Page 58 of Silent Desires

She looks at the bag in surprise and instead of taking it, she types out a response.

Mina:You didn’t have to get me anything, you have nothing to apologize for. I have panic attacks sometimes. You didn’t do anything to trigger it. They are never anyone’s fault but my own. I hate that I caused you to be so sad. Please don’t be upset, cowboy.

I can’t help but laugh at the nickname as I look at her. “Cowboy, hmm?”

Mina:It’s your southern accent. I can picture you in a cowboy hat and boots.

“Is that all I’m wearing in this fantasy of yours, Sugar?” I wiggle my eyebrows at her, and her eyebrows rise to her eyeline in shock. “Umm, sorry, forget I said that,” I say awkwardly, rubbing my neck again.When did I get so terrible at talking to pretty girls?

Realizing I’m still holding the gift bag, I offer it up again. “Please, Mina, I bought this specifically for you, I want you to have it.”

She bites her lips as she eyes it tentatively, and just when I think she’s going to deny me, she reaches out and takes it from me.

I watch nervously as she opens the bag and reaches inside. When she pulls out the small, stuffed black and white cow, her jaw opens in shock.Does she hate it?

She places the gift bag on the floor without taking her eyes off the cow. She holds it in both hands, touching the soft fur with her fingers and staring at it as if she’s never seen a stuffed animal before.

“Do you… like it?” I ask nervously, and her eyes instantly flick up to mine in surprise, like she forgot I was in the room. Before I can ever start to feel upset by that thought, she practically throws herself at me, wrapping her arms around my waist and pressing her cheek into my chest. I instinctively hug her back, relishing in the moment.I guess she likes my gift.

She pulls back and types a message out to me.

Mina:I love him, thank you so much!

I give her a warm smile as the tension fades from me. “Now my nickname seems even more appropriate, hmm?” I ask, thinking it’s funny that she called me cowboy right before I gave her a stuffed cow. She gives me a little nod as she hugs it to her chest, rubbing her face against its soft fur.

“You’ll have to come up with a name for him now, any ideas?” She twists her lips as she looks at it for a moment before shaking her head and looking up at me with a questioning look in her eyes. “You want my help?” She nods her head and I rub my chin in thought.

“How about Moo Moo?” She scrunches her nose and shakes her head.

“Bessie?” She gives me the same reaction.

“Hmm… Milkshake?” She keeps her nose scrunch but tilts her head side to side like she’s considering it, then her eyes light up with an idea. She quickly types it out and shows me the screen.

Mina:TJ.

“Hmm, TJ, huh? Kind of an unusual name for a cow. Does it stand for something?”

She types her response, and when she shows me the screen, I feel my heart leap in my throat.

Mina:Tucker Junior.

Chapter thirty-nine

As Iwalk home from school, I can’t help but smile as I think about Tucker. He had us do yoga again today, and he somehow ended up placing me directly in front of him as he taught the class. That means I had a front-row seat to watch him stretch in his sweatpants and too tight t-shirt. He kept giving me brief glances throughout the whole class, making my blood rise in temperature.

Glancing at you,was on the flirting list. Is he flirting with me? His comment about fantasizing about him definitely seemed like flirting. He’s done at least five things on that list so far. Could it be a coincidence? Am I reading too much into it? Is my teacher actually interested in me? I don’t understand what’s going on here. There’s no way these seven super attractive guys could all be interested in me.

How did they even end up living together, anyway? I wasn’t even sure what Dom, Atlas and Ben did for a living, they were all home during the day when I visited. They definitely aren’t normal guys—there’s something strange going on with them and I need to know what it is before I can open up more about my own life.

I no longer think they’re reporting to my mother, I would have heard something from her by now if they were, but I still need to be careful. If they learn too much, they’ll run, and I’d be left aloneagain.

They say that friends don’t lie, but they could be omitting things just like I am. I just hope what they’re hiding isn’t as bad as what I am—and that they’ll be able to forgive me for my lies. That is, if I ever tell them, which I don’t think I can. I can’t imagine their faces when I tell them what my own brother has done to me.

At the end of my street, I make sure to remember to take my sweatshirt off today, and retie my braids. I shove it in my bag along with my phone, which is switched off. I even manage to get home ten minutes early. Confident that I’ve done all I can to escape my mother’s ire, I take a deep breath and head inside.

It’s quiet in the house, but as I step toward the bathroom, I’m yanked back by my hair, falling on my ass hard. “Where do you think you’re going?” my mother hisses at me. I point to my injured arm, hoping she understands I need to clean my wound. I know it was aggravated a few times today and needs a new bandage.

My mother narrows her eyes at my arm before speaking. “Your arm, let me see it.”

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