Page 15 of Exile

“Used to?”

“I quit before I went on my road trip,” I explained with a tight smile.

“Why?”

“Because it wasn’t what I wanted to do. It didn’t really make me happy. It got hard waking up every morning.”

“So you quit to do, what, find motivation on that trip?”

I shrugged. “Kinda. I mostly just wanted to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life.”

“And now you’re here.”

I nodded. I already told him the story of how I ended up here.

“Did you figure it out? What do you want to do with your life once you return home?”

Pursing my lips, I lifted the mug to hold it, warming my palms. “Not really.”

“So that trip was a waste of money and time.”

“Definitely not. This trip was amazing. I met many cool people, saw so many new things, and captured everything with my phone, too.” I smiled, and my body eased. “It was the best trip I ever went on.”

He studied me, his thick brows furrowed. He didn’t reply right away. There was something unreadable in his gaze, something that made my skin tingle. He looked like he didn’t believe me. His gaze softened when he said, “You’ve got the rest of your life to figure out what you want.”

I nodded before taking a careful sip of my tea. The liquid burned on my tongue and down my throat, and all of a sudden, my body felt hot. I felt tense and had no idea how to deal with that feeling.

As I kept my eyes on him, I tried to figure out how to continue the conversation. Caspian didn’t look away from me, and it seemed he was trying to do the same.

He cleared his throat, then asked, “You said you don’t have family left. What about a boyfriend? You got one?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Just me.”

“No kids either, then.”

I gave him a flat look. “I’m twenty-one.”

“So?” He raised a brow at me. “I was twenty when your mother was born. And she wasn’t much older either when she had you.”

Touché.

Mom was, in fact, twenty when she had me as well.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” I gave another tight smile. “But, no, I don’t have kids. Or a boyfriend.”

“Smart,” he muttered, taking another sip of coffee.

I couldn’t help but laugh. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that, sometimes, you’re better off alone.”

“Like you?”

He scoffed. “I haven’t been alone all my life. I think I deserve to be alone for once.”

“Fair enough.” I leaned back on the couch, getting more comfortable as more minutes passed. “And what do you do all day, all alone?”

“I mind my business,” he said bluntly.

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