Page 67 of Capturing You
“That doesn’t make you ‘too much.’ It makes you nosy.”
“Too nosy. Too much. It’s fine.” This time, her laugh was forced. “I am who I am. I can’t help myself.”
“You could trynotsnooping.”
“Hmm.” She made the sound as if she were considering the option. “Icould,theoretically. But in practice… I’m not sure.”
At least she was honest.
Far more honest than he’d been.
“How did you find the hidden compartment in that desk?”
“Oh. If I didn’t know the house had secrets, I probably wouldn’t have. But the dimensions inside the drawer didn’t match the depth.”
“How did you see that?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “It was obvious.”
It hadn’t been to him. She’d also noticed the resemblance between Bernie and Shane Dawson, which he hadn’t picked up on at all. And he’d seen Bernie face-to-face, not just in a grainy photograph.
“You see what others don’t see,” Forbes said. “Which makes sense.”
“How so?”
“You know, because you’re an artist.”
She sat back and scoffed.
“What?”
“I’m not an artist,” she said. “I just take pictures. The art, the beauty, is already there.”
“You see what others don’t see and capture it. You evoke emotions with your work. A painter does that with paints. A poet does it with words. You do it with a camera.”
“It’s not the same. A painter has skill. A poet… I mean, I can barelyreadpoetry, much less write it. That’s crazy skill. I just point and shoot.”
“You’re being ridiculous. You don’t really believe that.” He hadn’t meant the words to come out angry.
To be fair, he hadn’t meant the words to come out at all.
She said nothing, just crossed her arms and stared into the flames.
“What?” he demanded. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
“Just tell me.”
She looked his way, head tilting to the side. “Do you find that annoying? When you ask a question and get no response, or just a one-word answer that doesn’t actually explain anything?”
“Whatever.”
“Because I imagine that might be a little frustrating.”
“I was just making conversation.”
“No, you were expectingmeto make the conversation so you could sit there silently. Maybe it’s my turn to be the mysterious one, mmm? Ever thought of that?”
