Page 77 of Caging Liberty
“I’m sorry for upsetting you.”
“No.” I pull the box of chocolates toward me and look at Angel. “This was kind.Thank you.”
He gives my forearm a quick squeeze. “You’re welcome.”
I pick at the coconut truffle again. When I taste the first bite, I close my eyes and try not to cry as memories assail me. I want to remember. I want to appreciate my life and all the joy it’s brought me. So why does it make me so fucking sad?
“I’ll be able to stay for a few days,” Angel says, eliciting me to open my eyes. “Then I have to go to Shanghai, but I won’t be gone long.”
I swallow, leaving a coconut aftertaste in my mouth. “How long?”
“It depends.” He hikes up a shoulder. “Two days. Four tops.”
I nod slowly, trying to accept it.
See you tomorrow night, Ivy.
“I’m here now, though.” He puts his hand on mine and squeezes. “I’ll tell Sawyer you won’t be working the next couple of nights. Would you like that?”
I pick at another truffle. “Yes. Thank you,” I say, my voice soft.
“You’re welcome… Let’s talk about something else, okay? I’m pissed I have to go, and I don’t want to dwell on it while you’re here.”
“Okay,” I agree.
He smiles and picks up his drink, emptying the glass when he knocks it back. I follow suit and let the whiskey burn my throat.
“What would you like to do?” he asks.
I already know. I’ve been thinking about it all day.
I set the glass down with a grimace, coughing into my shoulder. Clearing my throat, I meet Angel’s gaze. “Do you think we could watch the news?”
Something passes over his face, and immediately, I know he doesn’t want to. Or rather, he doesn’t want me to. I’m sure it’s another one of Sawyer’s rules.
I press on anyway. “What could it possibly hurt?”
He lets out a long breath. “How about a movie instead?”
I’m quiet for a moment, a little disappointed but also a little excited. I’m a big movie buff.
“Anything you want,” he adds with an encouraging tilt of his lips.
I bite my lip while I think about it. My eyes travel to the living room where my book is. If I won’t be able finish the book, I may as well watch the movie.
I turn back to Angel. “Pet Cemetery.”
He tips his head to the side. “Really?”
“What? Pegged me as a chick flick kind of girl?”
“Actually, yeah.”
“That’s because I am one.” I give him a mischievous smile and stand from the table. “Let’s go watch some people with shittier lives than me.”
His shoulders shake with a chuckle as he stands. I grab the box of chocolates before we head to the living room.
An hour and a half later, my head is rested on his thigh, my knees pulled into my chest. I stare at the screen, watching horrors that make me question the writer’s sanity, but I’m not really seeing anything. I haven’t been paying attention to most of the movie, which I guess means I’ll have to finish the book after all.