Unmasked (New Adult Romance) (The Unmasked Series) by Anya Karin Read Free Book Online

market back in Newton that ran on Saturdays and
Wednesdays during the part of the year it was warm enough. He certainly didn't
seem like a greedy oil baron.
    Every so often, when she was out in the woods
where she knew she shouldn't be anyway, Alyssa popped out of them and looked at
the house, or as much of it as she could see. The way the hills lay in that
part of Pennsylvania, there was one that blocked a clear view of the house
until you got right up on it, which she was never brave enough to do, of
course. She could only ever see the second floor, what she assumed was a few
bedrooms that faced west.
    Her thoughts settled on the man who once stood in
the window, and, she imagined, watched her. It was much too far to see what he
looked like, but in her youthful imagination, that had only just started to
notice boys by the time she learned about mushrooms, and started making regular
trips, he was tall and dark and handsome, as heroes were supposed to be.
    "Lys?" Bret's voice broke her daydream. "You still
there, Alyssa? Goddamn phone keeps messing up."
    "Watch your mouth," she teased. "Sorry, yeah, I
just got to thinking about something. What were you saying? I drifted off."
    "You fell asleep? Isn't it like nine-fifteen
there?"
    "Yeah, no, I had a daydream. I did sleep like
thirteen hours when I first got home, though."
    "Wow," he said with a laugh, "you never sleep that
much. Must have been three feet from dead."
    "Felt like it. That's for sure. So, what were you
saying before I started ignoring you?"
    He laughed and told her that all he'd said was
that he wished her happiness.
    "That's sweet of you," she said. "You too. I want
you to be happy, too. I'm going to miss you, but my place is here right now.
I've got a lot to take care of and a lot to deal with. Mom and all. Dad's
really messed up over it."
    "I can imagine."
    "But yeah, when I get back to school – and I will
get back to school, no matter what Dr. Carlton might say – I want to see you. I
don't want you out of my life forever and ever. I just need some time. Okay?"
    "Alright. I think that'd be for the best. I've
never cared for anyone as much as I do you," he said slowly, as though he had
to think of each word before he said it.
    "I'm glad you called, Bret."
    "You are?"
    "Yeah, I think I needed to hear from you, no
matter how much I didn't want to. If that makes any sense. Somewhere in the
back of my mind, I was worried about you, even though I'd never show it in a
million years. I'm glad you're doing okay."
    "It does. Make sense, I mean. I've started
thinking that pretty much everything does when you stop to think about it long
enough. And if it doesn't make sense, that's because it isn't supposed to make
any."
    Those words came from the man she fell in love
with four semesters and a summer ago. She missed him. The way he'd gotten in
the past few months, she knew that was the new Bret, but not the one she had
gotten so fond of over so long. She knew that Bret was never coming back. And
for the first time, that was okay.
    "Alright," Alyssa said. "I've got a list of stuff
to do and I've gotta get cracking if I want any chance of getting it done. That
is, unless you want to go buy eggplants, kale and tomatoes for me and then drop
them off."
    "I think that would take a lot more time than it's
probably worth. That might just be me though."
    "Yeah, I guess you're right." She paused for a
second, and then the two of them interrupted each other saying they were glad
the other one called. "Alright," she said with a laugh, "I'll call you again in
a few weeks, okay?"
    "I'll look forward to it. And Lys?"
    "Mhm?"
    "I really am sorry. I mean it."
    "Don't mention it again. We're past that. We've
both got our own lives and our own things to do. Promise me you won't worry
about it anymore. Okay?"
    "Okay. Promise."
    She held the phone for what seemed like five
minutes after he hung up and it had long since gone dead. Looking back at the
list of times he called, she sighed