Страница 6 из 17
A soft knock sounded at the door, which should have given her a moment’s warning, but she was so busy putting up her defenses that she forgot Starlette always made grand entrances. So Laurel was totally unprepared when Da
Chapter 3
“I’m sorry,” Da
“Why not?” Laurel almost whispered.
Da
“She found an excuse not to come.”
He nodded. “I had to cancel a flying lesson to get here.”
Laurel studied him without speaking. She hadn’t laid eyes on Da
“Should I come in or what?” he asked diffidently.
Laurel shrugged, then nodded, not knowing what else to do.
She watched him walk toward the rows of miniature chairs near the back wall. He’s avoiding the table, she realized, giving me time to adjust. Da
He turned one of the little chairs around and sat astride it, placing the back between them, as if to emphasize their new state of separation. His gray-blue eyes watched her cautiously. “I hope you’re not angry,” he said. “I wouldn’t have come, but it wouldn’t have looked right if one of us hadn’t.”
“I don’t know what I am.”
He nodded as though he understood.
Now that she was over the shock of seeing him here, need and anger rose up within Laurel like serpents wrestling each other. Her need made her furious, for she could not have him, and because her desire had been thwarted by his choice, however noble that choice might have been. The only thing worse than not seeing Da
He turned up his palms. “I wasn’t strong enough to stay away.”
Honesty had always been his policy, and it was a devastating one.
“Can I hold you?” he asked.
“No.”
“Because there are people around? Or because you don’t want me to?”
She regarded him silently.
“I’m sorry for how it’s been,” he said haltingly. “It’s just…impossible.” His eyes narrowed. “You look really thin. Good, though.”
She shook her head. “Don’t do this. I’m not good. I’m thin because I can’t hold down any food. I have to pretend to eat. I’m barely making it, if you want to know. So let’s just stick to Michael and get this over with. There’ll be another parent outside my door in fifteen minutes.”
Da
Laurel tried to look skeptical.
“Do you think he could?” Da
“It’s possible.”
“All I’m saying is, when I’m not okay, he’s not okay. And I think you come into it, as well.”
“You mean-”
“I mean when you’re hurting, he knows it. And he cares. A lot more than he does about his mother.”
Laurel wanted to deny this, but she’d already observed it herself. “I don’t want you to talk like that anymore. There’s no point.”
Da
“You’ve lost weight, too,” she said. “Too much.”
He nodded. “Sixteen pounds.”
“In five weeks?”
“I can’t hold nothing down.”
Improper grammar usually a
“I wish you’d let me hug you,” Da
She closed her eyes. You have no idea…“Please stick to Michael, okay? What specific changes have you noticed in his behavior?”
While Da