Leaving Eva (The Eva Series Book 1) by Jennifer Sivec Page A

can watch that police show you like so much,” she said looking at him directly in the eyes, her brown eyes meeting his blue ones. She rarely looked at him directly.
    “Uh, that would be good.” She made him nervous when she looked at him.
    He took a big drink of his whiskey. His first sip had an odd taste, sweet. He took another big swallow and decided it was fine. It was a strange night. He wasn’t used to interacting with Rose this much. He liked it, but it unnerved him. He wasn’t feeling anxious tonight like he usually felt. He felt anxious in a different way. He didn’t think that he would hit Rose tonight no matter how much whiskey he drank.
    He found himself hoping they would have another meatloaf night again soon.

Brynn’s Great Escape
    ADAM HAD BEEN WATCHING her since the eighth grade, but she never knew it. She wasn’t like the other girls in their town who hung out at the McDonald’s with their friends, or went to the mall in the next big town, or giggled whenever he walked by. She wasn’t like anyone he had ever met, and he was intrigued.
    He finally got up the courage to talk to her in the ninth grade. They sat next to each other in English class, and she pretended not to notice him. She also pretended not to notice how he raced to sit next to her in class, practically shoving poor little Kenny Miner out of the way. Kenny didn’t even know what hit him.
    She pretended not to notice him for as long as she possibly could, but she found herself thinking about him, in spite of herself. After not noticing boys her entire life, she somehow felt as if she had developed a sixth sense. She always knew when he was nearby, and she could see him out of the corner of her eye. She didn’t want to like him, and even though they hadn’t ever talked, for some inexplicable reason, she felt drawn to him by an invisible thread.
    She didn’t know what she was doing. At an early age, she made the choice that she was never going to get married or fall in love. She didn’t believe in happy families and happy endings. She knew too much of real life with her family, and with Stacy’s family, to know how it really was.
    She also knew, when people loved each other, they saw each other naked, and she didn’t want anyone to see. She thought about her blade, and how she did it for herself. Sharing it with someone else seemed impossible. She didn’t want anyone to know, especially not a boy.
    Brynn’s only goal in life was to get out of town, and she knew that going to college far away was the only way to do that, so she worked hard and was an excellent student.
    Rose always bragged to people about her smart daughter. Whether they were on the subject or not, she found a way to say, “My daughter, Brynn, has a perfect GPA! She is one of the smartest girls in her class.” Complete strangers smiled politely, and walked away as quickly as they could. But Rose was proud of Brynn, even though she knew that she would leave her one day.
    She talked Momma and Thomas into letting her get a job as soon as she was the legal age to start working. She was lucky enough to get a job at the busiest little family restaurant in town. Much to Brynn’s surprise, Momma let her, and Thomas only agreed because she could start paying rent.
    Even though she was young, she interviewed well, and the older couple that owned the restaurant took to her right away.
    “I promise, I’ll be a good employee, and I’ll work hard! I’m a quick study, and I’ll do everything you ask me to do,” she pleaded to the sweet old man asking her all the questions. “You won’t ever have to worry about me.”
    He believed her, and he started Brynn as a hostess, greeting people and cleaning tables. When she begged him to teach her everything he could, he did. They came to depend on Brynn, and she became as family to them.
    They figured they could make her a manager for them one day, and possibly retire. They were disappointed when she told them that she had