Page 91 of Somewhere Only We Know
I stared at the large white envelope and the scrawled handwriting on it:For Lucky.
Hastily written, slanted script. I felt light-headed and my breathing quickened.
“He found me in the hotel lobby last night somehow. That kid knows his way around.”
He sure did.
I tossed it back to Ren. “I don’t want it.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I think you do.”
“Pardon?” I said. “Since when do you even care—”
The envelope was thrown back into my lap. “Trust me. Look at it.”
This wasveryout of character for Ren. He looked away then, absorbed in his phone. I picked up the envelope nervously and opened the already-torn seal.
A photo slid out. An eight-by-ten glossy of me. I was on the Sky Terrace looking at the view from Victoria Peak. The happiness in my expression as I looked over the city made my throat tighten up. I didn’t want to be reminded of this. My fingers trembled as I held the photo, unable to stop looking.
“You, um, might want to turn it around.”
I glanced up at Ren, confused. “What?”
He cleared his throat again and went back to his phone. For Pete’s sake.
I turned the photo around. Written in the same ballpoint blue ink:
Lucky,
I took this photo because you looked happy. And I want you to be happy. I believe in you so much. There isn’t a story anymore.
I’m sorry.
I love you.
Jack
P.S. Thank you. For everything.
MONDAY NIGHT
Los Angeles
TUESDAY MORNING
Hong Kong
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
JACK
“You’ve been doingwhat?”
I gulped at the incredulity on my parents’ faces.
Ava was sitting on the sofa next to them, staring at me with wide eyes. Like,Bro. What.She pulled on her long black braid and shook her head.
I took a deep breath, standing awkwardly in the middle of my parents’ living room. “I’ve been lying to you guys and taking photos for a tabloid. As a side job.”
