Page 33 of Secrets in the Deep
“Do I want to know?”
“No.” When Shaun slipped into a white van, Ryan gave Nora his full attention. “Everything okay?”
“I need you to tell me something, and I need you to be honest.”
His brows flickered. “What?”
“Tell me I’m not crazy.”
“You’re not crazy.”
“You haven’t even heard my reasoning.”
“I don’t need to. You’re not crazy.” They did have someone in the family who suffered from mental illness, but that person was not Nora.
“A sixteen-year-old boy just told me I’m a psycho. And I’m fully medicated today.”
“You take anxiety medication. That doesn’t make you a psycho. And you work in a high school. Those kids call eachotherpsycho. It could even be a compliment.”
Nora sighed. “Tell me something to distract me.”
“I kissed Emi.”
Nora gasped. “You didwhat?”
“Or she kissed me, I can’t remember. But we kissed.”
“When? How?”
“In my house a week ago?—”
“Aweekago? And you’re only just telling me now?”
“You’re a school counselor. Aren’t you supposed to be calm in situations like these?”
“You’re my brother and a full-ass adult. You need a different kind of counseling. Plus, this ishuge.”
“Really? Because Emi can still barely look at me.”
“Why? What did you do?”
“Why do you assume I did something?”
“Ryan.” There was warning in his sister’s voice.
“I didn’t do anything. She pushed me away mid-kiss and we haven’t spoken since.”
“Did you go and talk to her about it the next day? Did you tell her you made the biggest mistake of your life five years ago?”
“No. Because I didn’t. She wouldn’t have any of what she has now if I hadn’t ended our relationship.”
“No, she’d lead a completely different life. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
The sadness in Emily’s eyes ran through his mind again.
He shook his head. No. She was living the life she’d always dreamed of. She’d told him this was what she wanted too many times for him to think otherwise. “I’ve got to go.”
“Because you can’t handle your little sister’s honest advice?”
