Urban Climber 2 Read Online Free PDF

but happy tears.”
     
    “It was just adrenalin.”
     
    “Oh, ass!” she fumes.
     
    I shrug. “I dunno. I guess I was confused.”
     
    “Confused? You didn’t seem that way to me.”
    “I wasn’t thinking, Mel. You know how much I went through with Hugo. He was my life up until I came here.”
     
    “But isn’t that why you came here? To discover something new about yourself?”
     
    “I moved away because I was too devastated to stay.”
     
    “But none of that has changed. He still cheated on you.”
     
    “People make mistakes.”
     
    “What about what he did to us yesterday? Weren’t you scared?”
     
    Scared? More like petrified. But for some stupid reason, I shrug like it’s no big deal. “If I had gone with him from the beginning, he wouldn’t have acted like that. He had no other choice. I already told you that.”
     
    “No other choice?” She shoves my shoulder. “Shit, Laura! Have you seen yourself? He really messed you up.”
     
    I thought she understood me, but hearing her go on like this reminds me how different our worlds are. She doesn’t understand what I’m going through. She doesn’t get any of this. Unlike mine, her parents are rich. And she certainly didn’t grow up moving from one foster home to the next. She’s got no idea about anything.
     
    Great. Now she’s tapping her foot at me like I owe her some sort of explanation. I throw my arms in the air. “Mel, just stop it, will you? Nothing I say is going to make things better. I know you think Smit’s the bad guy. You always have. You told me you never liked him. So how am I going to convince you otherwise when you’ve already made up your mind?”
     
    “I know you, babe, and I know how happy you were when you were with Ash. Plus, in case you’ve forgotten, he’s a freaking god.”
     
    I look down at the engagement ring on my finger, watching as the diamond catches the light. “I’m really tired. I just want a shower, and then I’m going to bed.”
     
    “When are you going back to class?”
     
    “When my face settles down a bit, I guess. Makeup can only hide so much.”
     
    “Laura …” Awesome. Now Mel’s eyes are filling with tears. “You know how much I love you, right?”
     
    I can’t look at her right now. If I do, I’ll start crying too.
     
    “Do you?”
     
    “Yes.” I exhale, lingering in the doorway of the bathroom.
     
    “Well, why can’t you understand that Hugo’s love is not the sort of love you or any woman should be smothered with?”
     
    I can’t take this right now. First the monkey, and now Mel. “I really wanted you to be my maid of honor, Mel …”
     
    “But?”
     
    “But if you can’t handle my relationship with Hugo, then I think it’s best if you don’t come to the wedding.”
     
    Her expression breaks my heart, but I ignore it.
     
    “I drove back this morning because Hugo wanted me to. He knows marrying him is a big decision, and he didn’t want to rush me. If he was as controlling as you say he is, I would’ve been in the jet back home with him last night, after blowing him in his car, or I’d be dead in some gutter. But instead, he suggested I take as long as I need to think about it, and then whatever decision I come to—he will respect it.”
     
    “And you seriously believe that?”
     
    “Yes, Mel,” I sigh, “I do.”
     
    “If your parents knew what he did to you, they would be devastated. You realize that, right?”
     
    “For your information, they want us to work things out. I spoke to Dad last night, and he has forgiven Hugo for what he did to me. They just want us to be happy.”
     
    “Well, they obviously don’t know the full story.”
     
    I clench my jaw before I say something I’ll regret. Why can’t she just be happy for me? Why can’t she let things be? “I’m taking a shower.” I sigh, turning my back on her.
     
    “Why? So you can wash away all the blood and bruises?”
     
    “Fuck you.”
     
    “Laura, please,