Corrupting Chastity - Krista Wolf Page 0,69
Senan’s shirt just past his navel.
“A biohazard symbol?” I laughed. “Around his belly-button?”
Senan rolled his eyes. In the end though, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself.
“That was stupid just-turned-eighteen shit,” he explained.
“That doesn’t excuse it though,” I needled him. “Does it Kylie?”
I turned to look, and Kylie still hadn’t moved. Her gaze still hadn’t shifted. Not as far as I could tell, anyway.
“Yeah, well, keep a sharp eye on him then,” I told his sister. “Before he gets the Tasmanian Devil inked on his arm, or something equally cliché and ridiculous.”
I rose, setting her hand back in her lap as Senan planted a kiss on his sister’s cheek. As we left together I noticed a beautiful acoustic guitar with a butterfly strap, standing in the corner.
“That’s hers, isn’t it?” I asked as we re-entered the hallway.
“Yes,” said Senan. “And thanks for that.”
“For what?”
“For not using the past tense,” he explained. “Most of the people who come here talk about my sister like she’s already gone, or treat her like she’s not there. They’d say ‘that was hers’ when pointing out the guitar.” He shook his head. “But not you.”
“That’s terrible,” I said sadly.
We made our way back through the living room, saying our goodbyes. His mother smiled pleasantly and offered us iced tea, but Senan only hugged her and told her he had work, and we had to run.
“Next time for sure,” I promised, adding my sweetest smile.
“Stop sucking up,” Senan elbowed me as we descended the front steps.
“Hey, I’m not turning down some good iced tea.”
“She makes terrible iced tea,” he countered.
I was still laughing as we sank back into the car. When the doors closed however, my expression went serious.
“Senan I want to help.”
“With what?” he asked casually.
“With Kylie.”
Fifty-Four
CHASTITY
He put the key in the ignition as if I hadn’t said anything at all. His face was stoic as he pulled away from the curb.
“I’m serious,” I said. “I know all about the treatments, what they cost, and how the others are helping with them. And I want to help too.”
My body shifted forward as his foot abruptly hit the brake. Turning the steering wheel, Senan pulled us straight onto the shoulder then turned to face me.
“You can’t help, Delaina,” he said. “It’s a nice gesture and all, but—”
“Gesture?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Look, I’m not asking,” I said angrily. “I’m telling you.”
There was a fire in his eyes now, an intensity that almost mirrored mine. It wasn’t anger though. It was something else.
Shame?
God, I hoped not! He had nothing to be ashamed of. He was doing the best he could, even working like crazy. Ander and Brett too. All three of them.
“You’re launching soon, right?”
He was referring to Train Direct. I nodded.
“Then you’re going to need all your money,” he said. “Marketing is expensive. So is exposure. So are the ads you’ll need to take out, in those first crucial weeks.”
“But—”
“I don’t know computer stuff like you and Brett do,” he said, “but I know getting a new product off the ground takes resources. There’s no way I’m short-changing your launch by accepting charity for—”
“It’s not charity,” I practically shouted. “It’s because I love you!”
Senan stopped for a moment and lowered his eyes. His expression was pained.
“I love you too,” he said. “I have for a while now. Maybe even since the very beginning.”
“Then what’s the problem?”
“The problem is I can’t accept your help,” he pleaded.
“But you can accept Brett and Ander’s?”
He waved me off, a little more dismissively than I liked. “That’s different.”
“Why?”
“Because—”
“Because they’re your friends? Because you’ve known them longer?” I spat. “So what? You wanted a team relationship, and that’s what we have now. One that involves all four of us. Not just three.”
Senan started the car again, and began driving away. I let him sit in silence for a while, giving him time to clear his head. He could’ve just been stewing, though. Making things worse.
“Look,” I said softly, laying my hand over his. “Don’t fight with me. Let’s talk about this another time. It doesn’t have to be now.”
His inhale — and subsequent exhale — was just about all the response I was going to get.
Great. Now he’s mad at you.
I couldn’t imagine why. I was trying to do something helpful, something selfless. But the more I insisted on trying to help out, the more he pushed me away.
At first I thought he was too proud, but that didn’t make any sense. He wanted to help his sister more than anything. I couldn’t