Page 48 of Star-Crossed
A sharp jerk of her shoulders that tried to pass for a shrug. “But nothing.”
“But?” he repeated.
“But what if somethingdoeshappen?” She bit her lip before turning to Cy, her gaze now pleading. “It’s surprisingly common for new mothers to develop mastitis or eclampsia or toxemia, or for the kittens to have problems with their breathing or suckling. There’s also the possibility of infection or parasites that might require medication or even surgery.”
“And you’re afraid that Kiki won’t catch it in time?” Cy asked, keeping his gaze trained on the road.
“I’m afraid—” Lyra’s voice thickened. She sniffled and quickly swiped at her face. “I’m afraid Larry will be in pain and wonder why I’m not there.”
In a move as risky as any he’d yet taken, Cy reached across the console and took her hand.
Or took her fist, anyway. Tense as a tree knot against his palm as he wrapped his fingers around it.
“You saved Larry’s life, Lyra,” he said quietly.
“Please.”
“You did,” he said. “Twice now, you trusted your instincts, and you were right.”
She snorted and shook her head. “My instincts didn’t even tell me Larry was a girl.”
“Your instincts told you Larry is an asshole, which has far more catastrophic consequences. You made the right call.”
She shot him a chilly look. “Then why do I feel like I failed?”
“Because you hold yourself to ridiculously exacting standards that no human could achieve.”
The words tripped from his tongue before he could call them back, and now, there was no way out but through.
Lyra stared straight ahead, her profile like the prow of a ship cutting through the forest’s dense shadow. “But a bitch could achieve them.”
Cy wasn’t sure if the imagined sounds of ice cracking came from her frosty exterior, or the conversational surface beneath his boots. Either way, caution was warranted.
“Gonna need some supplemental context for that statement,” he said.
Slowly, but gradually, her fist began to loosen beneath his.
“Townsend Harbor is ruining me,” she said. “Before I came back here, I was so…so…sharp.”
She lifted her hand from his, and it seemed as though she was finally able to find the words she’d been searching for.
“I had a plan and a career I was determined to stick with. My apartment in Philadelphia was amazing, and I had friends who were just as motivated and ambitious as me. But now, I’m back here.” She shook her head, her gaze pinning him. “It’s like the air here makes me duller, makes me feel less…capable. Like all the power that once drove me has been sucked away.”
Cy swallowed ash. “Maybe your ambition will return once you’re back in Philadelphia.”
He said it as much as a reminder to himself as an encouragement. Because he had absolutely no doubt that this had been her plan all along.
She paused for a moment before continuing. “It’s not just my ambition that I’m worried about.”
“Whatareyou worried about?”
“People around here, they think they’re helping by letting me fall apart. By supporting me enough that I can dissolve into pieces. But all they’re really doing is helping me be broken.”
“You’re not broken,” Cy said, more sharply than he intended.
“But I am,” she said. Her nails were digging into her knee, but she didn’t seem to notice. “And in a town like this, there’s no escaping it. Because everyone remembers who you were supposed to be, and like it or not, they’re comparing. They’re comparing, and they’re wondering why you— Look out!”
Cy’s gaze snapped to the windshield, and his heart leapt into his throat as he saw a white blur ahead of him on the road. He slammed on the brakes and skidded to a stop just in time for Myrtle’s three-legged llama, Darrell, to cross the street.
