Page 90 of Tell Me Why
The extra hours they got in their days made Tina endlessly jealous.
Tell went to talk to the technicians and Tina got her purse and sunglasses and such settled in a corner where she could find them before she left for the night, then she went to go find Leonard.
She found him on a couch outside of the kitchen, talking to two other men. He lifted his eyes with annoyance as she approached.
“We don’t need anything, right now,” he said, and Tina nodded.
“Okay, then,” she said, turning to go.
Did it hurt her feelings?
Really, not all that much.
He was playing a game that she didn’t care about. The fact that they were rude to her just made her more disgusted at the entire reality of the game, that none of them thought of her as an equal atall, and it made her less sympathetic when Tell or Isabella or Keon orwhoevereventually came blowing through their existence and burnt it to ash.
She would go home, she would appreciate Vince and her bed and she would happily see Hunter when he graced her world with his existence again, and more-or-less she would never think of Leonard or any of the rest of them again.
They would cease to exist as far as she was concerned, as soon as she was gone.
Why should she care whether or not she existed to them, in the meantime?
She went back to the front room, roaming a bit, then was going to go back to the lab when she heard footsteps and caught sight of Leonard going out the front door. He made the briefest of eye contact, and she followed him out.
It was colder, tonight, and overcast with the threat of a storm coming, and the air was wet, but there was no sound of thunder or rain, yet, and Tina followed Leonard out to the fountain. From the house, it would be nearly impossible to identify who was out here, with just the house coach lights illuminating the front walkway.
That was probably part of his purpose.
He looked up at her as she approached.
“Tonight,” he said. “I can get you out tonight, if you’re ready to go.”
She shook her head.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I believe you, that you would do your best to help me, but… I can’t leave Oscar.” She shrugged. “He’s what I know. No hard feelings?”
He narrowed his eyes at her.
“Did he threaten you?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“What he’s doing is important,” she said. “Andyou’reimportant. I don’t want to get in the middle of that. I don’t want you two to be angry at each other.”
Leonard snorted.
“So you didn’t tell him at all, because it would be better for him to not know,” he said. “He doesn’t deserve you. You’re too loyal for what he’s doing to you.”
“Be that as it may,” Tina said. “Iamthat loyal. Thank you for your offer. For… seeing me.”
“What would it take?” he asked. “To convince you that he’s not doing right by you?”
“Nothing you can offer me,” Tina said, dipping her head. He rose and grabbed her wrist.
“How about me?” he asked. “If I were to… personally promise… that I would take care of you…”
“Are you attempting to propose?” Tina asked, looking at how uncomfortable he was.
“No,” he said, quick and sullen. “You reach too high. My personal protection is highly sought after, and more than you deserve. You will languish with Tell, and you will come to regret this decision, but I have no further interest in it or you.”
He turned to start for the house, then jerked funny and stumbled to the side, like he’d been bit by the world’s biggest mosquito.
