Page 7 of SnowBound

She drew patterns on the table with her finger.

Who the hell asked things like that?

“I’ll make you proud. I can tell how much—”

The other person interrupted her, and the girl continued nibbling on her nail.

How could they make her feel like she had no right to speak in a situation that clearly made her uncomfortable? For an unknown reason, I wanted to grab the device from her grip and tell that sucker to leave her alone and annoy somebody else. It made no sense I wanted to defend a stranger, but I hated seeing her light being dimmed when it had radiated so strongly minutes ago.

“Do I really have to pretend to tolerate him?” A dark flush colored her cheeks. “You…you know what he did last time... It was inappropriate and—” A long pause. “I’m aware his father is a well-respected businessman, but it doesn’t excuse the son’s behavior…” A fat tear rolled down her cheek, and she wiped it off with the heel of her hand. “I’m not complaining. I’m just stating facts. I would feel more comfortable going with someone else.”

Her throat worked on a swallow. Not the sexy kind, but the painful one.

“He’s the one who did this to me. Why are you still not believing me? Why are you taking his side?”

My fists clenched under the table. I wasn’t even pretending to not eavesdrop on her conversation anymore. Fury bubbled in my core. Whoever that dickwad was, he or she didn’t deserve someone like her. I bet this girl couldn’t even kill a fly. She had innocence written all over her pretty face. Why would she try to make small talk with me otherwise? Despite the fact I pushed her away, she kept trying to bring up topics of conversation I could engage with.

“No… I won’t cause trouble. I’ll wear that gown and smile whenever you tell me to. By now, I know the drill and how these events work.” Another pause. “I understand. What?” Disgust shadowed her face. “No. No hickeys or cold sores that would look bad in pictures and need to be covered with makeup.” Her face blushed darker. “I-I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose, annoyance darkening her features.

She turned into a bolder version of herself because her tone was now clipped and decisive. “This situation is out of my control. I already told you. I will—” She got interrupted again. She transformed before my eyes, firming her back and tipping her chin up. “Listen to me. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” A pause. “Yeah, I get it.” She ran a palm over her face. “No need to put him on the phone. I understood everything you said already. I won’t—oh, o-okay.”

Ungluing the phone from her ear, she brought the screen to her face and scrunched up her nose. It was obvious the other person had hung up on her. With a shake of her head, she erased the dismay painting her face and dried off the remaining tears in her blue eyes with her sleeve.

Closing her eyelids, she took a deep breath in and relaxed her shoulders.

Her attention shifted to me when she opened her eyes, all traces of her pain gone. “So, where were we?”