AllFreeNovel
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His eyes are haunted. ‘We rode bikes,’ he says thickly, the words dragged from him, hurting him, aching in his mouth. ‘Julianne taught me. She was so patient.’ He shakes his head. ‘I’d never known patience. I didn’t know it was called that then. It was more just an absence of criticism when I didn’t do something wrong.’ He lifts his broad, powerful shoulders.
‘How long did it take you to learn?’
His eyes clash with mine, then look away again. ‘A while. I’d never had a bike before.’
‘And she bought you one?’
He nods. A slight dip of his head in concession. ‘It was red. With a black stripe down one side. And a horn that sounded like a dying frog.’ His laugh is brittle. ‘Once I got the hang of it, I’d ride it all afternoon, around and around in circles until my legs hurt. And even then I wouldn’t want to come in, but eventually Julianne would make me.’
‘How long were you with them?’
He looks at me, anger unmistakable now. ‘Is this really necessary, Holly?’
‘Don’t you think?’
‘No. I don’t. Everyone has a childhood. A past.’
‘Yes, but not everyone’s past torments their present. How long did you live with them?’
‘Almost a year.’
‘And after them you went...’
‘Somewhere else,’ he says, like it doesn’t matter.
‘Where?’
He glares at me. It is a
battle of wills and we are both too stubborn to back down. ‘The Adams family. Two parents, three fosters.’
‘Were you happy there?’
‘No.’
‘Why not?’
‘They were assholes, Holly.’
‘In what way?’
‘If you want me to define the faults of every single foster home I lived in, we’ll be here all night.’
‘I’m game if you are.’
‘This is bullshit,’ he says wearily, dragging a hand through his hair. ‘You want to help me and I’m telling you there’s nothing fucking wrong.’
But there is, and I think I know. I’m trying to prod around the edges of his life, but he’s making it difficult. ‘How did Julianne tell you they were leaving?’
His head whips around to face mine as though I’ve asked him to jump out of the window.
‘What?’
‘When Paul was transferred, how did she tell you?’
His throat bobs, like he’s swallowing hard. ‘She just told me. I don’t remember.’
‘Did you wonder why he didn’t turn the job down? I mean, once they knew you couldn’t go?’
