Free Breaking Beautiful by Jennifer Shaw Wolf Page A

throat. “You’ve been through a lot. You’re allowed to freak out once in a while.”
    I stare at my fingernails, remembering that I dug them into Hannah’s hand—definitely crazy.
    Blake is watching me. “What did that new cop want to talk to you about, anyway?”
    I jerk my head up. “You know about that?” Dumb question; of course he knows.
    “Your dad made a pretty big scene in the middle of the street. You know how it is around here. By now half the town thinks you’re pregnant with Detective Weeks’s love child.”
    I shake my head. My whole life I wanted this—to live in a place where everyone knew me. Stupid.
    “By the way, remind me to never tick off your dad.” Blakelifts his head and grins so the light falls on the little gap between his front teeth. The one he tries to hide whenever he laughs. His hair is still in his eyes. If I reached over I could brush it out, but the barrier is still there, the one that keeps his left hip at least two inches from my right one. “So, what did he want?”
    “Questions about the accident.” I pick at a piece of seaweed stuck to the bottom of my jeans. “Things I can’t remember anyway.”
    “What things?” His grin disappears, and there’s an edge to his voice that goes beyond curiosity or concern—I’m not sure what.
    “Nothing.” I dislodge the seaweed and flick it onto the ground, then slide off the ledge. I can’t handle questions, even from Blake. “I’d better get back so they can arrest me or something.”
    “Juvie’s not so bad,” Blake says. I stop. This is the closest we’ve ever come to talking about what happened in Reno. “I’ve been in worse places. Pacific Cliffs comes to mind.” He stands up, bumping his head on the top of the cave.
    “I won’t go to juvie,” I say. “I’m eighteen, remember?”
    Blake rubs his head. “Hannah won’t press charges. It would just give you the chance to spend more time with her favorite cop.” He leans against the wall and crosses his arms over his chest. “So you think that guy’s really here just because of the accident? That Mr. Phillips is paying him to find out what happened? Or is that another famous Pacific Cliffs legend?” The edge is still there, even if he’s trying to sound like he doesn’t care.
    “I don’t know.” The silence echoes between us in the cave. I turn the tigereye over in my hand. My scar feels tight, and the knot in my stomach and the smell of the cave are making me sick. “You’d better go.” I gesture toward the entrance. “Youdon’t want to get caught with me. Who knows what kind of nasty things they’ll say about you.”
    He stands up, but not enough to hit his head again. “Rumors don’t bother me. I’ve lived with them my whole life.” His voice is lower now—gentler. “But we do need to get out of here. The tide’s starting to come in.”
    I stand up, follow him through the crack, and pick my way over the rocky path to the cave’s entrance. I catch my foot on one of the rocks and stumble forward. Blake puts his hand on my shoulder to steady me. Then he crosses the barrier and slides his hand into mine. His touch is warm against the chill of the cave.
    He faces me, still holding my hand. “The bottom of the cave is pretty wet. We need to take our shoes off.” He grins. “Unless you want me to carry you.”
    I can’t tell if he’s teasing or not. I roll my eyes and shake my head. I lean over to take off my shoes. A piece of hair falls forward and sticks to my check. Blake reaches to brush it back. Instinctively, I flinch away.
    “I’m sorry.” He takes a step backward and worry fills his eyes.
    “It’s okay.” I duck my head, finish taking off my shoes, and walk out of the cave without looking at him.
    He doesn’t try to touch me again.

Chapter
10
    I get suspended for two days for tearing up Hannah’s hand. Like I wanted to be at school anyway. Hannah gets detention, as if she’d actually have to serve it. I spend my