Spellbound - Cara Lynn Shultz [61]
“I don’t know. Maybe. It’s all a blur, really,” I answered honestly. “But I think I may have said that.”
“You’re adorable.” He chuckled, rolling onto his back and staring up at the darkening sky, crossing his arms behind his head. “Even though you went after that big goon when you’re only an inch taller than your cousin.”
“I’m five-five,” I said defensively, still reeling over the fact that he’d just called me “adorable.”
“Yeah, maybe when you’re standing on Ashley’s shoulders,” he said, smirking.
“Ha ha, very funny,” I snorted, giving him a withering look. Tall people always have such egos about their height.
“But seriously, Emma.” Brendan rolled over onto his side again, propping himself up on his right arm. “What the hell were you thinking? If I had gotten there a minute later…” His green eyes narrowed.
I opened my mouth to say something, then I shut it. “I don’t know,” I said softly. “It was my fault. I tried to stop her from even going out with him, but she didn’t listen. I had to do something to make it right. I should have done something from the start.”
“Emma, are you seriously blaming yourself?” he asked, pulling himself into an upright position. “You’re kidding me, right?”
I shook my head. Brendan sighed and faced me, mirroring me by crossing his legs as I had. He grabbed my hands from where they were twisting together in my lap. “The only one to blame is Anthony.”
“But I should have—”
“You should have nothing. You did nothing wrong,” he assured, continuing to hold my hands, squeezing them gently. “You took down one of the biggest bullies I’ve ever known.”
“Well, it was worth it, for her. She’s the sweetest, and, well, she’s young for her age. I don’t mean that she’s immature,” I clarified. “Because she’s not. Ash’s really smart and mature about so much, but she’s also just so damn innocent. She thinks people are good.” I laughed a hollow laugh.
“And you don’t?”
“I don’t think people are either way. I think we have both in us, and you choose one way or another. I’ve known good people, and I’ve known—” I stopped short. “Let’s just say I’ve known the opposite.”
Brendan seemed to contemplate that for a minute. With a final squeeze to my hands, he looked down at the smooth rock between us and began tracing a crack with his finger.
“You know, Emma, I didn’t see him shove you,” he said quietly, “if I had seen him lay a hand on you, he wouldn’t be breathing right now.” Brendan lifted his eyes to meet mine, and the intensity in them made my breath catch. “I heard about it later that day. He’s still going to answer to me for it.”
“Don’t go to any— I mean, why? I mean, thank you, but…I don’t think…” I stuttered. Not sure of what to say, I looked back at the rock he seemed to find so interesting, tracing the same crack. Brendan took a deep breath and sat upright, rifling in the white plastic bag for the rest of the food. He laid it out—vegetable egg foo young, General Tso’s chicken—and handed me a fork and an iced tea.
“Dig in,” Brendan said.
“Thanks, I love iced tea. Not much of a soda drinker.”
“Yeah, I know,” he said slyly.
“How?” I asked, a little confused.
“You asked me to get you one—that night we went to see Gabe’s band?”
“Brendan, about that night.” I shook the iced tea bottle and smacked the bottom of the glass, distracting myself with the popping sound the lid made as I tried to work up my nerve. “The way you are now, is the way you were when we were at the Met and at the bar. But at school…”
“Yes?”
“You ignored me.” I sounded more like a pouting little girl than I’d have liked.
“I know,” Brendan admitted, his eyes downcast. “Look, I’m not proud of how I acted, honestly. I’d rather not get into it right now.”
“It’s just that…” I tried to compose my thoughts. One night of hanging out two weeks ago and I felt like I had some claim on him? So what if I thought we had some kind of magical, supernatural bond? There was no way to explain myself without sounding like I was a sure bet for the gold medal at the Stalker Olympics. “It was unexpected.”
Brendan nodded.