Page 65 of Cornered

“I’m not sure if you noticed, but I’m trying to undo that action.”

“Not a chance.”

Donovan’s mouth went dry. She couldn’t mean that. “Cassie, please. Let me explain.”

“I asked you for an explanation, and rather than explain, you said you wanted to undo it. That’s not an explanation.”

“You’re right.” He pointed to his sofa. “Can we sit? And talk?”

Cassie narrowed her eyes, then took a seat in a chair. Fine. She was sitting. He could work with that. “Would you like another Coke?”

“Yes. Please.” Her voice was low and quiet. Whatever rage had fueled her decision to come bursting in to confront him, it was fading. He took the empty can from her, tossed it in his recycling bin, and grabbed another from the fridge.

When he handed it to her, he knelt by her chair. “Cassie. Iamsorry.”

Her hand shook as she opened the drink, but her voice was steady when she asked, again, “Why?”

Donovan sat on the spot on the sofa that was closest to her. “I need to tell you a story.”

“Okay.”

“It’s not a fun story.”

“Okay.”

“There’s a longer version, and I’ll be happy to share it with you in the future, but for tonight, I’ll keep it as short as I can.”

“That’s probably wise.”

Donovan opened the Coke he’d brought for himself and took a sip. “I’m not sure how to say this without it coming across as super arrogant, but I’m pretty smart.”

Cassie didn’t say anything.

“Like, straight A’s in school. Valedictorian. Total nerd.”

That earned him a raised eyebrow.

“It’s true. There are photos to prove it. I was the president of the chess club.”

Cassie didn’t manage to hold in her little snort of laughter.

“Oh, it gets better. I was freakishly skinny. And we don’t want to talk about my hair.”

At that, Cassie closed her eyes and shook her head. “I can’t see it.”

He pulled his phone from his pocket, scrolled through to social media, and found the photo he’d been looking for. He handed her his device, and she took it. Then her mouth fell open.

TEN

CASSIE STAREDat two boys. One was a pretty average-looking teenager. The other was a skinny kid with thick glasses and acne and a truly awful haircut that made him look like he was sixty instead of sixteen.

“This is you?”

He nodded.

“Are you blind without your glasses?”

“I was. Had surgery a few years ago. Now? Perfect vision.”

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