Page 39 of You Had Me At Thirteen

He jumps from the car and rounds the bonnet as he stalks towards me. ‘What the fuck are you doing?’

‘Your mum,’ I say, trying to catch my breath. ‘I got worried.’

He snaps his head towards his house. ‘Is she…’

‘She’s fine, I think. He didn’t get inside. I’m not sure she even knows what’s going on.’

Wren runs his hands through his hair as he paces in front of me. He stops when he notices the bat in my hands. ‘What were you going to do with that?’

I shrug. ‘Swing and hope I didn’t miss.’

‘Jesus, I told you to stay inside.’ He pinches the bridge of his nose and squeezes his eyes shut.

‘You’re not the boss of me, Wren. I was only trying to help. You don’t have to be a dick about it.’

He should thank me for scaring away the intruder, instead he’s arguing with me because I didn’t obey him.

He grabs my shoulders, strong fingers digging in. ‘I just wanted you safe, for crying out loud. Is that so hard to understand?’

I search his face, noticing the worry lines on his forehead. ‘I… I’m sorry, I saw a light come on upstairs, so I just reacted.’

He sighs, letting his shoulders sag as he drops his head into his hands and scrubs his face. When he plants himself on the gutter, his head hanging between his shoulders, I move to sit beside him, placing the bat between my legs.

It’s a long while before he speaks again, but when he does, his voice is raw. ‘I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you.’

I nudge him with my shoulder. ‘Wren, I’m fine. Stop stressing about me. I’d be more worried about whoever that fucker was.’

He presses his palms into his eye sockets. ‘You don’t get it, do you?’

‘This isn’t your fault,’ I say as I reach for him.

He jerks back. ‘You’re not listening to me. If something happened to you, I’d burn this goddamn town to the ground until I find the person responsible.’

I don’t have time to react before he’s storming towards his front door. It’s only when I let the words sink in that I realise what he’s just admitted.

Shit. Does he… like me like that?

‘Wren.’ I chase after him, my shorter legs running to catch up.

‘Go home, Matilda.’

‘Wren, please.’

He stops so abruptly at his front door, I almost smack into his back. He doesn’t turn around when he speaks again. ‘I said. Go. Home.’

I’m left blinking at the front of Wren’s door when he slams it in my face, without so much as a glance in my direction. I don’t understand what just happened, so I head back inside my house and up to my room to stare at the ceiling as I try to piece together the puzzle that is Wren Stevenson.

SEVENTEEN

Matilda

* * *

Audrey and Clive pull up at my place just after five. I’d begged my mum to let me out for one night because after my three days sitting at home on suspension, I was dying to see my two besties.

I’d agreed yesterday – much to my horror – that I would let them help me get ready for tonight’s party. It had been the talk of the school all week. Clive reminded me that Danny’s party is going to besuper hot, and just a taste of the massive end-of-year celebration that is guaranteed to impress.

I showered before they arrived so I wouldn’t have to deal with Clive nag that I was taking too long.

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