Punk and Zen by J.D. Glass

Author:J.D. Glass [Glass, J.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9781933110660
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2007-01-15T06:00:00+00:00

I smiled despite myself, because deep inside, I knew that. “I know that, Fran,” I replied just as softly, “it’s that…I’m not the person you think I am.”

Fran shifted until she kneeled next to me, and I instantly missed her warmth as I gazed out the window. It was so gray out, I couldn’t tell if it was still snowing or not.

“Look at me,” she requested gently.

I glanced over and met her eyes, then dropped mine. I couldn’t. I was such a jerk.

“Nina, please,” she said again, and laid tender fingers on my face, “look at me.”

It was her touch, matching her tone as it did, that convinced me, and I finally turned my face to hers, afraid of what I’d find. I stared at her wordlessly and discovered nothing but kindness shining out at me.

“I know you,” she told me, stroking my face, and her perfect smile beaming at me. “I know you.”

I shifted restlessly and tossed my head in negation. “No, you don’t,” I told her sadly, staring at her. My hands wanted to touch her, but I stopped myself and put them in my lap. “And I don’t think you’d like me.”

Fran closed the space between us and cupped my face in her hands. “You’re wrong.” She smiled at me again, a soft lift of her lips. “I do know you.” She stroked my cheek, then placed the flat of her palm against my chest. “I know this—I’ve seen it.”

I was touched, but I shook my head again. “No, Fran, really.

I’ve changed—a lot. I’m not who you think I am.”

I met her eyes once more, and she gazed at me with such warmth I wanted to cry. I wanted her to understand: the girl she’d known was dead, had been dead for a long time. I didn’t know who I was, but I wasn’t her—not anymore, anyway.

Fran sighed, cupped my face with one hand again, and drew soft lines along my shoulder with the other. I leaned into her touch. “Don’t you think I’d know you’d be different? And,”

she kissed my lips softly, “think, Nina. Would you have walked me home, lent me your scarf, God,” she laughed lightly, “saved me from breaking my ass in the snow?”

Fran had my attention, and this time, I didn’t look away.

Could she be right? Was a part of me, any part of me, still the person we both remembered? I shifted self-consciously.

“I’ve done some pretty callous things.”

“Who hasn’t?” she asked me simply.

“But they haven’t done the things I’ve done,” I responded.

“They haven’t—”

Fran hushed me and gripped my shoulder. “Nina, you could have lied to me about Candace from the start,” she said, staring at me intently, willing me to understand. “You didn’t have to say anything—she won’t tell Samantha more than she told me. Well,” she smiled wryly, “maybe a little more, but not much. There’s a very good chance that no one would have known anything.” She cupped my chin with her free hand and again ran her thumb into the hollow she was fond of.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.