he thought. I didn't have to guess, though, because he told
me.
me.
'You've changed, Paige. A lot.'
'People change.'
He leveled me with a steady look. 'Yeah. They do.'
And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away.
Chapter 24
'Austin!'
Heads turned. He stopped. He waited until I caught up to
him, which was more than I'd expected. Maybe more than
I deserved.
'Why do you care?'
It wasn't the question I meant to ask, but I wasn't realy
sure what I'd meant to ask. I clamped my mouth shut on
other words, softer ones. I bit my tongue until I tasted
blood.
'Why don't you?'
'I care,' I said in a low voice, conscious we were
surrounded by a hundred pairs of eyes.
'Paige! Can I go play—'
I cut Tyler off by jamming my hand into my pocket and
puling out a palmful of coins. 'Go. You and Jeremy go.
Don't leave this building.'
'Wow.' Tyler took the coins from my hand and looked
from me to Austin. 'Thanks, Paige!'
'You're good to them,' Austin said when Tyler had gone.
'That's me. Sister of the year.' I led the way out the glass front doors to the concrete outside. I wished for a coat,
though my chil came from deep inside and not even an
Eskimo parka would have helped.
We stared at each other until I looked away.
'What do you want from me?'
There wasn't anything wrong with Austin's question, but it
made my stomach twist and turn. 'I don't want anything
from you. That's the point. Isn't it?'
'Jesus, Paige!' The doors opened and a mother holding
two kids by the hand pushed her way through. Austin
stepped aside to let her pass and we waited until she'd
halfway crossed the parking lot before he spoke again.
'Why not? Why the fuck not?'
'I don't know!' Again, not what I thought I meant to say
but once the words came out I had no others.
but once the words came out I had no others.
He stepped closer to me. Taler. Broader. I couldn't
decide if I was intimidated or turned on.
'What wil it take to convince you I'm different?'
'What wil it take to convince you I'm not?'
We weren't shouting, but my throat hurt as much as if I'd
screamed. Austin's face worked. He stepped closer stil.
