Change of Heart - By S.E. Edwards Page 0,57
other on two couches separated by a coffee table.
“Well?” I prompt when he doesn’t speak right away.
He looks very thoughtful before speaking. “I got in touch with my sister,” he tells me finally.
“Did you?” I ask, surprised.
Rich nods. “She was worried because I haven’t talked to her for a few days. Originally, I was supposed to meet with her last night.”
“But you didn’t because of me. Right?”
“Yeah. Coming back for you kind of screwed up our plans.” Rich meets my eyes. “Not that I regret it.”
I smile a bit. “Thanks.”
“Anyway, Min said she was fine—which was a huge relief.” Rich’s expression becomes withdrawn. “Sometimes I think she’d be better off if she hadn’t come to me. That way, I wouldn’t have endangered her by my…” he gestures vaguely in my direction, “…weakness for you.”
My eyes widen at the comment, but he continues before I can speak.
“But she did, and we’ve all got to live with it now.” Rich sighs. “I’m thinking of leaving you here while I go meet up with her.”
“What?” I demand, caught flat-footed.
“It’s not an easy decision for me,” Rich defends quickly. “But it’s made easier by what you told me when I got back. That you and Amanda are getting along. Before, I’d have hesitated just to ask. But now, well, this is the safest place for you, Penny.” He spreads his hands and tries to look placating.
“Nuh-uh!!” I shake my head vigorously. “You have some nerve, Rich, you know that? Assuming you know what’s best just because you’re older.”
He frowns. “I never said—”
“Let me finish! I didn’t stay with you only to be left behind now. I didn’t stay with you so you could just dump me as soon as it became convenient for you.”
“Penny, it’s not like that at all,” Rich stresses. I can tell he’s trying hard to stay calm. But, some of his irritation seeps through anyway. “I’m not ‘dumping’ you here—whatever that means—because it’s convenient for me. You think it’s convenient for me to ask that of Amanda? No! I’m asking you to stay because I know that here, you’ll be away from danger. Tam and Victor don’t know who you are. They don’t know we’re here. I would stay if I could. But I have to help Min.”
“Let me come.”
“No!” he barks. His hostility is unmistakable. “I promised I would keep you safe, and this is how I intend to do it. You will stay here.”
I cross my arms, growing more and more furious by the second. “Oh, and you just presume you can tell me what to do, Richard?” I emphasize his full name. “You think you’re so damn smart, that you’ve got everything all figured out, just because you got into Princeton?”
His eyes narrow. “How do you know that?”
“Amanda told me,” I say recklessly.
“Great!” Rich snaps, shooting up from his seat. “Just fucking great!” Mel bursts into the room, spurred by our raised voices. “Is there anything else your new best friend told you behind my back?”
“Nothing that you need to know,” I fire back at him, catching Mel by the collar before she has a chance to get too excited.
Rich starts pacing behind the couch, his strides long and angry. “Dammit, Penny! Why does everything have to be such a struggle with you?” He glares at me with hardened eyes. “Why can’t you just accept that I have your best interest in mind?”
I laugh, my voice thick with contempt. “My best interest? You flatter yourself. What about when you left me with Tam and Victor?”
Rich grips the top of the couch. Veins pulse up and down his tattooed forearms. “That was different,” he growls. “That was a mistake. That was before.”
“Before?” I ask, not even trying to hide the scorn in my voice. “Before what?”
“Before I figured out,” Rich begins, “I have FUCKING FEELINGS FOR YOU!”
The words billow out of him like hot smoke from a chimney fire. The room goes quiet. Rich’s chest heaves with emotion.
The only sounds to break the silence are Rich’s heavy breathing and Mel’s low, warning growl.
I feel like I just stood up too fast. I’m stunned. I have to blink to clear my head. When I finally speak, my voice is quiet and shaky. “You… have feelings for me?”
Rich stares right at me. His nostrils flare with each breath. The muscles of his forearm flex as he tightens his grip on the couch. “I… argh!” He spins around and storms out the room.
A few seconds later, a door slams loudly from