or she was gone. Either way, I was persistent.

This afternoon I even stopped by before my session. I knew she was working, but when I went into the store, all she did was hand me three pieces of taffy and began helping another customer.

I took the taffy and walked out.

They were burning a hole in my pocket, but she had taken the joy from that stupid habit. I had resorted to chewing the hell out of toothpicks and eating lollipops like it was my job. I needed something in my mouth, and I knew if I stopped eating candy or sucking on things, I would revert back to old habits, especially with the stress of Alyssa on my chest.

“When’s the first session?” I asked, twiddling the toothpick between my fingers.

“Tomorrow night.”

“What do I say?”

Mrs. Murray smiled and handed me a packet. “Everything’s in here. You’ll do great, I promise.”

“What if I would have said no?” I took the packet from her hands.

Mrs. Murray shrugged. “Let’s just say I know you better than you know yourself.”

“And that’s not a creepy thing for a shrink to say…”

I scratched my head and opened up the packet. Worksheets tumbled out, as well as nametags for the members to fill out. It reminded me of my AA group info I used to take back home a while back.

“Trial run?” I pleaded, giving her my best smile, making sure to remove the toothpick so the full force of my dimples was present.

She arched an eyebrow and shook her head. “Nope. You either commit now or I find someone else.”

Damn the woman drove a hard bargain. “Fine.” I cursed.

“But no autographs, no picture taking, and I swear I’ll sue the first person who says anything about my personal life.”

“Easy.” Mrs. Murray pulled out another piece of paper.

“Every member has to sign a gag order. If they talk about you or each other, they’ll be liable.”

“Good.” I took the paper and thrust it in the folder with the rest of my papers.

“Ten minutes,” Mrs. Murray reminded me. “But you can leave early if you like, take some time to go over the information.”

I didn’t want to admit that I was waiting for Alyssa. But Mrs. Murray had her Jedi mind tricks. “She switched session times, Demetri.”

I laughed bitterly and clamped down on the toothpick.

“Right.”

Mrs. Murray stood, meaning it was my cue to leave. I took the papers and put them under my arm.

“Demetri?”

I stopped and turned around.

“For what it’s worth, I think you’re good for her.”

I licked my lips and looked down at the ground. “Nah, I’m probably not good for anyone, but I wanted to be good for her. I wanted it really bad.”

“You still can be.” Mrs. Murray placed her hand on my shoulder.

I shook my head. “You can lead a horse to water, Doc…”

She tilted her head in agreement, and I left.

****

By the time Saturday night came around, I was a nervous wreck. I read through some of the profiles of the group members, mainly just information on their ages and stuff. But there was a picture next to each name, and that stupid picture made me nervous as hell. It meant I had to talk to a person about things I hated talking about.

What if nobody showed?

What if nobody cared?

Or worse, what if they just came to make fun of me? I had nothing to offer them.

I pulled the lollipop out of my mouth and focused on the door, willing people to come in. Mrs. Murray had decided to have me host the group meeting at my house instead of hers. She thought it would feel less professional.

I looked around at the modern furniture and expensive touches. Well, it felt less something.

Throwing up was not an option, but my stomach kept doing flips.

I put the sucker back in my mouth and focused on the watermelon flavor as it trickled down my tongue.

The doorbell rang. I nearly dropped my sucker.

This was it.

I walked to the door and opened it.

A man, who seriously could have been Bob’s twin, walked in. Tattooed sleeves covered both his arms. He wore a beanie and looked like it would bring him the greatest pleasure to end my life.

“Hi.” I choked, nearly dropping my sucker again. “I’m Demetri.”

The girl at his side sighed and leaned against him.

“Holly,” the guy grumbled and pulled her flush against him.

They looked like they were about the same age as I. I opened the door farther. The guy grunted and pushed his way in.

“Make yourselves at home,” I grumbled.

I was just about to make a run for it when another voice said, “Hi.”

I turned toward the door. The guy from the aquarium stared at me like he wanted to kill me as well. Perfect. I was going to witness my own murder in my house. Awesome. Thanks, Mrs.

Murray. Not what I had in mind, but thanks. At least it will be quick by the looks of the other guy I just let in.