Page 22 of Torn

I sip my coffee, feeling idiotic for letting myself get upset over something so ridiculous as a rubber band.But it’s his. It’s special.

Shaking my head, I pretend to be nonchalant. “You don’t have to do that. It’s just a stupid little game.”

“I know I don’t have to. Iwantto. And it’s not stupid, it’sourgame, and I’d miss it if you stopped.” He leans back against the kitchen counter, crosses his arms, and studies my face for a moment with a faint smirk. “I was thinking, though, maybe I should take something of yours for once. Kind of like a trade.”

Warmth floods through my body in a swift wave. It starts in my chest and scatters down between my thighs, intensifying with every passing second. I grip my coffee cup and hope I don’t fall over into the wall.

“Oh,” I reply, surprised. “I guess that’s fair, huh?”

He nods slowly, his eyes dark and intent. Mesmerizing. “I want that black beanie you wear all the time,” he says without hesitation, and I wonder when he decidedthat’sthe thing he wants.

“It has a little purple heart on it,” I protest. And it’s my favorite, but I don’t care anymore. I’ll love it even more once it’s on his head.

“So? I can rock a purple heart, Angel.”

No doubt he can rock anything. But him rocking my favorite beanie is something I can’t wait to see.

I smile at him. “Consider it yours, then. Next time you see me, you can have it.”

“Don’t forget or next time you try to take something of mine, I’m not gonna let ya.”

He wants something of mine.I’m pretty sure I’ve got a fever. Maybe even the flu. My body is on fire, and my insides are shaking again. My head feels buzzy and floaty. My lips feel stuck in a demented smile. I wish I had pants on.

“Deal,” I manage to say.

He pushes himself off the counter. “I gotta get going. I have to go to work and pick up Tanner; then we’re busting some douchebags with fighting dogs.”

The excited nervousness I felt a second ago quickly turns into worry. The whole dogfighting thing scares the hell out of me. Usually the guys who run them are drug dealers or worse, and most of the dogs are dangerous. I’ve seen the dogs they rescue and bring to Tor’s mother’s shelter to evaluate for training and veterinary care. Most of them are either all torn up and bloody, or totally aggressive from fear and starvation. Or both.

“Be careful, Tor. Those guys are crazy.” It’s hard to believe that people who run dogfighting rings exist right here in our cozy little New England towns, but they do.

“I’m always careful.” He goes to the laundry room down the hall and comes back pulling a heather-gray T-shirt on. “Do you need a ride home? Or you can stay here for the day, do the stuff you do, and I’ll take you home later?”

“Can I stay here? I’ll clean up for you. I could make dinner if you have food.”

“Yeah, I got some stuff in the fridge. I’ll be home around five. Make anything you find, I’m easy.” He grabs his keys off the table. “Get in touch with your dad and let him know you’re okay. I’m sure he’s wondering how your night went.”

“I will. I’m not going to tell him what happened with Jason. If he knows I had a sucky time, he’ll get upset and he doesn’t need that now.”

“Your call. I’m not going to tell him anything, but if he asks, we’ll just tell him you were here cleaning like you always do, and you came here from Chloe’s after the prom.”

I nod gratefully. “Thanks, Tor.”

“Don’t thank me. I don’t like lying to Asher, though, so I don’t want any more shit like this going on. I’ll always help you if you need it, but I don’t like keeping things about you from him.”

I nod again, knowing if I apologize it will just make him angry. I feel terrible that I put him in a bad position of having to lie to my father because that’s something he would normally never do. Tor is a good guy with strong values, especially when it comes to his family and friends, and I hate that my bad decision has now affected him.

He pauses at the door and turns to me before he leaves. “Go take a nap, Kenz. You know how you get when you’re overtired. You don’t even have to clean today if you don’t want to, and I’ll still pay you. I’ll be happy with a dinner that didn’t come out of the microwave and hasn’t been frozen for the past four years.”

I shake my head. “No. I’m not letting you pay me this week. You drove three hours for me in the middle of the night. So forget it.”

He waves his hand in my direction. “Fine. I’m going. Get some sleep.”

CHAPTER 4

Kenzi—age two

Toren—age seventeen