Page 28 (1/2)

"No, it’s not"

"Oh," he said thoughtfully while pulling onto Farna it stand up on its ends "Huh"

"Huh," I ave it toatdarkness, only spotlighted every once in a while by a streetla his jaw line, not enough to hide the way his neck muscles moved when he sed nervously He probably had the sexiest neck alive Which eird of ht? How sexy could a neck be? It had to be the Adam’s apple, or the pronounced muscles… Or the way it connected to his broad shoulders

I blinked to work ht train

"And how did Phoenix get it?" He was hiding soet to the botto so ot it fro it I shot hiful look that demanded he finish his story but he just kept his eyes on the street ahead while he turned left at the next block and then left again so that he could head east on Harney

"When?"

Ryder didn’t answer

"Really, after I broke up with him?" I deuys were never really going out," Ryder was so carefully controlled, so condescending that I had to sit onhis are

"Fine, eren’t really going out That doesn’t uy’s face," I huffed

"Why is that?" Suddenly Ryder was staring atht so he just sat there, staring atfor me to answer "Chase has known you not even teeks and as far as I know you guys never…"

"We didn’t," I rushed to explain away the doubt in his voice At least sex would explain soh air in the car, not even to breathe I reached for the hand-roll to crank the n but stopped h

"Then why the devastation? Why the despair? Couldn’t you have walked away friends? What did you say to the guy to break his heart?" The light turned green, but Ryder just kept staring at reen," I whispered

"I know," he snapped back and pushed his foot down on the accelerator too hard The Bronco lurched and groaned but hardly picked up any real speed "Seriously Ivy, what did you say to Chase to crush hi to find my equilibrium I’d never had to answer these questions before Usually, if I stayed in the sarateful I chose them Yes, it was sick and destroyed friendships But I didn’t have a choice It hat I did

What I would do if I didn’t get out of here

Ryder de answers for my behavior wasn’t fair It wasn’t He had no idea the kind of pressure I was under Or what my mother expected of me

My own mother

I scratched atcarefully covered up It was burning like the tattletale it wanted to be

"I didn’t say anything!" I all but shouted "You don’t know anything about us, Ryder, so you have no right to say those things!"

"Youat all that I was upset "You broke his heart! After teeks, you h his hair, and his jaw ticked with frustration

There it was The words that had been spoken so many times in conjunction with me The words that haunted aveweek, he was broken

Just like everyone else before him

Just like Sam

Just like me

"You knoho I a secret!" My voice was reaching a screeching pitch noas all but hysterical "You’ve seen the tattoo You’ve heard all the rumors Don’t act so surprised just because it plays out in front of you Let’s not forget, you’re the one that begged me to break up with him"

Ryder pulled the Bronco over to the side of the road, parallel parking with disgusting ease He didn’t even have to try ht spot and turned the car off

Abruptly the air becaine, no traffic whirring by alongside us There was only us, in the quiet of the front seat, bathed in the light of the streetlamp overhead

"Ivy," Ryder started, but his voice was low and careful

"Don’t Ryder Believeyou can say that can make me feel worse I didn’t want to hurt Chase, Ok? I like Chase I think he’s great Just because it was never going to work between us, didn’t mean I wanted to hurt him" I stared out thedesperate to avoid Ryder’s intelligent eyes or scornful expression He parked in a long line of cars parallel with the Gene Leahy Outdoor Mall to ht The trees drooped in autumn death in a perfect line spaced exactly apart frorass that broke up the don industrial-ness in a five city-block long park were broith the injury of frost filled nights and barren of the people that usually occupied the and suentle with hi-ups but Ivy, really, there had to be a better-"

"Stop it," I bit out "You don’t knohat you’re talking about I was as nice as I could be"

"I’ voice that really pissed ht-"

"Enough," I shrieked "You weren’t there You weren’t And you don’t knoas said Besides that, Chase isn’t so hiile Have more respect for your friend"

"Is that what you think? You think I’ him? You have no idea what you do to men, do you? You have no idea how you affect the certain words with anger and gripping the steering wheel like he wanted to rip it off