Page 9 of Slow Burn
Shaking my head, I forced my thoughts in a different direction. Unfortunately for me, my mind was hellbent on torturing me because the first thing that popped into my head was Mr. Personality and those thick scars marring his skin.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I unlocked the screen and tapped my thumb against the Google icon. Less than a minute later, I was staring at all kinds of burn wounds.
I felt sick.
The more I scrolled, the more my stomach wanted to roll over on itself. My hand shot to my mouth, my heart twisting a little as I tried to imagine how horrible whatever happened to him must've been.
"Oh, my gosh," I whispered.
"What's the matter with you?"
At the suddenness of my sister's voice three things happened at once:
A very unladylike curse fell from my lips.
My entire body jerked.
My phone went flying through the air, landing in front of Jennah's feet with dull thud.
Before I had time to react, she bent down and scooped up the device. It was completely stupid of me tothink she wouldn't take a peek at the screen first. "What the heck are you looking at?"
Brows pinched together, her gaze bounced between the phone clutched inside her palm and me.
It made me uncomfortable.
And it wasn't just because of the images on screen; my sister and I weren't close. Hadn't been for years. Not since the day our dad very cruelly started comparing me to her. And to no one's surprise, I was found wanting.
Rationally, I knew it wasn't Jennah's fault. She'd never gloated about it when words like that were thrown around like they weren't live grenades with the ability to destroy wherever they landed.
Even knowing that hadn't stopped me from pulling away from her. From building a wall so high, I didn't even know how to scale it.
Moving fast, I stepped forward and snatched my phone out of her hand and shoved it into my pocket. "It's nothing. Did you need something?"
Her face twisted; the same sadness I saw the previous day shone in her eyes again. She opened her mouth, but instead of saying what was on her mind, she pressed her lips together and let out a heavy breath through her nose.
"Just wanted to see the new stock."
That wasn't the truth but because of the uncrossable bridge between us, I didn't push. Even when deep down, I really wanted to.
"I think these paints are a great addition to this section." My gosh, this couldn't be more awkward. Nibbling on my lip, I scraped my palm over the back ofmy neck. "You…uh…still need me to watch Tommy on Saturday?"
Wringing her hands together, Jennah nodded. "Yeah, if you don't mind."
"Not one bit." And I really didn't. I might've been biased since he was my nephew, but Tommy was the best kid, and spending time with him was always a priority.
"Great." She took a step backward. "I better get back to it, those books aren't going do themselves." The words were barely out of her mouth before she spun around and hurried away, leaving me to stare at her retreating back.
With a heavy sigh and an even heavier heart, I turned back to the paints and frowned at the colorful tubes. Why were we like this? And more importantly, how could I fix it? I didn't have the answers to those questions, nor did I think I'd get them anytime soon.
That's was why I kept my head down and proceeded with my tasks on autopilot like I'd done every other day before this.
By the time my little Prius rolled to a stop in my driveway, I jumped from the car and all but ran to my backyard where I had an uninterrupted view of the beach and ocean.
The sky above the endless stretch of blue was painted in breathtaking shades of orange and pink, in stark contrast with the white sand.
And because my house was right at the edge of the beach, I had the luxury of witnessing the sight before me every single day. My grandma, who had known me better than anyone else, might've had a hand in it too.
Before she'd passed on, she purchased two houses—this one and a bigger one in the central part of town—without telling a soul about it. Jennah and I had certainly gotten the biggest shocks at the reading of her will eight months prior.
