Love Scars - 4: Exposed Read Free Page A

in silver thread on the front. I could easily lean over and touch his arm, invite myself into his embrace.
    “I honestly have no idea how I’m doing.” I took a sip of the beer. “The two people I love most are getting exactly what they want, but it feels like my world is falling apart. I'm happy for them, but…”
    “Sad for yourself.”
    “Yeah.” A tear rolled down my cheek. I laughed and wiped it away. “Sheesh. It sounds so stupid and self-centered when I say it out loud.”
    “Never. It makes perfect sense. Your best friend and roommate is getting married, and you just found out your niece is going to away to school when you didn’t even know it was a possibility. You haven’t adjusted yet. My mom cried for a week when I told her I was going to college in California.”
    “Where are you from?”
    “Seattle.”
    “Nice. I’ve always wanted to visit Seattle. Actually, more north. Vancouver Island.”
    “Butchart Gardens,” he said. “I remember.”
    That was cool he remembered our conversation the other morning. Not even a week ago! I felt like I’d known him all my life. “So where did you go to college?”
    “Stanford, actually.”
    Were the gods mocking me? “No way.”
    “Brad too, I’m afraid. He was a legacy—though he hates being called that. His dad went there.”
    “Did Brad pull strings to get Stacey in?” I said. “I’m not sure how I feel about that.”
    “Creepy, huh?” J.D. said. “But no. Don’t worry. Brad’s not weird. Five years ago, his sister died in a car crash along with his dad. She would have been Stacey’s age. It makes him feel better to take on the big brother role again.”
    “That’s a pretty nice big brother, arranging for a $25,000 scholarship.”
    “Now that I’m sure he did have a hand in. He has a lot of influence at BlueMagick.”
    “Oh, that’s right,” I said. “He got you the job there.”
    “Yeah, well.” J.D. turned red and took a drink of his beer. “It’s good to have friends. Brad’s always been a good friend to me. As you are to Lisa and Stacey.”
    “Yeah, well.” I mimicked him. This was nice, just talking, sharing. “Lately it seems the universe is telling me to focus less on my friends and more on myself. As you’ve witnessed, I have some issues I’ve been avoiding.”
    “Issues.”
    The word sounded neutral, without judgment, but there was a gentle question mark in J.D.’s voice. An invitation to open up. No demand. No pressure.
    “You saw a demonstration last Friday,” I said. “I had a flashback to when my family was killed.”
    “That would give a person issues,” J.D. said. “Did they ever catch who did it?”
    “Right away, thank god,” I said. “I saw…some of it. He had these ugly, stupid tattoos on his face. A thick black plus sign on one cheek and a minus sign on the other. The police knew who he was by the tats.”
    “Where were you?”
    “At our cabin in the foothills.” Enough. Danger. Change the subject . “Not far from the Barton dig, actually.”
    “The internship you and Brad are taking.”
    “If he’s he’s still going.” I’d forgotten to ask earlier.
    “He must be,” J.D. said. “He said there’s an orientation on Friday.”
    “It will be the first time I’ve gone back up there since it happened. For so long I tried to put it out of my mind. I couldn’t bear to even hear the name of the town. Foresthill.” He was so easy to talk to. I was surprised—and relieved—as I said the word without freezing up. It was easier each time.
    “What happened to the guy?”
    “He was in a gang that grew pot on public land. He told the police he thought we were trespassing on their turf. He’s in Pelican Bay now. The jury gave him the death penalty. I don’t like to think about him. I won’t give him one second more of my life.”
    “I don’t presume to know what you feel, Nora, but you seem to be handling things well.”
    “Except when something like last Friday happens.”
    We