“You thought what?”

What was I thinking? I couldn’t touch him. And I didn’t want to. “You’re not supposed to be talking to me.”

He frowned. “What?”

“I overheard you guys last night. You’re not supposed to be talking to me or whatever.”

Hayden folded his arms across his chest. “You’re not really good at eavesdropping. I was never told not to talk to you.”

“You were told to stay away from me.”

“That can be construed in many ways. Anyway, you’re not planning on running away?”

“No.” I stepped to the side. “I just wanted to go outside. I’m not allowed to go outside?”

He shadowed my movements, blocking the door. “You are allowed to do whatever you want.”

“Except leave?”

“Except that, but it’s for your benefit,” he said. “You’d get lost out there. You saw it yourself yesterday. We’re surrounded by woods, and there’s about fifteen miles between here and town.”

Irritation spiked. I tipped my chin as I met his eyes. “I’m not as stupid as you must think I am.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid at all.” Hayden stepped forward. He was close, way too close. The tips of his sneakers brushed mine. “Never once did I think you were stupid. You wouldn’t have lasted as long as you did caring for a five-year-old if you were.”

“How would—” I stopped myself. Of course, he had been watching us—me.

Impossibly, he seemed to have moved closer. My back hit the doorframe. “When you returned to school after the accident, the kids were assholes about you wearing gloves. You always wore long sleeves, even during the summer. But I’m not sure if your friends abandoned you, or if you pushed them away.”

I nearly choked. “They abandoned me.”

Hayden tipped his head down and locks of damp hair fell over his forehead. “Within weeks you stopped everything. You were a cheerleader before. You wanted to go to college—Penn State? To become a doctor like your father,” His voice dropped to a whisper. “All of that stopped. Olivia became everything to you. Instead of going to the coffee shop before school like all the other kids did, you were dropping her off at a babysitter.”

My hands fell away from my body, hanging limply at my sides. His words were oddly compassionate, tender almost—and very creepy.

“I saw you once, outside of a bank in town. You were upset. It was the first time I could remember seeing you cry. I wanted to…” He trailed off, lips forming a hard, tight line.

I knew what day he was talking about. It’d been only a month or two ago. The money from the life insurance had been running low for weeks. I knew there was some in the savings, but the bank had told me they needed my mom’s signature to transfer the money over. Mom hadn’t held a pen since the accident.

“Why were you guys watching so much?” I asked, genuinely curious. “Why didn’t you talk to me before the day in the library? Then this wouldn’t be so… messed up.”