Semua Bab A Bark in the Park: Bab 11 - Bab 20

"I think he's in trouble," I said in a low voice. Delilah did not blink or dismiss my out of left field comment with a laugh. She paused in thought as she looked at me from her bed, illuminated by the soft glow of her laptop. A highlighter rested on the crease of her ear, shining like a beacon of learning, embodying a scholar's seriousness as if she were naturally inclined to dissect life's consequences. "What kind of trouble?" she asked hesitantly, her tone infused with wariness I flopped back on my bed, staring at the blank ceiling, searching for answers. "I don’t know. The kind that involves lying to someone and then vanishing. The kind that makes you flinch when a stranger says your name.” I braced for her skepticism, expecting her to dismiss my concerns. Instead, she surprised me. "Has he hurt you?" she inquired softly, concern written across her face. "What?" I sprang up, my heart racing. "No! It is not like that. He is kind and protective. Steady in unexpected ways, you see

“This isn’t just about the trees,” I said, setting my coffee down with too much force. “It’s about the neighborhood. The history. The people who use that park. Marigold Grove deserves better than being flattened for rich people and rooftop pools.”Xenia gave me a patient smile. “Love the passion, baby sis, but just tell me—are you planning to get arrested?”“Not intentionally,” I muttered.Reese arched a perfectly groomed brow over her chai. “That’s not the answer a lawyer wants to hear.”“She’s not planning to chain herself to a bulldozer,” Lilac cut in, flipping through a sketchbook while sipping a macadamia milk cortado. “But if she does, I’ve got contacts who can walk her through it.”Xenia groaned. “Lilac, no.”We were seated around a small bistro table at a tucked-away café in Alphabet City, where the chairs didn’t match, and everything looked like it had been artfully distressed on purpose. I’d brought my tablet with the current protest walk outline and an early version of the e

I was lying on my bed with my laptop open and untouched beside me, my fingers absentmindedly twisting the drawstring of my hoodie, when my phone buzzed. I didn’t even pretend not to pounce for it. Alan Chambers: Need an extra set of hands for your park walk? Rufio insists I attend. Alan Chambers: And I want to. I stared at the message for five seconds before a stupid smile spread across my face. I read it again. Then, once more. Rufio insists. And I want to. It wasn’t a confession. It wasn’t an apology. But it was something. Something more than the suffocating silence. Something tangible I could cradle in my thoughts. I didn't realize how much I needed to hear from him till that pesky tightness in my chest disappeared and I could finally breathe again. I rolled onto one side and clutched at my pillow, holding it as if it were my lifeline, as if it were him. Burrowing into its fluffiness, I couldn't help but smile, remembering back in middle school and getting all sappy over an o

Rufio climbed into bed with me in the middle of the night, seeking comfort. I was too tired or emotionally exhausted to say anything about it. Not that I’d have said anything if I wasn’t. I may have been half asleep but I was aware enough to hear his low whimper before I felt paws scrambling over to the bed, and then the gentle pressure of him curling up alongside me seeking comfort from his fears and worries. The same fears and worries I had.When I woke from my restless sleep, I had his head on my leg, his eyes open wide, fixed on the door as though waiting for somebody to enter. When I stirred, he emitted a low, mournful whine that resonated deep within him. My heart broke at the sound, a fine shard of pain slicing through the morning quiet. As much as I was worried about where Alan could be and what could be happening that he’d leave Rufio here, Rufio was feeling it worse."Oh, Rufio," I whispered, rubbing the dense, warm fur at the base of his ears to soothe him. "I know. I’m worr

“Amaya. Go.”The words cracked like a whip through the room, sharp and commanding, but I didn’t move. I couldn’t. I was too busy staring at Alan, or I guess Dorian, because that was his real name, wasn’t it? Dorian Lorenzetti. Nope, I’ll keep calling and thinking of him as Alan because THAT is who he is to me. Dorian Lorenzetti is a stranger. Alan Chambers is the man I’ve had a crush on since I met him and the more I’ve gotten to know him, the more I’ve fallen for him.I watched as something inside him broke wide open. It was the sort of fear you experienced for another person when you knew you couldn’t control what happened next.I slowly stood up from the sofa, my heart hammering in my ears. Rufio stood by the window, his deep rumble gathering in his throat, his entire body leaning forward in expectation. The air was so tense that I couldn’t help but think I was trudging through water. Alan was a ball of tension, his shoulders hunched over, his entire body clenched to fight.“No.” I