“Are you okay, Anna?” Cole asked.
Brett cursed under his breath and swung her to her feet, but kept an arm wrapped around her waist. “Does she look upset or abused to you, Cole?”
“She can speak for herself,” Anna said, eyeing Brett out of the corner of her peripheral vision. “And I’m fine. We’re just dancing. We’ll be inside in a second.”
Cole cocked a brow. “Brett doesn’t dance.”
“I do with her.”
Cole shook his head, but a small smile slid into place. “I’ll do my best to keep the others out of the garden—but I’m not making any promises. Come back inside soon.”
Cole left, and Anna was once again alone with Brett. He dropped his hold on her and rubbed the back of his neck. Offering her a sheepish smile, he said, “Sorry. I’m just done with them ordering me around.”
She nodded, not meeting his eyes. “I don’t blame you. They’re being ridiculous.”
He smiled, but it had a sad tone to it, if that was even possible. “I get it. It’s because they love you so much, and you’re so special, they want to take care of you. They want to protect you.”
“They don’t need to protect me from you,” she said slowly. “You made that quite clear.”
“Yeah,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I did, didn’t I?”
She nodded, not saying anything.
There was nothing to say.
“Are we still friends, Anna?” he finally asked.
“Of course,” she said immediately. “Why wouldn’t we be?”
“I don’t know.” They watched each other silently, neither stepping closer or backing off. After a while, he gestured toward the open doors. “Well, thanks for the dance.”
She smoothed her dress over her legs. “I’m going inside before Wyatt notices I’m taking too long, so you can have the garden all to yourself if you’d like.”
His lips twitched. “I was wondering how you managed to escape your bodyguard.”
“I lied and told him I had my period. That sent him running for the hills.”
Brett laughed. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand and traced his finger down the slightly raised scar on her palm. “Did you ever tell your parents the truth about where you got this scar?”
She shivered at this soft touch, and her stomach hollowed out.
The memory never left her.
Brett stood up and stretched his arms over his head. He had recently switched from glasses to contacts, but she missed seeing him in his goofy little glasses. He had saved up all of his money from the part-time job he worked after school to be able to afford the contacts. God knew his aunt and uncle wouldn’t pay for them.
Christopher leaned back on the couch and rubbed his spiky, gelled hair. “You going home to celebrate, Brett?”
“Yeah.” Brett gave him a small smile and rubbed the back of his neck. “They said they’re making me a cake and my favorite dinner. I can’t wait.”
“At least they do that much for you one day a year,” Eric mumbled. “If only they cared the other three hundred and sixty-four days.”
Anna watched Brett closely. His smile slipped a fraction, then slid back into place. He collected all of his homework and shrugged. “No sense in wishing for something that will never happen. It is what it is. It’s not like I care.”
She sighed. She knew how wishing for things that would never happen worked all too well. If only he would notice her and maybe love her a little bit. Would that ever happen? Heck, she would even settle for him looking at her the way she looked at him for just one second. Or, you know…
All. The. Time.
Brett cleared his throat. “Something wrong, Anna?”
“Huh?” She mentally shook herself off. “Why would something be wrong?”
Christopher snorted. “You were staring at him and freaking him out again.”
Her cheeks caught on fire, and her heart cracked a little bit. Brett complained about her to her brother? How embarrassing. “I wasn’t staring at him.”
“She didn’t freak me out.” Brett glared at Christopher, then turned back to her. His eyes softened, and he offered her a smile. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just teasing you. You don’t freak me out.”
Christopher frowned. “No, I’m not. You said—”
“I’m heading home now. Thanks for the help with my chemistry homework,” Brett interjected.
“Yep.” Chris’s fingers twitched on the armrests of the chair. “See you in the morning.”
As Brett passed by, he leaned down and whispered, “Don’t let him get to you. I’ve never complained about you and never will.”