A Fire That Burns Read Online Free PDF Page A

don’t you fess up and admit
what was so bad that mommy and daddy couldn’t even help you with.”
    “I don’t think we need to bully it out of her,” Tom threw in
defensively as he watched everyone take a dig at Austin. He had looked and seen
how hard she was trying to keep her composure in check, but the tears were
weighing too heavily now and soon they would not be stopped from descending.
“She’s a part of this family; she’ll tell us when she’s ready.”
    “I think it’s best you leave, Austin, and let
us have a family discussion,” Jane said as she stood up and took the two plates
that had the food on them into the kitchen.
    “Hang on a minute, Jane,” Nicolas said in disapproval. “Austin is a
part of this family and deserves to be let back in. Your prejudices can wait.
She’s family and should be included.”
    “ It’s fine,” Austin said as she got up and
grabbed her bag. She looked around nervous all of a sudden, “I’ll see myself
out. Tom, don’t rush back, okay?” She then quickly left, ignoring the calls of
her name and the arguments between her parents and siblings as they erupted.
She rubbed her hand across her cheek to get rid of the tears as she left into
the cool evening air.
    She pulled the door closed and leaned against the white painted oak
panel trying to regain some control of herself . She
slowly pushed herself away from the door and headed down the steps and away
from the house before anyone could come out and tempt her to stay, or make this
a public hanging. She walked quickly trying to get back to Tom’s before her
resolve broke again.
    So far she was losing miserably.
    Tyler was literally just about to get into his truck to leave his
parents when he saw the familiar form of Austin leaving her parents house. He
couldn’t hide the frown as he watched her leave the house looking completely
broken – more so than she had only days ago.
    He took off after her, noticing immediately that she looked like she
needed some company. “Why the long face?” Tyler asked as he joined her in her
small nonchalant walk.
    Austin looked at him in shock. She hadn’t seen him as she had left and
here he was by her side, “Just realizing that my presence back here has yet
again kicked started World War III”
    “Wouldn’t you be past World War III if your presence has started yet
another world war?” Tyler asked her jokingly, trying to lighten the tension a
little.
    “ Ha ha ,” Austin responded and even managed a small laugh. “See
you didn’t lose your sarcasm in the time I’ve been gone.”
         “No, but it seems you lost
that gorgeous smile,” Tyler pointed out as they walked at a slow even pace.
“Where did that get to?”
    Austin toyed with the key in her hands, a nervous and subconscious move
on her behalf. “I haven’t seen it in a while really so I don’t know where it
got to.”
    “Maybe we should go and find it?” Tyler asked her and put his arm
around her supportively. “Everything will work out, you’ll see.”
    Trying to make light of the situation, Austin laughed a little,
enjoying this closeness with Tyler even if was limited. “I hope you’re right
because right now my mom’s going to hate me forever,” she confessed in a sad
and downtrodden tone. “I’m tearing my whole family apart just by being around,
Tyler. That means nothing is ever going to be okay.”
    “You’ll see, when you least expect it to, everything will just make
sense again,” Tyler told her confidently. It was more of a selfish ploy to make
her stick here permanently than anything but, it was also his way of showing
that whatever happened all those years ago did not affect how they were now.
    Verging on tears she turned to him and pointed over her shoulder to
Tom’s house, “I’m just going to go and hide away.” She looked back at the
direction they had come in and then looked back at him. “Thanks for walking
back with me.”
    “Mind if I come in?” Tyler proposed