When Travis and Nicole meet on a bus for the first time, he thinks she's his ex, Rachel, who broke his heart two years ago. But he doesn't understand why she's pretending to not know him, and his curiosity leads him to keep an eye on her.
It doesn'...
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"Dammit."
I put my phone away in frustration and sank back into the king-sized mattress, a deep sigh slipping from me.
I found close to nothing about Rebecca.
My gaze wandered around the room, taking in the soft, creamy white walls. The plush carpet was vacuumed, the dresser drawers were closed, and the flat-screen TV hung perfectly aligned on the wall. The only sound was the soft hum of the air conditioner and the steady beat of my own heart.
Everything was in its place, just as I liked it.
The California King bed, dressed in crisp gray linens, dominated the center of the room. Luke always said the careful arrangement of my space was a reflection of my need for control and order in my life.
On the nightstand beside my bed rested the completed "Starry Night Sky" puzzle in a beautiful wooden frame, its 1000 pieces carefully constructed to recreate Van Gogh's iconic masterpiece.
A small plaque on the bottom of the frame read: "For Travis, with love, Mom."
It was a birthday gift, one I cherished, because I enjoyed strategic games. They gave me a sense of control.
The bedside table held only essentials: a lamp, a clock, and a half-read horror novel recommended by Rachel. For some reason, I couldn't seem to finish the book.
Maybe it was because I feared once I was done with it, there'd be nothing left of hers for me to hold on to.
Thinking of Rachel brought my thoughts back to the girl I'd met last week.
I wasn't a fan of social media, but I'd downloaded every social app that existed and tried to look her up.
The results weren't satisfactory.
Apparently Rebecca was a very private person. The only place I found her was Instagram, and she only had just a single photo uploaded.
She was with three girls, all stunning in their own unique ways. A regal-looking blonde who had every inch of her put together perfectly, a chocolate-skinned buxom with a happy smile, and a pretty brunette with shy, doe eyes.
I wondered what her relationship with these girls was. The caption was only a blue heart emoji, disabling me from drawing any solid conclusion.
But they looked really happy.
The picture had a vintage aesthetic to it, the filter adding a warm, golden glow to Rebecca's skin. It made her look like a sun-kissed goddess. I couldn't stop looking at her. Her eyes were so bright and blue, glinting with a certain boldness that teetered on the borderline of a challenge.
A nostalgic shiver ran down my spine as I traced the curve of her smile with my finger, fantasizing about the softness of her lips.
I seriously had to end this self-torture slash creepiness real quick.
