AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why?”
“Because—” I swallowed, finding it harder to talk. I’d never discussed this with anyone. “I feel like I don’t fit anywhere. If I ran away, maybe I’d find somewhere that I fit.”
Will let my hand go, only to press his palm against my cheek. What was he doing? Confused, I stared at him. Why was he stepping closer, leaning in?
“Want to?” he asked softly.
“Run away?”
“Mm-hm.” He leaned even closer. I was frozen, rooted to the spot.
“Right now?” My eyes darted from his pretty face to his clothes, stained with cherry juice and dirt. “With you?”
“With me.” He sounded so confident, but there was something in his eyes I didn’t understand. It held me in place as he leaned down, his face coming closer, closer…
Oh God. Shocked, I stepped back. It wasn’t possible that my cousin had been about to kiss me, but what else was he doing? Strange and wild things could happen, alone in the woods together.
“We— we can’t,” I said quickly. “Where would we go?”
“Anywhere, Andie.”
“You’re crazy,” I protested. But deep down, I wanted him to convince me. “We’re not even old enough to drive.”
“Don’t worry.” My cousin looked perfectly serious. “I have money.”
I prickled all over, my breath shallow. “You mean it? What will we do?”
“Anything you want,” he said, a smile spreading over his face. “Anything I want. Come on, let’s get out of here.” Leading me by the hand, he strode out of the clearing.
My heart thumped wildly. I’d barely traveled, and the offer was seductive. Anywhere and anything with Will, who made me sweat and prickle and have trouble breathing.
Who’d almost kissed me.
Who was my cousin.
I pulled back, trying to stop him. “Richard will find you.”
I could have said our parents will find us, or your parents will find you, but what came out of my mouth was focused on Will and his father.
Will swallowed.
“Andie? Will?” My mother’s voice came faintly through the thick trees. “Andie! Are you back there?”
* * *
We didn’t run away that day. We came out of the woods, where Aunt Rose looked astonished at Will’s dirty pants and our stained clothes, and my father told me, tight-mouthed, that I was too old to go traipsing around back there. Will dropped my hand before we emerged, leaving my fingers tingling. He treated the entire encounter like a joke. But for a few minutes, deep in the woods, I’d believed him.
The driver took my relatives away in their beautiful car, after which they successfully contested my grandfather’s will, and my mother stopped speaking to Aunt Rose for a few years.
A hand on my back made me jump.
“Looking for something?” My cousin stood close to me, tall and grown, in the shadow of an oak.
A flush spread over my cheeks. “A little peace and quiet.”
“You don’t like parties?” He shook his head. “This one’s tame.”
“That must be why you escaped,” I retorted. I could barely see the lighted patio from here. Will and I were alone in the darkness, putting an edge to my voice. “How was Spain? Too tame for you also?”
