Free Twisted by Dani Matthews Page B

Noah
comments.
    It's hard not to stiffen up
at the sudden appearance of a topic I consider off limits. However, I'd just
nosed around in Noah's life, I couldn't blame him for turning the tables. I
shrug, trying to look unaffected. “They were stricter than the average parent.”
    “Tate's always felt bad for
leaving you there. At the beginning when he'd get drunk, he'd go on and on
about what a piss poor brother he felt he was.”
    “Really?” I ask with
surprise.
    Noah nods. “I'm not going to
lie. Your brother was a bit of a mess but it didn't take him long to get his
priorities straight. He wanted you here, Blayre , but
even he knew he had nothing to give you at that point. He was just learning how
to take care of himself and how to manage his own life. He couldn't have
handled a thirteen-year-old.”
    “It's not a big deal. I'm
here now, right?”
    Noah gives me a crooked
smile. “That you are. And if I went by the expression on his face earlier, he's
met his match, hasn't he?”
    “Someone's got to keep him on
his toes,” I joke.
    “Looks like you're doing a
good job.”
    I can't help but laugh.
***
    Out of sheer boredom, I end
up at the mall that afternoon in hopes that Paige is working. Turns out she is
and since it is Saturday, the mall is packed. It takes five minutes of waiting
in line before I can buy a cinnamon roll and a full half hour before Paige has
enough free time to carry on a conversation with me. As she leans a hip against
her side of the counter, she tucks a stray strand of hair behind her ear that
has escaped her ponytail. “How'd you do it?”
    “Do what?”
    “Get Cole to put you before
his business last night.”
    I shrug as I tear off a piece
of my cinnamon roll. “I danced with another guy and pretty much let Cole know
that I wasn't going to wait around for him,” I admit, before popping the gooey
confection in my mouth.
    Paige looks at me
approvingly. “Good for you.”
    “I don't know,” I sigh. “I
haven't heard from him at all today, so it might have backfired.”
    “Doubt it. He doesn't ignore
business for just anyone. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen him turn away
business before. Last night was a first.”
    “Really?”
    Paige grimaces as she notes
the spark of hope in my eyes. “You really like him, don't you?”
    “Did something happen between
you two? You seem to have a bit of a vendetta against him,” I say a bit
cautiously.
    “It's not a vendetta. I'm
just trying to warn you away from him before you get dragged into something you
can't get out of.”
    “Explain to me why he is such
a bad guy.” I want to know what she thought I wasn't seeing.
    She gives me a look. “ Riiiiight . And you're just going to forget about him, just
like that if you don't like what you hear?” she asks, snapping her fingers to
get her point across.
    “It depends on what is so
bad.”
    “ Blayre ,
if you can't see for yourself how messed up he is after the way he ignored you,
and if you can't see the little games he likes to play with people, then it is
pointless to warn you.”
    I begin to realize this very
well could be our first real argument. I hadn't meant to start one and I really
didn't want to lose the only friend I seemed to be gaining.
    Paige must be able to read my
expression because her face softens. “Just be careful,” she says lightly before
she moves away to deal with customers.
***
    If this is what my evenings
are going to consist of, I really need to talk Tate into letting me get a
job—or I need to get a life. I'd prefer either over sitting by myself, watching
a comedy that seems more dumb than funny.
    When I hear the rumble of the
motorcycle down the street, I instantly think of Cole before I purposely try to
shove him out of my mind. He hasn't contacted me once today and evidently I was
nothing more than a one night distraction. I am determined to move on and not
dwell on him. I barely know him so it shouldn't be that big of a deal, right?
    The doorbell