Like Glass We Break (Glass #2) (18 page)
Read Like Glass We Break (Glass #2) Online
Authors: Kari Fisher
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Lauren
“There aren’t any rooms available, Lauren,” Nathaniel says, on the other end of the phone.
“What? There has to be. How can a small town like this have so many tourists?” she asks, confused.
“I don’t know. You’ll have to find somewhere else to stay. Are you stranded? Do you have somewhere else to go? Should I come get you? I’m worried about you, Lauren. I told you to be careful,” he sighs.
“I’m fine. I just need to get into this hotel,” she explains. “Can’t you do something?”
“Well, that’s not happening tonight. I’ve tried everything. I’m sorry. I can see if there’s anywhere else you can stay, but you can’t stay there. Let me call around and I’ll give you a call back.”
Lauren is so irritated that she doesn’t even respond to this; she just hangs up.
As she walks out of the hotel lobby, she stares at the desk. A young man is working it now; there’s no sign of Esther—until Lauren gets out into the parking lot and sees Esther sitting in her car, with it running but still in park, weeping over the steering wheel.
Lauren taps on the window and Esther looks as though she is terrified but she rolls the window down anyway.
“What’s wrong?” Lauren asks.
“Uh, nothing. Just heading home, like you told me.”
“Why are you crying?”
“I—I don’t know.”
“Unlock your doors.”
Esther complies and Lauren walks around to the passenger side and gets in.
“Stop crying. I didn’t mean to upset you that much. You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t fuck him—you didn’t do anything, okay?”
“Okay.” Esther is still sniffling.
“So stop crying,” Lauren commands.
Esther nods. They sit in silence for a few moments.
“Holy shit—” Lauren manages, breaking that silence as she watches Oliver walk a very drunk, very half naked bar slut toward the hotel as she hangs off of him. “Oh, hell no. Esther, get out of the car. Esther, now!”
Esther does as she’s told and jumps out of her idling vehicle. Lauren jumps over the center console into the driver’s seat and throws the vehicle into drive. As Oliver and his new fling walk into the hotel, through the doors, she follows in Esther’s vehicle, as fast as she can make it go as it bounces up the three cement stairs.
The car, though it is small, crashes into the glass doors with the loudest noise Lauren has ever heard. Being inside the vehicle and hearing the glass crash down around her feels like her world is falling to pieces.
So this is what it’s like to implode.
Halfway through the doors, she presses on the brakes and comes to a stop. There are screams, although barely audible and buried by the sounds of the car being crushed. The front windshield has blown out and Lauren’s entire lap is littered with glass. Her face and arms are covered in blood. She reaches for the door handle and winces as she squeezes it to release herself from being trapped inside the vehicle. As she steps out, she is wobbly on her feet. Oliver stands, stunned, almost twenty feet from her. The woman he’s with stands too, only feet from him. She looks like she’s about to cry but is too shocked. The look on Oliver’s face goes from fear to disgust.
“Lauren?”
“Oliver,” Lauren manages.
“Lauren, what are you doing here? What did you do?” he asks.
“Oliver, I can’t believe it. It’s you!” she exclaims, as she begins to step toward him.
“Don’t come near me.” He holds his arms out, as though to keep her back, even though she’s still far away.
“Oh, the blood,” Lauren notices.
“No, just don’t come near me, Lauren. Stay away from me. You shouldn’t be here.”
“Oliver, I have been all over the country looking for you. We can finally be together,” Lauren pleads.
There are people running in. People making sure other people are okay. People are bleeding. Esther is standing just outside of the hotel, shocked and shaking. Still crying. She’ll never stop crying.
“Lauren Blue, you ruined my life.”
“Oliver, I love you. You said you loved me. Please, tell me you still love me,” Lauren pleads.
Oliver shakes his head and walks toward Lauren, who has blood, tears, and snot dripping down her face.
“Don’t come looking for me again,” he whispers as he steps over her and out through the broken glass doors of Maplewood Inn and Resort. Oliver Fallon is gone and Lauren Blue is left to deal with her coffee shop demons alone once again.
Acknowledgments
Sean Lamothe, you were so much fun to work with. Kaleigh and Tyler, I appreciate everything you did for me.
About the Author
Kari Fisher is clumsy, disorganized, and never wears matching socks. Where does she get her motivation? Over-caffeination often helps, as little gets accomplished without a cup of java. She has two dogs, three cats, a fish, a toddler, and a husband who is more work than all of them combined. She often encourages her readers to enjoy her characters as she creates them in her head—with a splash of red wine.
