Page 101 of Give Me Love

I turn and head for the door. “I’ll call you,” I say back to her.

__________________

Kathrine

The door slams shut, making me jump slightly, and I’m left feeling hurt and pissed off. He hardly said bye. I turn to look to Claire.

“What the fuck was that?”

“What?” she says as she coats the cake with icing.

“What do you meanwhat? Are you an interrogator now?”

“You act like you didn’t want to know.”

“Yeah, but when he’s ready to tell me. Not by you asking him a thousand questions and making him uncomfortable.”

“Why is he uncomfortable? Is he hiding something?” She pushes her hair out of her face.

“Since when did you become the one with trust issues?” I ask.

“I just think it’s crazy. I mean, you never talk about your past and then you end up with someone just like you.”

“Oh my God.” I throw my hands up. “This again?”

She stops icing the cake and looks at me. I lean back against the counter and look down at the floor of our small kitchen. I know she just wants to know, but she doesn’t understand. Whatever he’s hiding, I’m sure he has a reason for it. Just like I do.

I slipped in front of him earlier. I let my guard down and called my stepdad a sick fuck and Bryce let it go. He didn’t push me. He didn’t keep on until I had no choice but to kick him out. “Claire, sometimes things happen.” I focus back on her. “It splits your life. There’s a before and an after. Maybe he’s trying to forget the before. Maybe just like me, he wants to move on and not talk about it.”

“But it doesn’t make it go away,” she says.

“Maybe not.” I push off the counter. “But it makes it fucking easier to ignore.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Kathrine

The Friday evening sun dances across the floor in my bedroom as I slide on a pair of dark jeans and a white sleeveless blouse. Particles of dust swirl in the air, getting blown from the A/C unit in my window. We have central air, but Claire’s always cold and I’m always hot. I grab my lotion and rub it onto my arms and elbows, happy to see my tan is still in place from mine and Claire’s trip to her parents’ lake house not too long ago.

Two days of sunbathing and Jet Ski riding, and I must admit, I thought ofhimthe whole time. After that heated kiss that went south, I wasn’t sure if Bryce and I were going to be anything anymore, so when he walked into the shop yesterday, I was preparing myself for the worst. But just as quickly as we made things official, I find out he’s bought the place I work at.

I still don’t know what to think of that. It confuses me. Okay, he’s a businessman and thought it was a good investment. But seriously? He didn’t think it would make things even more complicated than they already are?

I stand and walk to my vanity, sliding some bangle bracelets on before putting my feet into some wedge sandals. I reach down and roll the bottom of my jeans one time and spray some light perfume on.

“You ready?” Claire yells to me from the kitchen.

“Yeah.” I flip my light off and tighten my half-up wavy ponytail as I walk into the living room.

“You talk to Austin?” I ask, grabbing my purse and phone from the counter.

“Yeah. He’s at work.”

I nod and put the strap over my head and on my shoulder.

Claire worked today and I shut myself up in my room enjoying the darkness. Sometimes I feel everything, and sometimes I feel nothing at all. I know my past is eating me up inside. It’s a festering wound. But my jaw locks when I think I want to talk about it.

Maybe I’m ashamed.

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