Chapter 65
Anna
From behind me, Flynn's said, "Anna, you all right?"
I was stalking down the sidewalk and had no intention of stopping. I didn't bother to turn around as I said, "I'm fine." It was an obvious lie, but what did it matter?
Maybe I should've been glad that he'd put on such a great show for Mackenzie, but all I felt was despair. In just a few weeks, our arrangement would end, leaving me at Mackenzie's mercy all over again.
Okay, maybe I didn'thaveto be at her mercy, but I'd definitely be eating a lot of crap because of Flynn's stupid claim."She's not going back."
Yes, it was a lovely line to put Mackenzie in her place.But long-term?It would only mean more humiliation later on. I could practically hear Mackenzie now, sneering."I thought you weren't coming back."
Great. Something to look forward to.
When I kept on walking, Flynn fell in beside me, easily keeping up with my rapid pace. In my peripheral vision, I could see him glancing in my direction like he didn't get what was going on.
Or who knows, maybe he was waiting for me to thank him for the rescue. But ifthat'swhat he was waiting for, he'd be waiting a long time.
Whether his concern had been genuine or not, that little act of his had just doomed me to a boat-load of grief when Flynn and I were done.
I didn't even know why I was taking this so hard. I mean, worse things had happened to me over the years. And I'd survivedthosemostly okay.
This wasn't a big deal.Really, it wasn't.
Still, my eyes glistened and my thoughts churned as I strode blindly forward. I didn't know exactly where I was going, but Ididknow that I wasn't planning to stop any time soon.
Abruptly, a hard yank on my elbow jerked me backward. When I whirled to look, Flynn was staring down at me with a frown as ominous as I'd ever seen it.
What the hell?
I gave my elbow a useless yank. "Just leave me alone, all right?"
He was still gripping my elbow. It was too tight and too hard. I gave another yank, even as his voice sliced out between us. "Anna."
I practically yelled, "What?"
"You okay?"
I yanked again, not that it did a lick of good. "No. I'mnotokay." Through gritted teeth, I said, "Now let me go."
His frown deepened. "No."
I felt like screaming. "Why not?"
His gaze flicked to the nearby intersection, where cars and trucks rumbled along the city street. He leaned closer and said in a low voice, "Because you almost got hit."
I froze. And then, with wary eyes, I looked where he'd indicated. Sure enough, I'd come dangerously close to stepping out into traffic.
Shit.
Just like so many other things, itwasn'tthe kind of thing I normally did. Cripes, as a general rule, I didn't even use my cell phone while walking, lest I become texting roadkill.
When I looked back to Flynn, he was eying me with obvious concern.
But that wasn't theonlything that made me want to crawl into hole and hide. It was the fact that we'd attracted a small crowd who were staring at us like we'd just put on the jolliest show, ever.
But could I blame them? I mean, wasn't it perfectly normal to stare at a crazy person?
I heard myself say, "I want to go home."
