My teeth gnash into my lip so hard, I’m surprised I don’t draw blood. Bracing myself for the worst, I close my eyes and force out the words. “I’mseventeen.”
There’s a momentary silence. I think, perhaps, he’s going to react better than I’d expected. Instead, when my eyes sliver open and lock on his face, I see the same strangled expression he wore when I informed him we’d be amputating Ian’sleg.
“Seventeen,” he says slowly, sounding out each vowel like he’s speaking a foreign language. “You’rejoking.”
Wincing, I shake my head. “Afraidnot.”
Beck is typically the epitome of self-restraint. So I’m totally unprepared when he vaults to his feet in one seamless motion and begins to pace in front of the fire. His long strides eat up the sand, lapping the whole camp in a matter ofseconds.
“Seventeen!” he explodes. “How thefuckcan you beseventeen?”
“Well… last year I was sixteen... and next year I’ll be eighteen… I think that’s just how this whole aging thing works,” I muse, attempting to lighten themood.
His glare tells me there will be no such lightening. “Why were you even on that goddamnedplane?”
“The Flints needed an au pair for thesummer.”
“So they hired a child to watch their child? In what world does that makesense?”
My chin jerks higher. “It’s really none of your concern at all. My age has nothing to do withyou.”
“Seeing as we’re stuck here together, I’d say every damn thing about you is myconcern.”
Ugh!
“Well,I’dsay you’re being an ass,” I contribute. “But, at this point, I’m starting to realize it’s not a temporary state. You’re notbeingan ass. Youarean ass. Always. Constantly. All thetime.”
He offers no response except a low, predatory growl, still pacing back andforth.
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” I mutter somewhat sourly as I watch him. “This doesn’t changeanything—”
“It doesn’t change anything?” he scoffs. “It changeseverything. You— you’re a fucking child, for god’ssake!”
“I’m not achild.”
“Spoken like every teenage girl ever.” His laugh is bitter. He runs his hands through his hair, fisting it in angry clumps. “God, what are you, a junior in highschool?”
“I’ll be in college in the fall.” The blood drains from my face. “Or… I would’vebeen.”
He stops pacing. His gaze cuts to mine across the fire, and I swear there’s more heat in his glare than there is coming from the actual flames two feetaway.
“Fuck, Violet,” he rasps, sending shivers down myspine.
Fuck,indeed.
“Why are you so pissed?” I ask, narrowing my eyes and ignoring my thunderingheartbeat.
“You should’ve toldme.”
“You didn’t tell me how oldyouwere until thisafternoon!”
“That’s different,” hegrumbles.
“Spoken like every hypocritical adult ever,” I toss back, just to goad him. I rise to my feet, my temper rising along with me. “Tell me why it bothers you somuch.”
His jaw is ticking. “Itdoesn’t.”
My eyes dart down to his hands, curled into tight fists at his sides. “This is you,unbothered,” I sayslowly.