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“I definitely agree,” he said, bobbing his head along with the beat.
As I braked for a red light, I glanced over at him, intending just a sneak peek, but I found him already looking at me. His eyes were so, so blue, and they focused on mine. There was such an elegance to his face that didn’t quite match the rest of him, but it wasn’t bad. His ripped jeans and worn sneakers screamed edgy, along with the tattoo, but he had almost a softness to his eyes, to his expression, so youthful and kind. For the longest moment, I couldn’t look away.
The traffic light flicked green, illuminating his face. “You’re wondering about the ink, aren’t you?”
I hadn’t been—I’d been too distracted by his face—but he probably wouldn’t believe me if I denied it. “Just admiring.”
“It’s something, isn’t it?”
His tone and his expression weren’t overly positive. “You don’t like it?”
“It…makes a statement, that’s all.”
I frowned a little, listening as the next song on my playlist came on. To me, Harry and the tattoo went hand in hand. It was all part of his image.
“When did you get it?” He couldn’t have gotten it that long ago, could he? He wasn’tthatold. Eighteen, did Addy say? He graduated high school last year, I knew that much.
“I had been just about to turn seventeen,” he replied casually. “My friend had a cousin who’d do it with no paperwork, even though I should’ve gotten guardian permission. Charged me way more than he should’ve too.”
“Probably because he was illegally inking a minor.” I tried to hide my shock. My parents—a lawyer and a judge—would’ve had a field day taking that cousin to court if they heard that. “Your first tattoo was on yourneck? Seems…extreme.”
The smile that touched his mouth then wasn’t warm. “You know how people say you make dumb decisions when you’re young? Back then, I was full of them.”
I took another glance over at him, at the thin lines. The contrast was striking, a shadow on his skin. “Well, on the bright side, it looks really good for someone having done it illegally.”
This time, Harry grinned so widely that his eyes crinkled.
“What did your parents say when you came home with it?”
“Oh, I don’t have parents,” he answered nonchalantly. “They passed away.”
I’d been easing on the brake as he spoke, in tandem with the car in front of me, but my foot slipped, causing the car to jerk. I hadn’t been expecting him to saythat. So calmly.
“Wow, I seriously didn’t mean to throw that conversation off a cliff.” Harry laughed a little stiffly into his hand, rubbing it across his mouth. “Came out sounding really depressing, didn’t it?”
“No, it’s okay.” I turned to look at him again, but he still watched the road, fingertips touching his throat, following the black lines by heart. The action almost struck me as a self-conscious one. “How old were you? Was it recent?”
Harry shook his head. “I was seven. Car accident.”
My mind immediately traveled to Addy. She’d lost her father in a car accident this past November, the same accident that permanently injured Vincent’s father. She’d lost her dad—Vincent had almost lost his—and Harry had lost both of his parents.
Guilt expanded in my stomach. It made my attitude about my parents so selfish.
“I’m so sorry,” I murmured, and even though I wanted to reach over and squeeze his hand, I kept my fingers curved around the steering wheel. If he hadn’t lived with his parents growing up, who had he lived with? I wanted to ask, but didn’t want to pry.
“Tell me one fact about you,” he said, flipping the conversation around, as if we hadn’t talked about such a heavy thing.
But if he wanted to change the subject, I’d let him. “Hmm, one fact… Oh, I have two siblings, and they’re twins. Age ten.”
“Two girls?”
“One boy, one girl. Jamie and Nellie.” I glanced out of the corner of my eye at him. “Your turn.”
“I’ve always lived in Fenton County, except I grew up in Bayview. How about you?”
I shook my head. “I actually grew up in the north of the state, in Whitmore.” Whitmore was rather large, with skyscrapers and fancy offices, but we’d actually lived in a suburb of the city, away from the hustle and bustle.
Harry skipped over a song that’d come on. “Why’d you move?”
