Page 56 of Dotted Lines (Runaway 5)

She tipped her head to the sky, letting the sunshine light the fine contours of her cheeks. Her every movement had my focus. It had always been like that, hadn’t it? Even when it shouldn’t have been. Even when I’d had to hide it from everyone else.

Clara had always held a special place in my life. She was sweet. She was strong. She made me laugh.

She made me feel like I could move mountains. Like I could swim across the ocean and back. She was . . . she was my Clara.

Maybe that was why it had been so easy to fall for her, even when I’d known I shouldn’t.

Twelve years ago. Today. Here I was, still hanging on her every step. Clinging to every word. Every smile.

Even when I knew I shouldn’t.

Chapter Ten

Karson

“August loves pizza,” Clara said, digging a fork into her salad. “I’ll eat it every now and then but rarely.”

“Same.” I twirled a twist of spaghetti around my fork. “I haven’t had peanut butter since.”

“Me neither. Gus didn’t even know what a peanut butter and jelly sandwich was until he started kindergarten last year. He thinks they are the best things ever.”

August was sitting behind a plastic steering wheel with his eyes glued to a video game screen where a race was about to start. The arcade room of the restaurant had been a hit. His foot slammed into the gas pedal and he shifted his body with every turn of the wheel.

After spending the afternoon at the beach, mostly watching August and the ocean, I’d taken them to get checked in to their hotel. Then we’d watched August swim for an hour.

Clara and I had talked poolside, mostly reminiscing about old times. She’d filled me in on the lives of the others and shown me pictures on her phone of Aria and her newborn baby.

The longer the day went on, the more and more I’d resented the noticeable lack of detail about her life in our conversation.

So I’d insisted on dinner. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye until I knew more of her story.

Around us, the sounds of arcade games filled the air with beeps and bells. Most of the tables were full of parents visiting. Like Clara, they seemed to keep one eye on their children, ready to dole out more quarters when needed.

Garlic and tomato and cheese scents infused the air. The owners of this little Italian restaurant had been brilliant to bring in the games for kids because it brought families here to savor their delicious food. The kids had the games. The parents, the wine selection.

“August is a great kid,” I said, smiling as he shot both hands in the air, game won.

“He’s my whole world.” Clara’s eyes lit up when they landed on her son. It reminded me so much of the past. She’d had that same look when we’d stood in line at the movie theater for tickets. Or the day I’d brought her that GED study guide, even though I’d stolen it. Or when she’d beat me at cards.

When I’d teased her that I’d let her win, when really, she’d kicked my ass.

“I keep getting this feeling like no time at all has passed,” I confessed. “Then I blink and remember how long it’s been.”

“I was thinking the same thing when we were on the beach today. Weird, right?”

“Weird.”

Wonderful, heartbreaking, beautiful misery.

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I was so damn glad to be sitting across from her. And so fucking sad that I’d missed so much when maybe . . .

Maybe I hadn’t had to miss it.

Clara set her fork down and gave me a sad smile. “When you never came to see us in Vegas, I thought maybe . . . oh, never mind.”

“Thought what?”