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Sitting next to her on the bed, I reach over, instinctively pulling her into my arms. Her body is cold, trembling against me. The moisture of her tears dampens the front of my pale blue T-shirt. I don’t know how long I hold her for, but my arms go stiff.
She pushes back to look at me after a while. My brow is creased in concern, and I reach for her hand.
“Are you okay?” I ask, unsure of if I should voice all the other questions sprinting through my mind about her visitor.
Her thick lashes rest on her cheeks as she looks down at our joined hands.
“That was…my modeling agent,” she says quietly, gripping my fingers tighter.
“You’re a…you’re a model?” Relief washes over me, and I realize yet again I have assumed the worst about her.
She lets out a slow sigh. “I was before I came here. My foster mom got me into it when I was fifteen.” She’s looking at me again, a question in her gaze.
“So, you…quit, and now, your agent is mad at you?” I question, attempting to understand what the big deal is for an eighteen-year-old girl to go to college and quit modeling.
She looks around the room, chewing on her lip. “Yeah, I guess. He wants me to come back. I sort of quit in the middle of a…session, and he wasn’t happy about it. The company I modeled for wasn’t happy either. I’d already been paid half,” she finally says, looking back down.
“Well…if it’s money you need, I have—”
She puts a finger to my lips. Her shoulders straighten. “No. I appreciate it, but I don’t need your help. I’ve got it. Lenny’s right. Maybe if I go back and finish the session, this will all go away…”
Her lip is still trembling, and I get the feeling there’s something she isn’t telling me.
Lenny made my skin crawl. He was the kind of person you didn’t want to turn your back to. The way he had her huddling on the bed made my blood boil. I wish I had heard what he was saying to her before I barged in.
“You can…tell me anything about your past…you know that, right?” My voice is calm as I attempt to get her to open up.
How do you help someone trust you when they’re so closed off?
She nods her head, attempting a weak smile. “Thanks, I know. I…I just hated modeling. Like, hated it. It made me feel so…like a bug under a microscope. All those cameras on me, always having to…anyways, it wasn’t for me, but I know it’s the right thing to finish what I started. Don’t you think?” She asks it like my answer is the only thing that matters.
I hesitate because I do think if you were paid for a job, you should finish it. At the same time, I don’t trust Lenny. She was obviously afraid of him.
“I mean…you seemed to really be nervous around—”
She interrupts me, “Oh no! No, no, no…I just was scared because I knew I’d quit and taken the money and…yeah, he was just mad. Lenny was…so great.” She’s nodding her head, like she’s trying to believe it.
“Will you let me go with you if you go to finish it? I could drive.” I know that’s a big step for our relationship.
Her face pales, and she shivers. “No way. I already feel so exposed. Yeah, no way, ha-ha.” She stands up from the bed, walking over to her desk, keeping her back to me. “So, how was your day?” she says casually.
Why is she changing the subject?
“It was fine. Are you sure you shouldn’t take someone if you go back to finish the shoot? Maybe Kenna could go and—”
She whirls around. “Look, I said no, okay? I don’t like people watching me. It’s really no big deal. Could you let it go?” She smiles and crosses her arms over her chest. “Is your family coming for Family Weekend?”
“Uh, yeah, they are. I was going to ask if you…wanted to meet them.”
I hold my breath after rushing out the last statement. It’s too soon. I know it is. She’ll think I’m crazy. Especially after pushing too far about the photo shoot.
Her eyes widen a fraction, but she recovers quickly.
“Umm, like, as a friend you mean?” She’s studying me as she speaks.
“Well…as a friend that I want to take out on a date next weekend since this weekend, they’ll be here.” I stand up and walk over to her, brushing my fingers through her ebony waves. “I know it’s a big step. I just want them to get to know you a little bit. We can leave out the date part, if it makes you feel better.” My stomach is tight, and I can’t decide if I want to leave it out or not.
“Yeah, sure, whatever you think. Maybe that’s best.” Her eyes close as my hand caresses her scalp, and she leans into the contact.
