Page 13 of Made for Cyn
If so, he’s winning because I’ve been foolish enough to take the bait.
“Report back on what?”
“You live with Iris, no?”
“Yes,” I say warily.
“Who she hangs out with, who she talks to, where she goes,” he says with a shrug.
“Why?”
Laughing, he chucks me under the chin, but there’s no amusement in his eyes. They’re too dark for that, and dropping my gaze, I frown when he says, “You don’t need to know. Get me what I need, and I’ll let you go.”
“Really?” I glance at him skeptically.
“Yes, little beauty. Although your innocent act pleases me, I don’t need a blushing virgin hanging all over me. I’m not sure you’d last long in my world, in any case,” he says, spinning on his heel.
“Then why the warning to stay away from dick?”
Turning to me with an intensity that makes me pause, he says, “Because I still plan to take that cherry.”
“What?” I gasp as he enters the building, leaving me staring after him with my jaw at my knees.
Of all the . . . what a horrible proposition, and now I’m caught between this dangerous guy and my cousin, who it would appear may be harboring her own secrets.
Iris, what did you do?
???
The remainder of the day is nowhere near as exciting. The glow of attending a real school has faded thanks to the drama I’ve been unknowingly pulled into. Who knew I’d be trading the intensity of Prophet Jim for this?
Iris is quiet on the way home, and I let her be because she’s vibrating with tension as she stares out the window with single-minded intensity. I feel as though I should leave it alone, except Cyn’s thinly veiled threats hang over me like a bad habit, and once again, my stomach clenches at the thought of keeping secrets.
Once we get to the house, I deposit my things in my room and head downstairs for a snack. My stomach is roiling angrily after missing lunch.
Iris’ stepdad, John, is in the kitchen when I enter. John has pale blue eyes, a shock of silver hair, and bushy brows that crawl across his forehead. He’s on the short side, barely taller than me, with a slim build and almost frail demeanor.
Next to Pam, curvy and tall for a woman, he looks positively boyish.
I hesitate at the door when I see him because truthfully, even though he’s only ever been nice to me, I don’t know him well, and he doesn’t seem interested in getting to know me.
Mom says he’s a bit of a jerk. I’ve never asked why, but I get the feeling it’s more to do with his snide comments than anything else. Although I did hear her say once that she’s convinced he cheats on Pam.
I hope not for her sake, but it makes me look at him with new eyes because things like that don’t resonate when you’re a kid.
Regardless, I don’t know him well. He’s always been a little stiff around kids, which is why I enter the kitchen with some reluctance, hoping I can either work around his indifference or avoid him altogether.
He glances up when I appear and gives me a friendly grin. “Rain, how was your first day?”
“It was good,” I say as he turns back to the counter and cuts the vegetables he has laid out in a neat row.
Pam works a lot as a traveling nurse, so John does a lot of domestic stuff around the house, including dinner. He’s a salesman for a local company selling cleaning supplies to businesses.
“Good. What’s your favorite class?”
Relaxing at the mundane question, I smile and murmur, “Literature.”
“Ah, you’re a reader. I loved to read too, back when I had time,” he chuckles.
