AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I couldn’t say her name. It was like poison in my mouth.
His eyes narrowed, the muscle in his jaw tensing. “Becca, don’t do this. Please, not now…”
“I need to know the truth.”
“It’s better if you don’t.” He lowered his head. It stung. Even now—when I was presenting him with the chance to fix things—he couldn’t tell me the truth.
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I hissed, unable to control my irritation. “You keep asking me to trust you, but you’re hiding things from me? All this time she made my life hell and—”
“Becca,” Evan’s voice softened, his fingers rubbing soothing circles over my shoulder, but it did little to ease the fire stoked in my chest.
“How did you know she would come after me, Evan?”
He didn’t flinch as his eyes lifted, burning into mine, silently asking me not to push this. But I was done waiting. He either fessed up or let me walk away. That was the only choice here.
“Evan,” I croaked, my voice dry.
“You want to know how I knew?” He reared back, fists clenched at his sides. “I heard, okay? I heard her on the phone to one of her friends talking about the new girl transferring from Montecito.”
“And?” I folded my arms over my chest. Waiting.
Evan pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled a sharp breath. “Kendall doesn’t like outsiders. I knew she’d come after you because that’s what she does.”
“And she’s your cousin… you’re family. How did I not know that?”
He grunted out a strained laugh. “Trust me. We are not family.”
What did that even mean?
“But—”
“Becca.” Evan closed the space between us and cupped my face in his hands. “Don’t give her power over us. She doesn’t matter, okay? She’s not going to come after you anymore. You just have to trust me. Please, trust me…” His plea hung in the air.
“Take me home,” I demanded, unable to meet his intense gaze.
“Becca, come on—”
“Please, take me home.” I’d already spotted his Impala in the parking lot.
“Okay.” He backed up, shoving his hands deep in his pockets.
I brushed past him. I needed space. Being too close to Evan clouded my judgment, that much was obvious from all the kissing and touching.
He unlocked the Impala, and I slid inside, waiting for him to get in. Once the key was in the ignition, he curled his hands around the wheel and blew out a shaky breath. “Can we go somewhere?”
“Evan, I… I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Please…” He hesitated. “We should talk.”
“Okay,” I said before I could change my mind.There was still so much left unsaid, and I was too restless to go home. The car roared to life, and Evan pulled out of Teller’s, dust spraying out behind us.
We didn’t speak, too lost in the events of the night, or at least, I was. Evan and Kendall were cousins.Family. But there was more to it than that. Even now, there was still more he wouldn’t tell me.
I couldn’t wrap my head around it. She was so… so mean, and he was broody, yes, but the way he looked out for Eli and his mom was admirable.I couldn’t imagine Kendall thinking about anyone but herself. My cell phone vibrated in my jean pocket, but I ignored it. It would only be Lilly again or Mom.Or Kendall.
After a couple of minutes, Evan turned off the road and took a dimly lit dirt track that seemed to lead to nowhere.“What is this place?” I strained to see where we were.
“It’s nowhere special.” He cut the engine and climbed out, going around to the hood of the car. I waited for a couple of seconds. He wanted to talk. We could do that, couldn’t we? With a sigh of resignation, I got out of the car and joined him, resting my butt against the edge of the hood.
