Best Kept Lies (Best Kept #3)

Chapter 30: I'd Follow You Anywhere

Song: Calm Snow by I See Stars

"We're watching things unravel slowly
You're just trying to get away from yourself
It's obvious you're speaking in languages I can't read
You just hide and confide in someone else."

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Thank you GlueEater for the beautiful art <3 This chapter is dedicated to you!!
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"Remi! I need help!" I call through the back of the shelter.

Eventually, I do find Remi in the middle of feeding the dogs. She gives me the signal to hold on and then joins me at the entrance, closing the door behind her. "What's up?" She asks breathily.

"There's a couple out front that wants to look at the new retriever puppies," I tell her. "Didn't we just post about them this morning?"

She hums in response. "People love puppies."

When we make it to the front, Remi plasters on a smile and directs the couple back through the door we just came through. We received a litter of four golden retriever puppies this morning from a mom of four kids. Obviously she couldn't handle the puppies, so instead of selling them, she gave them to us. Our adoption fee is really small and we mainly run on donations. It's a small shelter, but we do what we can.

Kittens don't last too long here either. Maybe a day or two longer than dogs. But the older cats move around a lot to different shelters and pet stores to get them adopted. Sometimes it works and sometimes they come back. It makes me want to take them all home with me because I want them.

I sit at the desk and take a drink of the coffee Jasper brought me an hour ago. It's a bit on the cooler side now, but caffeine is caffeine.

The door opens, signaling the bell above. I raise my head from the pet log and watch Victoria walk inside. At one point, maybe I would've glared and kicked her out, but today I just look at her curiously, wondering what the hell she's doing here. "Is it lunch time yet?" She asks.

I shake my head. "I have some paper work to do and then I'm free for the rest of the day. What's up?"

She shrugs a shoulder. "I had the day off. Figured we could hang out a little bit."

There's no way she would've just showed up here because she wanted to hang out. Things have been okay between us, but we're not at the point of casually hanging out. "What are you really doing here?"

Victoria's smile falters.

"What?" I question.

She draws closer to the desk and halts. "Mom called," she says.

"I knew it—"

"It's not what you think," she interrupts quickly. "And it's only part of the reason why I'm here. Just let me talk, okay?"

"I have work to do," I retort.

She rolls her eyes. "It's not about you going to live with her anymore. It's not about you coming to live with me either. It's about the letter she gave you. Did you ever read it?"

I've actually forgotten about the letter until she mentioned it. The letter is still sitting in my drawer at the house. "No."

"She just wants you to read it, Ella," she goes on. "It's nothing bad, I promise."

"How would you know?"

Victoria crosses her arms over her chest. "I wouldn't, I guess."