Page 104 of Sombra
“La huerta calls me now.”
“I’ll miss school today, too. Have to, I guess.”
He pauses like he wants to say something else, then stalks off.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I take off to the kitchen, where Tavo’s mom has already placed bread, butter, jam, and coffee in front of Shane.“Carbs,” he says raising his eyebrows and lifting the bread up toward me. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had bread. Guess it’s okay since I’m on vacation.”
María Luisa sits across from him. “Mister Shane, you must stay. How long are you here in España?”
“A couple days,” he says, his mouth wrapped around the toast.
She gestures down the hall. “A few days? Muy bien. You canstay with Miss Kim. We will have room.”
Oh, no, he can’t.
I open my mouth to talk, but María Luisa has already asked Mari Carmen to get a towel for Shane and sent Jorge to get his bag.
This is my nightmare. My absolute nightmare.
While Shane eats, looking around at the beautiful, ancient kitchen, he tries to talk to Antonio, whose eyes are like saucers looking at Shane’sbiceps, but there’s not much communication going on. Tavo’s abuelo gives me a weird look and then goes out to smoke. Valeria cuts up vegetables for soup, likely an excuse to eavesdrop.
Haven’t we had enough drama lately?
I have nothing to say, at least not in front of anyone else. Now that Shane’s here, so many thoughts and feelings are running through me, I can’t separate them out.I’m freaked, nervous, scared, relieved, pissed, and nostalgic. He feels familiar, like home, but he’s completely out of place.
Completely.
He’s handsome and annoying, and I don’t want to hurt him, even though I fear I already have. I don’t know how much clearer I could have been. And besides, he sprung the ring on me right before I left. What was I to do? I sit in agony as he eats,frozen, unable to move.
Finally, after seeing him wash down a half a baguette with two cups of coffee, I say, “Can I talk with you? Alone?”
Tavo’s mom gestures grandly down the hall. “Por favor. Be our guest.”
Shane follows me down the hall, his face tentative. I turn around and whisper-shriek at him, “What are you doing here?”
“I told you I had a surprise.”
“Weeks ago.” My hand flies to my hip, and heat infuses my cheeks. “Why didn’t you answer my messages?” We get to my room and step inside. I shut the door behind us.
“I needed to talk to you in person.” He’s acting weird, too, kicking at the ground and biting his lip. Then he reaches out and grabs me in another hug. “Hey. I missed you.”
As I’m in his arms, I feel nothing but friendship.And pissed off. “Did you read my email?”
“Yeah. That’s what I want to talk to you about.”
“Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you talk to me? How come you never said anything?”
He lets out his breath, drops his arms, and takes a step back, looking out the window to the cork oak outside. “It’s pretty here.”
Answer my fucking question, Shane.
“Yeah, it is.” I trya different tack. “How have you been?”
“Well.” He clears his throat. “I’ve been well. Listen. I need to talk to you. Things have gotten way out of control, and talking with you in person was the only way to do this.” He eyes my unmade bed and then gingerly sits on the end, putting his hands flat on his thighs and letting out another breath.
I clamber up to the top of my bed and putmy pillow on my lap. With my pulse racing, I open my mouth to say that I’m sorry, like I said, I really can’t marry you, but he interrupts my thinking.
