Read Online Until the Sun Burns Out by Amber Garza - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Amber Garza
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out. It tasted bitter. Stung my tongue. Gagged me. I wished I’d never uttered it in the first place. I wish I’d never seen her at all.
“You don’t know if that’s why he moved here,” Austin said. “He may have met her afterwards.”
I wanted to believe him, to grasp his words and hold them close. Wish on them like they were stars and make them come true. But deep down, I knew. All the signs had been there. The secret phone call, the fact that he moved so far away from us. And then there was the time I caught Dad closing the front door in the middle of the night. I’d wanted to believe his story about kids making noise outside, but I was positive I’d heard voices speaking inside the house. Also, when he first mentioned Inland Cove, I knew it sounded familiar, but I didn’t know why. Now I did. I had seen it before on one of his work folders. He worked with a company here. Dad had traveled a lot for business, so much that I hadn’t always known where he went. But now I was certain he’d been here before. Enough times to meet Penny, apparently. I wondered if Mom knew.
Mom.
My stomach lurched. I had to get home to her. An entire month was long enough. Surely they’d let me go home now. Especially after what I’d learned. Desperation bloomed inside of me. I whirled around and started heading in the opposite direction.
“Where are you going?” Austin called after me.
“Home.” I didn’t turn around. I kept right on walking.
“Okay. I’ll come with you.” His footsteps sounded behind me, getting closer.
“No. Not my dad’s house. I mean, I’m going home to Oregon,” I explained.
Warm fingers closed around my wrist. I stiffened. Rarely did Austin touch me, and normally it was during an activity or when I needed help up after a fall. This was different. When he drew me forward, I sucked in a breath. Locking me in place, he came close. So close I could smell his minty breath, the faint traces of sunblock on his skin.
“You can’t leave yet. What will I do without my summer girl?”
My heart beat erratically in my chest. He was asking me to stay. It was like something out of a movie. And I wanted to say yes. I wanted to throw my arms around his neck and pepper kisses all over his incredibly handsome face. Wasn’t that what the heroine always did in one of those movies? The problem was that this wasn’t a movie. And Austin wasn’t asking me to stay because he wanted to get romantically involved. He just didn’t want to lose the one friend he’d made this summer.
“I have to leave.” I yanked my arm out of his grasp. “And you’ll be fine without me.”
“Mina.”
I stopped cold at the sound of my name. He never called me that, so it felt like a reprimand. Like when my mom used my full name.
“I think you’ll regret it if you leave,” he said, stepping toward me.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“I do.” He ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “Remember when I told you that my sister Alyssa is leaving for college this year?”
I nodded, wondering how he was going to tie this in. Sheer curiosity kept me rooted in place.
“Well, she used to be so mean to me. When I was little she put hot sauce in my food, and one time she locked me outside in my underwear.” I suppressed the laugh that rose in my throat at the image of little Austin running around in a pair of tightie-whities. “But the worst was a year ago. I had a crush on one of her friends, and she purposely humiliated me in front of her.” My stomach twisted. I’d endured my share of humiliation, and I felt for him. Austin probably wasn’t as familiar with it as I was. “But now that she’s leaving, all of that stuff doesn’t matter. I know I’m going to miss her. She’s my sister. No matter what she’s done, I love her. You know?” He caught my eye as if to see if I was tracking with him. “My point is that she messed up. She made mistakes. She was mean. But she still loves me. And
“You don’t know if that’s why he moved here,” Austin said. “He may have met her afterwards.”
I wanted to believe him, to grasp his words and hold them close. Wish on them like they were stars and make them come true. But deep down, I knew. All the signs had been there. The secret phone call, the fact that he moved so far away from us. And then there was the time I caught Dad closing the front door in the middle of the night. I’d wanted to believe his story about kids making noise outside, but I was positive I’d heard voices speaking inside the house. Also, when he first mentioned Inland Cove, I knew it sounded familiar, but I didn’t know why. Now I did. I had seen it before on one of his work folders. He worked with a company here. Dad had traveled a lot for business, so much that I hadn’t always known where he went. But now I was certain he’d been here before. Enough times to meet Penny, apparently. I wondered if Mom knew.
Mom.
My stomach lurched. I had to get home to her. An entire month was long enough. Surely they’d let me go home now. Especially after what I’d learned. Desperation bloomed inside of me. I whirled around and started heading in the opposite direction.
“Where are you going?” Austin called after me.
“Home.” I didn’t turn around. I kept right on walking.
“Okay. I’ll come with you.” His footsteps sounded behind me, getting closer.
“No. Not my dad’s house. I mean, I’m going home to Oregon,” I explained.
Warm fingers closed around my wrist. I stiffened. Rarely did Austin touch me, and normally it was during an activity or when I needed help up after a fall. This was different. When he drew me forward, I sucked in a breath. Locking me in place, he came close. So close I could smell his minty breath, the faint traces of sunblock on his skin.
“You can’t leave yet. What will I do without my summer girl?”
My heart beat erratically in my chest. He was asking me to stay. It was like something out of a movie. And I wanted to say yes. I wanted to throw my arms around his neck and pepper kisses all over his incredibly handsome face. Wasn’t that what the heroine always did in one of those movies? The problem was that this wasn’t a movie. And Austin wasn’t asking me to stay because he wanted to get romantically involved. He just didn’t want to lose the one friend he’d made this summer.
“I have to leave.” I yanked my arm out of his grasp. “And you’ll be fine without me.”
“Mina.”
I stopped cold at the sound of my name. He never called me that, so it felt like a reprimand. Like when my mom used my full name.
“I think you’ll regret it if you leave,” he said, stepping toward me.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”
“I do.” He ran his fingers through his thick, dark hair. “Remember when I told you that my sister Alyssa is leaving for college this year?”
I nodded, wondering how he was going to tie this in. Sheer curiosity kept me rooted in place.
“Well, she used to be so mean to me. When I was little she put hot sauce in my food, and one time she locked me outside in my underwear.” I suppressed the laugh that rose in my throat at the image of little Austin running around in a pair of tightie-whities. “But the worst was a year ago. I had a crush on one of her friends, and she purposely humiliated me in front of her.” My stomach twisted. I’d endured my share of humiliation, and I felt for him. Austin probably wasn’t as familiar with it as I was. “But now that she’s leaving, all of that stuff doesn’t matter. I know I’m going to miss her. She’s my sister. No matter what she’s done, I love her. You know?” He caught my eye as if to see if I was tracking with him. “My point is that she messed up. She made mistakes. She was mean. But she still loves me. And
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