CHAPTER FIFTEEN
NOW
Ifigure Miles knows I’m home from the obnoxious shine of Reed’s headlights, but I still clear my throat when I come to stand behind him. He moves his head to the side but doesn’t make the effort to look over his shoulder at me. I’m not surprised. I’m well aware he doesn’t want me around him, but I have questions, and I get straight to the point.
“I see we’re neighbors,” I bait him, hoping he’ll fill in the blanks that Reed left empty. Deep down I know he won’t. He doesn’t seem to want to talk about the past any more than I do.
I sit next to him, observing the glassy lull of the water.
“Yeah,” he says, keeping his gaze fixed ahead.
“Did you ever plan on telling me that or?—”
“No,” he cuts me off.
I have no idea what to say. He’s been lying to my face and is showing no remorse for it, but I’m not done showinghimhow irritated I am.
“No? You brought me home the other day and didn’t say a damn thing about it,” I bark.
He sighs. “It’s better that you don’t remember.”
“Yeah, well, now there’s something we both can agree on.”
Wait… what? Now I’m agreeing with him?This guy spins my head like a top. I want to ask him why he never texted me in the last nine months like Reed and Cozy did, but he’ll never answer that question if he didn’t even want me to know we share a property line.
“I’m just saying, it’s a little hard to stay away from someone when they live next door, if that’s your plan,” I argue.
I can feel myself getting more and more agitated with his silence.What is it about this guy that gets under my skin and makes me talk in circles?Whenever I’m around him I feel like I have to fill the silence for the two of us when I know perfectly well he isn’t bothered by it. It’s evident in his relaxed shoulders next to my bunched-up ones.
“Fine. You know what? I don’t need any answers from you. I’m fine to just sit right here and stare at this water.”
A sound rumbles from deep inside his chest, and when I look over at him, I realize he’s laughing. He’s laughing at how much I’m rambling, just like I did in his truck the other day. I’m sure he thinks I’m unhinged. You know what,I amunhinged lately, and the thought is enough to make me laugh too. Even I know how ridiculous I sound when I get like this.
We’re both laughing together, and it’s diffusing the tense situation we were in moments ago. It’s brought this sense of comfortability with it, and even though Miles isn’t opening up to me, I’m beginning to gather that out of everyone in my life right now, I feel the most content opening myself up to him. If he won’t answer any questions about himself, maybe he’ll answer one that’s more about me.
“Do you think if you stopped doing something you used to love, that you can ever get it back?”
There’s a beat of silence as I wait for him to respond.
“I don’t know. I stopped doing things I loved a long time ago,” he whispers.
“Me too. But I don’t think I can live like that anymore.”
He just nods like he knows what I mean. He looks like he feels just as uncomfortable as I do talking about this.
“What’s something you used to love to do?” I ask him.
He doesn’t miss a beat.
“I loved to fish.”
That makes sense. His dad does own a fly shop in town.
I nod. “Reminds me of your dad. Is there anything that man can’t do?”
Even in the dark I can make out the grin that tugs at his lips and creeps across his face.
“Nope.”
