“We sold the house after the accident.” Mom said she couldn’t stand living there without Dad. Truth is, I’m not sure I could, either. “I’m renting an apartment.” Well, technically, Mom is. “Not far from here, in fact. Real close to Tessa’s.”
“How have you been, Audrey?” Rafe says, leaning closer. He’s always been cat-like, but now he’s like a lion, golden and tall, his shoulders broad, stretching his grey T-shirt. Dark ink lines travel from his shoulder down his arm. Zane’s work. He’s inked his closest friends. “It’s been so long. What is it, three years?”
I bite my lip, trying to calm down. “Two and a half. I left mid-year.”
“To Chicago, right? The big city. Did you like it?” He grins and his cheeks dimple.
Christ, when did all the boys I knew turn into heartthrobs?
“It was okay.” Brilliant conversational skills, Audrey, well done. I clear my throat. “It was tough at first. I didn’t know anyone there and Mom worked all the time.” Now I sound whiny. Jesus. “She had to, of course. And after a while it was fine.”
Okay, that’s a big fat lie. It was never fine, and I ran away as soon as I could, which is now. Mom turned into a workaholic and I’ve been lonely and kinda lost.
“You vanished,” Rafe says. “I looked for you online, but I only found your old Twitter and LiveJournal accounts. Are you hiding under a fake name or something?” He winks.
I shrug. “No.”
“Well, you look good,” Zane says, swirling the ice-cubes in his whiskey. His dark eyes narrow to slits. “With the accident, I thought you’d be... different.”
Silence greets his words, and a flash of panic goes through me. “Like what?”
“Z-man, shut your mouth,” Dylan says. His fists clench and he seems about to pound Zane into the wall.
Zane lifts his hands. “Hey, fucker, cool your engines. I only meant... Hell, I don’t know what I meant. You said she was scarred, Dylan. I don’t see any scars, that’s all. That’s a good thing, man.”
My breath catches.
Dylan is already moving toward Zane and I insert myself between them. “It’s okay, Dyl.”
Dylan looks uncertain. “I’ll bust his balls.”
Zane gives him the finger, his eyes hooded. “Fuck you, man. Sorry if my social skills need polishing. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
“It’s called being civil,” Dylan grounds out.
“Maybe nobody cared to teach me how to open doors and pull back chairs for the chicks, but I honestly didn’t mean anything,” Zane mutters.
“I said it’s okay.” I suck in a deep breath. I’m over my initial reaction, brought on by the memories of the town and its people. I can do this. I saw a therapist in Chicago, and I’ve learned to be in control of myself. “I have some scars, but they’re old now and don’t show much. This,” I touch the one on my cheek, turning so Zane can see it, “is the only one on my face.”
He nods stiffly, his gaze flicking away. “I’m sorry, Audrey. Honest.”
My chest expands again. “No problem.”
Dylan throws an arm over my shoulders and tugs me away from his friends. “Let’s leave these idiots and go get some air, huh?”
“Hey, what did I do?” Rafe mutters behind us.
“They’re okay,” I say, feeling bad for the argument.
“Yeah, they’re okay,” Dylan concedes as he pulls me through the open door at the other end of the room and out into the cool night air. “Hearts of gold. Just acting like morons most of the time.”
“I didn’t mind,” I say, freeing myself and walking to the rail of the balcony. “I can take it.”
“You shouldn’t have to,” Dylan says quietly.
I just stare out into the night. The sky’s clear and the moon bright. You can smell the lake on the air. “I like your new look.”
He’s my best friend, along with Tessa, and I’ve only seen him a couple of times since we moved to Chicago after the accident.