Until We Touch (Fool's Gold #15)

With that she stepped back into the house and closed the door. Larissa didn’t check, but she was pretty sure the door had locked automatically. She had a feeling that was a lot more about keeping people out than keeping the residents in.

She paced the width of the porch while she waited. The last day had been awful. Percy had disappeared during the tournament and she couldn’t figure out why. Jack had said it was his fault, but he wouldn’t tell her what had happened. No one had seen or heard anything. She thought Percy was happy in his new life. She thought he was excited about his future. So what had gone wrong?

The door opened and Percy stepped out onto the porch. Until that second, she hadn’t realized that she’d half expected him to refuse to see her.

She rushed toward him and wrapped her arms around him. He was still for a second, before hugging her back.

“I’ve missed you,” she told him, moving back so she could see his face. “Are you okay?”

One corner of his mouth turned up. “Larissa, it’s been a day. I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine. Fine people don’t leave. You just left.”

His gaze shifted from her to something over her shoulder. “I had to go. I can’t mooch off you forever.”

“Who said anything about mooching? You’re a part of the Score family.” She stared into his dark eyes. “Why did you leave? What happened?”

Percy raised one shoulder and looked past her again. “Nothing. It was time. Look, I have to live my own life. It’s time for me to be a man.”

“You’re already a man. Percy, come on. What about finishing your GED and going to college?”

“I’m still going to do that. I’m going to be a teacher and help kids like me.” His gaze returned to hers. “This is better. Jack doesn’t need me crowding him. I’m looking for a job. I’ll be fine. The people here are decent. Don’t worry about me.”

There was so much information in that short speech, she thought. She didn’t know where to start.

“Why would you think you crowd Jack? He likes you. He likes having you around. You’re like family.”

Percy’s expression tightened. “I’m not family, Larissa. I’m a project. You think I don’t know that?”

“No,” she said stubbornly. “It’s not like that. It’s never been like that.”

He looked at her then and for a moment, he seemed much older than his years. “Don’t worry about me. I’m not going to change my mind about college or being a teacher. I’m going to get it done. I’ve talked to the people here and they’re going to help me get a job.”

“You already have a job at Score.”

His mouth twisted. “I have a made-up position. I want a job I got because of who I am, not who I know.”

“It’s not like that,” she said again. “Percy, this is all wrong. Come home. If you don’t want to stay with Jack, stay with me.”

The smile returned. “I’ve seen your apartment. You don’t have room for Dyna, let alone me. It’s better this way.”

“It’s not.” She felt her eyes fill with tears. “What happened? Just tell me that. Something happened to make everything different.”

He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. The action was so much like what Jack would have done.

“I was trying to rescue you,” she admitted. “And now you’ve gone and grown up.”

He chuckled. “I had to eventually.”

“We could have put it off a while longer.”

He released her. “I’m okay, Larissa. Thank you for all your help. You really did save me. I’m staying in town, so we’ll still see each other. But I gotta make my own way. I hope you understand that.”

She nodded, even though she didn’t. She didn’t understand at all.

* * *

TARYN WALKED INTO Jack’s office without knocking. Unfortunately he wasn’t on the phone, so he couldn’t pretend to be busy. Because when Taryn had fire in her eyes, it was always best to be somewhere she was not.

Still, he wasn’t going to let her know she had him worried, so he gave her a smile and then leaned back in his chair.

“What’s up?” he asked, even though he already had a good idea of the problem.

She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “What the hell is wrong with you? You hurt that kid and that means you hurt Larissa, too.”

The smile faded and he brought himself into an upright position. An unfamiliar crawling sensation coiled in his belly and it took him a second to realize it was shame. Not that he would admit to it.

“We all took Percy in,” she continued. “We were there for him. You’ve got Sam and Kenny tutoring him so he can get his GED. We all care and now he’s gone. Worse, he won’t say what happened.”

“Then how do you know it was me?”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously? That’s your defense? Dammit, Jack, you can’t act like this.”

“Why not?” He rose and glared at her, fighting an anger that surprised him with its intensity. “You care. Kenny cares. Sam cares. Great. I don’t. Percy was one more problem Larissa dumped at my feet. I did what I could and now he’s gone.”