Tempting Nora by A.M. Evanston

told me the story of what happened to her every night so I'd never forget how my existence ruined her life," Nora said. "When I was eight, she left me at an orphanage and I never saw her again. I vowed I wouldn't make the same mistakes she did. That's why I'll never sleep with a man before marriage. I don't want to see myself wearing the same haunted expression she did."
    Since Gideon looked pained, she could tell she'd made her point . Unfortunately, her own words made her heart burn. She was aware that her eyes brimmed with tears, but she was an expert at fighting down her emotions by now.
    "I'm sorry that happened to you," Gideon said.
    She was surprised by how much he sounded like he meant his apology. In fact, she'd never heard anyone sound so genuine. She stared at the sidewalk just as a black feather appeared out of nowhere and rested at her feet.
    "Don't be." She forced a smile on her face, even though it hurt. "I turned out fine, didn't I? Who needs parents anyway?"
    "Nora…" Gideon stared down at her, his eyes glowing with pity.
    Suddenly, she was uncomfortable. This was why she never talked to anyone about her past. She was so sick of people looking at her with pity.
    "Oh, look at the time." She would have checked her watch if she owned one.  "I should go home now."
    She took two steps, but Gideon grabbed her arm and pulled her back again. Panicked, she swallowed her tears. He wouldn't see her cry. She refused to embarrass herself that much.
    "Let me go," she said, longing to flee.
    "Nora, I—"
    "I said, let me go!" She ripped her arm out of his grip.
    Before Gideon could run after her, she rushed over to her car and climbed behind the wheel. She jammed her key in the ignition and reversed so fast she almost ran into a van that was pulling into the parking lot. As she headed onto Main Street, she took a deep, steadying breath. Unfortunately, her hands still shook on the steering wheel.
    Her teeth clenched. I'm such an idiot! I shouldn't have told him about my past. It had been a stupid decision on her part. Opening up to Gideon made her vulnerable.
    And if Nora hated anything, it was being vulnerable…

Chapter Six
    Seven-year-old Nora sat beneath a tree, flipping through a picture book. The backdoor to the house was open and she could hear her mom sobbing inside. Still she didn't look up. Instead she gritted her teeth and feigned deafness, turning the page of her book one more time.
    "How could you do this to me!" her mom wailed at no one.
    Don't listen, don't listen, don't listen, she chanted in her mind. Still her attempts to block out all sound made her hearing, if anything, better.
    As her stomach churned, footsteps headed in her direction. She looked up as her mom darkened the doorstep. She's coming out here, Nora thought, panicked. When her mom was in one of her moods where the darkness swept over her like a cloud, Nora was scared. She'd never been hit, but the woman's words hurt her more than any punch or kick ever could.
    Nora jumped to her feet and hid beneath a small plastic table. Surely her mom wouldn't find her under there. As she hid, her mom stepped outside, holding a picture in her hand. The woman's dark hair hung, oily and limp, in her pale face. Sometimes her mom's eyes were warm, but on days like this, they were like two black holes.
    "Nora," her mom said.
    She ducked her head, trembling.
    "Nora, come out this instant," her mom said.
    She squeezed her eyes shut.
    "So help me, if you don't come out, I'll lock you in the closet all day tomorrow!" her mom bellowed.
    Being locked in a closet all day was often her punishment on the weekends. The days of darkness were brutal and lonely. She didn't want to be trapped in the closet, even if it meant suffering now.
    She knew what she had to do.
    "I'm here, Mom." She crawled out from beneath the table.
    Her mom's cold eyes landed on her , making her flinch.
    "There you are," her mom said. "What were you doing?"
    She did what any child her age would do