Chương 21: that incident.

They freeze, staring at each other for a long , long time. The ice pack falls off the table, the sound break the silence. Denise jump up to get another ice pack leaving Austin lying there blinking in confusion. when Denise goes back to living room she find Austin fast asleep and she sits to watch him for a minute.

He starts having a nightmare the same one involved the women in red high heels. This time there is a young boy in the house with her, and Austin hears her voice "kid , can you help me ? " She reached out for him and the boy scream.

Austin jerk awake and Denise helps him sit up

she brings water to clam his nerves. he claims he is okay. and thankyou in tiny vulnerable voice he says he doesn't want to be alone and he asks Denise to sleep at his house today.

she takes his request entirely wrong way making both of them feel awkward. Austin says that he meant she could sleep in the guest room only because it late . Denise is bother relived and embarrassed and Austin seems to enjoy her flush reaction when he asks what she though he meant.

A call comes in that wipes the smile off his face and he tells her she can't sleep over . she tells him assures him that she had no intention whatsoever of sleeping over and literary runs out of his house. on her way home she wounder who that call was from and why Austin look upset.

A man crash into Denise dropping his phone it's Aidan Austin elder brother though she doesn't know him . He tells her to be more careful, but not because of his phone and he stops to tie her undone shoelace .He goes on his way and Denise mutters that he is awfully sweet u like someone she knows. she doesn't notice Aidan watching her knowingly.

Aidan goes to Austin house Austin is not one bit happy to see him. Aidan says he didn't want to stay In their parents home alone. so he thought he should give his brother a visit. He add that he still having difficulty because he keeps remembering "that incident " but that hating Austin only make him feel worse so he thinks it time to forgive him. Unmoved Austin tells Aidan to leave.

when Denise gets home She finds cable ties still in her pocket she recalls nine years ago when she made the mistake of putting them in his office and Austin had told her that he scare of that he react to cable ties like she reacts to spider. she remember that it was the first time her boss who seemed like a average man in front of her.

she has a sore area on her ankle from the three legged race which reminds her of Austin scar, and she wounder what happen to him. she text Austin to check on his twist ankle and to tell him that she has clear his schedule so he can rest. Austin complains that she is nagging him again though he is smiling when he says it.