Read Online (Once) Again by Theresa Paolo - Free Book Online Page A

gently urged her chin up with my finger. A vulnerability that I hadn’t seen before filled her eyes. So many times I’d comforted her when she cried, but I’d never seen her look so defeated.
    “I can have a bowl of cereal. You’ve been spoiling me anyway. I can’t get used to that. I won’t last a week in the dorms.”
    Defeat was replaced by a flash of sadness. Her lips parted and her nose twitched. “Oh. Does that mean you’re going back?”
    Why did I say that? The truth was I had no clue what I was going to do. College was my life for two years, and at times I missed it. But after the shooting . . . I didn’t think I’d ever be able to go back.
    It was like I was back in high school all over again. Trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Just like back then, I didn’t want to plan it. I wanted to live it.
    Kat’s cell phone rang, and I was thankful for the distraction. She looked at her phone and held up her finger. “Hello. Hi, Just. What’s going on? Everything okay?”
    I listened as Kat turned into a mom. She asked her brother all the questions my mom asked when I called home from school. The somber tone Kat had when talking to me was gone, replaced with the upbeat Kat I only saw glimpses of.
    It was like she’d turned a switch. I wondered if she did that a lot. If after her mom passed away, she pushed all her own feelings aside to focus on her brother.
    She hung up the phone and slid it back into her pocket. “Sorry.”
    “Is everything okay?”
    She fingered the pearl in her ear. “Yeah, he just wanted to check in. I’m lucky he does. When he first left, I didn’t think he would.”
    “Why not?”
    “He was finally free. He had no obligations to me, really.”
    “He’s your brother and you took care of him when he had no one else. You can’t just leave that behind.”
    “We didn’t exactly have the best relationship after Mom passed. He was getting into trouble and didn’t want to listen to me. Can’t even tell you how many times he told me I wasn’t his mother. But it did get better before he left. So I guess you’re right.”
    “When are you going to learn? I’m always right.” I said, and she rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you go shower? There are towels in the hall closet. Relax for five minutes. You don’t have to pretend with me.”
    She nodded. “I’d like that.”
    “Go. I’ll be here when you’re done. It’s not like I can go anywhere.”
    Kat ran up the stairs and when I heard the sound of the shower, I shuffled to the kitchen. I took out a pan and grabbed the eggs, feta, and spinach from the fridge. I used to make omelets for myself and Liz in the summer when our parents were at work.
    I turned the burner on and cracked the eggs.
    For so long Kat had been caring for her brother. It was time somebody took care of her.
    I’d never made an omelet on crutches before, but I managed. By the time the shower turned off, I had two plates and two glasses of orange juice on the counter.
    Kat walked into the kitchen, her hair wavy and wet. Just like all those times we went swimming at our spot. Except now we weren’t at the beach, and I couldn’t bring her back to my pickup and make love to her.
    But damn, I wanted to.
    “Feel better?” I asked, hoping to get my mind off sex.
    “Much.” She reached into her hair, pushing it out of her face and revealing the bare skin of her neck. And my mind was back on sex. That lasted long.
    Her eyes glanced to the spread on the counter. Surprise touched her gaze. “Did you call for takeout?” she asked.
    “I’d have you know I am a very good cook.”
    She cocked her head. “I did not know that about you. What else don’t I know?”
    “Sit down and I’ll tell you anything you want.”
    Kat slid onto a stool, and I eased onto the one across from her. She looked at the omelet then forked a piece into her mouth. “Mmm. This is good.”
    “Told you.”
    “Where’d you learn to make omelets?” she asked and