Page 54 of The Perfect Steal

“I don’t want to go through everything I had to deal with when I was younger all over again,” I said, focusing my attention on the ceiling.

It was Brynn’s turn to reach forward and touch my forearm, the same tension filling me as I stared into her face.

“What did you go through? I mean, I know you spent a lot of time with your dad, but what else happened?”

Would she understand? Or would she treat me differently once she knew?

I took in a long breath, holding it for several seconds before I leaned over, elbows on my knees. I glanced up at her and said, “My parents knew there was something different about me when I was about three or four. I was catching on to things early, speaking above my level, and when I was eight, they got me tested.”

“Tested?” Her nose scrunched up, and she looked worried about the answer.

“Not for a genetic disease, but a few intelligence tests.” I stopped, the look on her face making it hard for me to want to continue with the rest. “Basically, I have a really high IQ. My parents found tutors and people to teach me at home, and I learned a lot, skipping over several grades in course material.”

“So what happened?” she said, her voice sounding a little hesitant.

I glanced down at my hands for a moment, giving myself time to ground my thoughts. “It got to be too much. The pressure to go above and beyond what other kids my age were doing. I wanted to go to school, wanted to do something other than study. But the first few weeks in school, I was termed the freak.” All the emotions came back, myself as an eleven-year-old, going to school for the first time and trying to fit in.

“My dad sold his app, allowing us to move here. It was a fresh start for me, but also for the rest of the family.”

Several seconds ticked by, and Brynn stared at me as though trying to decide how to feel.

“So, what do you think?” I stretched my arms out to the side, trying to convince myself that she wouldn’t turn into the bullies from when I was eleven.

Instead of being angry, she looked sad. “You have all these gifts and intellect and you aren’t using them?”

Her question threw me back, as I was unprepared for something so direct.

“What do you mean? I just wanted to be normal for once, a kid who could go to school and hang out with his friends, who didn’t have to worry about making it into the newspapers and breaking records to get into college.”

Brynn leaned over, her face only inches from mine. “I can understand wanting some sort of normalcy in your life, but you have a gift. If the people around you don’t accept you for who you really are, do you want those people in your life?”

We stared at each other for several seconds before her phone pinged, signaling one of her many calendar appointments.

“I have to get home and help John with something, but thank you for teaching me all this. It was fun to learn more about you.”

We both stood and headed up the stairs. Once we were at the front door, she turned and kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll text you later?”

I nodded, numb from the questions she’d asked me. Once she left, I walked back downstairs and stared at the code I’d had her create for one of the old apps I’d worked on with my father back in the day. Instead of saving it, I shut the computer down, wishing I could just throw it across the room for all the problems it had given me.

The happiness I’d felt an hour before was gone, and all I could think about was that Brynn couldn’t accept me for me. At least I’d found out about it now before I’d asked her to be my girlfriend.

37

Brynn

I’d left the Everton house with mixed feelings, hoping I hadn’t ruined things between us. The revelation that Nate was basically a child genius was shocking and amazing, but I was still baffled that he would sit back and not even try at anything, now just floating through life in an attempt to be “normal.”

I sent him several texts over the next couple of days, but instead of the quick, witty responses I was used to, they went unanswered. Had I managed to push away the one person who made me feel like I wasn’t alone in the world?

The eighteenth came, and I saw Nate walking out with the guys to go to lunch. I just hoped I’d know what to say once we got to class.

I’d already filled out what we’d worked on for our skills, but we’d never gotten to finish whatever it was Nate was trying to teach me. Because of it, our grade would be lower. But as crazy as it sounded, that didn’t matter as much as Nate not speaking to me.

I’d gone over every word we’d spoken that night in his basement, and I now realized how fragile he was despite his attempts to show people otherwise. He’d lost his father and was afraid of losing the rest of the people close to him by revealing that he was actually smart.

I just hoped I could find a way to show him I wasn’t against him and I wasn’t turning away. I just wanted him to continue to push himself, to use the talents he had to be something other than a gamer.

Class rolled around, and Nate never showed. As much as I wanted it to be okay, something in my chest told me I’d screwed things up. And majorly.

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