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I had to press my lips together to keep from smiling. She was kind of adorable.
“It’s not a big deal.” I shoved my wallet back in my pocket.
She placed both hands on either side of her face, letting out a long, frustrated breath. “I will pay you back. I cannot believe she did that. She’s been…a little on the salty side of life since the accident.”
Winnie had been salty for longer than that, I guessed, but I didn’t press it. “Lark,” I said, making my voice as soothing as possible. Taking the few steps that separated us, I placed my hands on her shoulders and squeezed. “It’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”
Her eyes widened as she stared up at me. “You keep saying that, but it doesn’t make me feel better.”
At least she was honest. “Why not?”
“People tend to say what they think the other person wants to hear and not how they actually feel.”
I frowned at her. “You think I’m lying?”
There was a small lift of her shoulders, so slight I would’ve missed it if I wasn’t touching them. “I think you want to make me feel better.”
My frown deepened. I leaned in, ducking my chin so my gaze was level with hers.
She tensed, but she didn’t draw away.
“Let me make this very clear, Lark,” I said, voice low. “I do want to make you feel better, but I’m not going to lie to you. Ever. That’s not who I am.”
She blinked at me, her long lashes fluttering. “Okay.” She nodded, but she didn’t sound convinced.
“You don’t believe me?”
Her teeth caught her lower lip. “I think that trust is earned. I don’t give it away.”
I pulled back. Her comment hit me hard. “Well.” My arms dropped from her shoulders. A chill ran up my arms in the absence of her warmth, and I fisted my hands at my sides. “I guess I’ll have to convince you.”
Her expression was wary as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Good luck with that.”
And before I could say anything else, she turned away, walking toward the kitchen. I watched her walk, taking in the sway of her hips and the way her hair cascaded down her back.
That heat flared inside me again, and I pressed a hand against my chest where my heart was suddenly racing. I wasn’t sure what it was that had me drawn to her now, but one thing was certain: Lark Meadows deserved more than this. She deserved more than being stuck in a small, cluttered house with a mother who treated her like that.
It wasn’t my business to insert myself in her life, but Thea would kill me if I turned away from her best friend.
One way or another, Lark was going to realize that someone would be there for her no matter what. I could be her friend now, and though I was no replacement for my sister, Lark needed to know she wasn’t alone anymore.
7
Lark
I pushed my damp hair back out of my face after waking up on the bathroom floor. My butterfly cardigan was tangled around me, one arm almost out of it completely.
A heavy thump sounded from above me.
The small hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, though I wasn’t sure why.
Another thump, only quieter this time, had my heart skipping beneath my ribs.
I stood up and stepped toward the bathroom door. The lights were off in the small room, only a low glow from a night light made it possible to see anything at all. I wasn’t sure why my first instinct was fear as I grabbed for the door handle. If anything, Thea probably just rolled off her bed in her sleep. She was pretty drunk, too, after the halloween party. I opened the door a crack.
The sound of someone walking down the stairs made me freeze. The footsteps sounded heavy…too heavy to be Thea.
My breaths became frantic as the footsteps came closer. The bathroom was directly at the bottom of the staircase. I held my breath as the squeaky last stair creaked and a shadow shifted underneath the bottom gap of the door.
