The Read And Weep Bundle: Anonymous, Perfectly Hopeless, Run by Holly Hood Page A

tips, his teeth grazed his bottom lip drawing her eyes to his mouth. He had an amazing set of lips.
    “For once just be honest. Am I not the kind of person you want to be associated with? Is it the rehab thing?” he asked.
    Elle quickly shook her head. “No. Hart, it has nothing to do with that, it’s just me. I can’t hang out with you. It’s not a good idea.”
    She was with Pauly and in a bad place in her life. She wasn’t the girl to be anyone’s friend. She had a hard time being friends with the ones in her life already.
    He wasn’t saying anything. And now she felt even worse.
    “Alright, I’ll be honest. I’m not doing okay.   I've  never been okay and all I want to do is make it through without another emotional breakdown. I can’t add anything to my life because I’m afraid it will crumble. And the idea of going back to that place I was in scares the shit out of me,” she said.
    She dropped her scissors and comb on her station. “Anyways, I think you’re good to go.”
    Hart took the mirror she was offering, but didn’t look in it. “Looks great.”
    “You didn’t even look,” she said.
    “I don’t care about my hair.”
    She rolled her eyes undoing the collar of the cape. “Don’t do that, don’t worry about me. You did the same thing a long time ago.”
    “Someone needs to worry about you. One time, just hang out with me. And after that I’ll leave you alone,” he said. “If I make your life worse than it already is I‘ll never bother you again.”
    “Why are you so insistent on doing this?” She shook her head. “I’m a mess; you know this better than anyone.”
    “So am I,” he insisted. “One time, come be a mess with me.”
    “Fine,” she tossed the cape on her station. “One time. You’ll see how much of a mess I am and you’ll quickly go running for the hills.”
    She hoped she didn’t regret the choice she made. Because making choices was the hardest thing anymore.

Chapter 16
     
    As Elle paced the floor of her bedroom she found herself trying to come up with an excuse, one that got her out of meeting up with Hart.
    She wished she had it in her to just do what she felt was right.
    But what was right? That she didn’t know.
    She checked her phone one final time. She thought maybe if Pauly called that would give her enough guilt to not meet up with Hart.
    She ran the brush through her hair a few more times and let out a sigh as she located the perfect shoes to go with her sweater.
    She headed down her parent’s wooden staircase and waited in the kitchen long enough to get the third degree from anyone. But there was nobody there to give her one. She wondered if this was all signs that she was meant to get out of the house.
    All the way to her car she told herself it was nothing. That everything was fine, she wasn’t going to fall apart or screw up. Hart was an old friend and instead of messing her life up she tried to see it as positive.
    She buckled her seat belt. There had to be one positive thing that could come from spending time with the boy from rehab, if she could come up with just one.
    “He’s doing well. He can show you how easy it is.” She put the car into reverse backing down the driveway. “This could help me.”
    As Elle headed through the parking lot of the bowling alley a breeze from the winter’s air snagged her hair sending it off her shoulders. She hurried inside searching for Hart in the crowded bowling alley.
    It wasn’t exactly the place she would have picked to meet up, but she decided it would do and she would deal with it. The crash of pins startled her senses, she bit down on her lip until she picked him out in the crowd.
    “You made it,” Hart said helping her out of her jacket. He led her to the lane he reserved for the two of them.
    “Yeah, I made it.” She brushed her hair off her shoulders and took a seat. Hart handed over bowling shoes for her to wear. “How do you know these will fit?”
    He shrugged, a grin appearing