Finally, it was Jack who broke the silence. "Go on. Finish what you were saying."
But now, I was almost too distracted to think.The scars – what were they from?They weren't burns. They were cuts. Or at least, Ithoughtthey were cuts.But from what?
Absently, I replied, "About the dorm thing? Actually I was done."
Was this true?I couldn’t say for certain. In fact, I was half-afraid that I'd stopped talking in mid-sentence.
Desperately I wanted to ask about the scars, but it seemed unbearably rude, especially now in mid-argument.
Into my silence, Jack said, "I fell through a window."
I blinked. "What?"
"A window," he said. "I fell through it." He glanced down. "I was wearing shorts. Cut my legs to hell. But it's not a big deal. Do you want breakfast?"
I did.But not this instant. I asked, "How old were you?"
"Maybe ten."
I tried to envision it. "But how exactly do you fall through a window?"
He gave me a rueful smile. "It's not as hard as you think."
I wasn't buyingthatfor one minute. "Where was this?"
"Does it matter?" he said. "A window's a window, right?"
I recalled Jack's official bio. He'd grown up in a series of foster homes. No specifics were ever mentioned. That wasn't a good sign.What on Earth had happened to him?
Jack's voice interrupted my thoughts. "Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't think about it. Like I said, it's wasn't a big deal." As he spoke, he set his cell phone on the bathroom countertop. "So, how about breakfast?"
I glanced toward the phone. Distracted or not, I was still angry about that call. "But we're not done talking."
"About what?"
"The thing with Flynn."
"Don't worry. He can handle it."
"I know," I said. "But he shouldn't have to. You seriously need to apologize."
"All right. I'm sorry."
I rolled my eyes. "Not to me. To Flynn."
He shook his head. "Forget it."
"But you were awful," I said. "And he's done so much for me. It's not right.Orfair."
"Yeah? Well life isn't fair." He gave a tight shrug. "Ask Flynn. He'll tell you."
It felt like a dig. Flynn and my sister had a history. The early part hadn't been so great. And yes, some thingshadbeen particularly unfair, especially to Flynn.
I asked, "Are you talking about that thing in high school?"
