Caught in the Undertow (Hawaiian Crush #6) Read Online Free PDF Page A

speed.”
    “I’m not going to class, Coen.”
    He finally looked at her. “What?”
    “Why would I do after you told me that?” she asked. “Class can wait.”
    Coen’s eyes softened. “I appreciate that, but you need to get to school. I’m just going to sit around and be depressed all day. There’s nothing you can do for me.”
    “That’s not true. If you’re depressed all day, so am I. I won’t leave you.”
    “No, I want you to go. But my family has a dinner every year to remember her. I need you to come to that.”
    “Of course.”
    “And to the cemetery.”
    She ran her fingers through his hair.
    “But I don’t need you now. So please go.”
    “Are you sure?” she whispered.
    He nodded.
    “Okay.” She moved from his lap and grabbed her backpack. “I’ll see you later.”
    “Okay.”
    She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I love you.”
    “I love you too.”
    She left the house and went to class. She tried to concentrate but she was having difficulty. Coen’s pain kept coming back to her. She never had the honor of meeting his sister. Even though Coen was younger at the time, he still remembered her passing clearly. She understood his pain because she had lost her own father, but she wished there was more she could do for him.
    When she went to the cafeteria, she was still upset.
    Henry noticed it. “What’s wrong, Syd?”
    She wasn’t sure if Coen wanted everyone to know. “Coen and I—we’re just going through a hard time.”
    “You seemed fine yesterday,” Henry said.
    “Well, it’s not really a fight between us. We’re just having some problems with family. It’s personal.”
    Henry backed off. “Is that why he isn’t here today?”
    Sydney nodded.
    “I’m here for you guys if you need me.”
    She smiled. “I know.”
    Derek placed a bowl of mixed fruit in front of her.
    “What’s this for?” Sydney asked.
    “I didn’t see Coen in class,” he said. “I got his back.”
    Sydney smiled. “I forget that you can be incredibly sweet.”
    Paola stared at Derek affectionately. “I can’t. He reminds me all the time.”
    “But you give me sex,” he said.
    “You better not be expecting it from Sydney,” Paola said.
    Derek grimaced. “That’s so gross. She’s like my sister.”
    Sydney laughed. “Coen would be happy about that.”
    “So everything is okay between you two?” Derek asked/
    “Well, we did get in a fight last night,” Sydney said. “The first one of our marriage.”
    “What happened?” Paola asked.
    “Coen said I work too much. When I’m not at school or working, I’m studying when I get home. He says I’m overworked and I need to take a step back from my coursework or research. When I said no, he got upset and the fight just broke out. He’s exaggerating.”
    No one said anything. Her friends ate their food quietly.
    “He’s wrong, isn’t he?”
    Henry shrugged.
    “Please don’t tell me you agree with him,” Sydney said.
    “You are a workaholic,” Henry said. “A bad one.”
    Sydney sighed. “No, I’m not.”
    Henry looked away. “It’s not my marriage.”
    “I’m fine,” she said. “I have to finish in four years for my scholarship and I have to continue this research if I want a publication. It’s a big deal. I can’t just take time off.”
    Ren averted her gaze, and so did Derek and Paola.
    “You guys are wrong,” Sydney said.
    Henry pushed his empty plate away. “I’m sure Coen is just concerned like any husband should be.”
    “There’s a difference between being concerned and being controlling,” Sydney said.
    Henry fell silent.
    “And Dan saw me talk to Aaron yesterday,” Sydney said. “So that made it worse.”
    “What did that fucker want?” Henry snapped. “Did he bother you?”
    Sydney rolled her eyes. “Not you too.”
    “I’ll talk to him,” Derek said.
    “Seriously, you guys are annoying,” Sydney said. “I can take care of myself.”
    Henry looked at me. “If a guy bothers any