Page 54 of The Tattered Gloves
“What are you talking about?” I asked, purposely not making eye contact, as I tried to figure out my warring feelings.
“You running away from me today after class. Did I overstep by saying something to Katie? I figured you wouldn’t mind a little help. She can be quite the bitch when she wants to be,” he said, stepping from behind the counter.
I took a moment to admire the way the light from the window made his brown hair suddenly seem like it held every shade imaginable — from the darkest mahogany to the few scatterings of light brown that hung around his eyes.
I wondered if anyone else had ever taken the time to look at him this way.
The girl I always saw him with in the hallway, the one who laughed every time he spoke… did she see the way his eyes darkened when he was angry or how he constantly pushed his hair behind his ear because he was seriously in need of a haircut?
“It was fine,” I finally answered, looking away.
I turned my attention to the books on our featured shelf near the register. It was where we often displayed new releases or local Virginia authors. I realized it was in need of some reorganization, and I began fiddling with the various paperbacks.
I felt his presence behind me almost immediately. The warmth of his body so close to mine made my back go rigid.
He must have noticed because he retreated almost as instantly as he’d arrived.
“Why do you always lie when you’re around me?” he said quietly, his voice now further across the room.
I spun around, spotting him leaning against the front door, one foot over the other.
“I-I don’t—” I stuttered.
“You were anything but fine today, Willow,” he stated. “And, just now, I confirmed exactly what I’d suspected for a long time.”
My arms wrapped around my chest. “What you’d suspected?” I repeated, my eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “What does that even mean?”
“You’re scared of me.” It was said as a statement rather than a question. “It’s why you always flee when I’m near, why we seem to connect and disconnect at the same time, and why I—”
“You’ve got it all figured out, don’t you?” I nearly shouted, interrupting him mid sentence. “This whole thing, all my baggage, it revolves around you? God, you’re so delusional. I’m not scared of just you. I’m scared of everyone. The whole goddamn world.”
“But why me?” he asked, as if my major revelation meant nothing to him.
“Didn’t you hear what I said?”
He pushed off the doorframe, mindful of where he stepped. He stayed a safe distance from me, careful to walk a short path toward the counter, as if he needed a change of scenery. “You might not know this about me, Willow, but I’m actually a pretty good judge of character. It’s why I told my dad to try and hire you in the first place.”
My jaw fell open.
“You arranged this? But how?” I asked.
“That day in the office when I was charming the front desk ladies into letting me in late without noticing my note had indeed been forged — do you remember?”
I nodded, not realizing he’d even seen me.
“It’s not every day Sugar Tree gets a new student, so I noticed you right away, sitting there with the woman who’d been cutting my hair since I was barely able to walk.”
“Looks like you’re overdue,” I added, pointing to his head.
He ignored my comment and continued, “I learned a few things about you from random friends, and of course, everyone wanted to know what was up with those crazy red gloves of yours.”
“And so you thought, who better to hire than the new school freak?” I asked, my hands suddenly feeling warm and scratchy in my gloves.
“No. Honestly, I didn’t think much of it. Having been on the wrong side of gossip for much of my life, I’m not big on feeding it when it’s going around. But I was curious,” he admitted.
“So, you hired me? Or rather, you had your father hire me?”
He shrugged. “I figured, why not? I knew I needed someone to help out here while I worked on managerial stuff, and my dad had mentioned he had a meeting with Addy that week. It just made sense.”
