Away Read Online Free

used to play around here, and that farmhouse is where I first met you. No mansion or castle could ever be better.” She leans against me.
    “Maybe someday.” I don’t want to bring it up, but I know I have to. “Rosie, are you okay?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You know exactly what I mean.” I take her shoulders and turn her to look at me, straight in the eyes. “I want to make sure that you’re fine after all of that.”
    “Just typical McGowan drama. I should be used to it by now,” she says and she tries to pull away, but I hold her steady.
    “No, you shouldn’t. That’s not right. He had no business coming in here and treating your family like that.” My voice gets angrier. “I’m serious, Rosie. Nobody hurts you. If he tries anything, I’ll go after him.”
    “You better not!” she bursts. “I don’t want you getting hurt.”
    “Believe me if we get into a fight, I’m definitely not the going to be the one getting hurt,” I tell her.
    “He’s dangerous. They both are,” Rosemary says. “I don’t want you going anywhere near them. Especially my father. He’s not all there.”
    “We both had rough pasts, Rosie,” I say. “I just wish yours would stop coming back to haunt you.”
    “Marcus is a mean drunk, that’s all he is. But my dad...” Rosemary bites her lip. “He’s something else.”
    “If that’s what you want to call it.”
    “There’s a chance I could end up just like him.”
    “You are not going to turn out like Jack. It’s not going to happen.”
    “How do you know, Noah?” she asks. “It runs in families. What if I do? I already have mental issues.”
    “So do I, you just deal with them,” I tell her. “It’s no big deal. I’ll still love you no matter what. If you try to come after me with a knife I’ll just pin you down like always. No big deal.”
    She doesn’t laugh. “You’ll leave me,” she says softly. “You’ll go away, and I’ll be all alone.
    “Don’t you go saying that again,” I say, groaning. “Listen, I don’t know how many times I have to tell you. I’m not leaving you Rosie. That’s it. You’re pissing me off by saying that all the time. I hear it at least twice a day.”
    “Well I only say it because it’s true,” Rosemary says, looking away from me.
    “For crying out-” I have to shut up before I say something I don’t mean.
    “Noah, I’m terrified of losing you,” she says, and she turns to place a hand on my chest. “I wouldn’t be able to function if I didn’t have you around. You keep me sane.”
    “You keep me sane, too.”
    “I know. But you don’t understand how much. I have a job, am going to college, know what I want to do. I even know where I want to live,” she laughs. “I have tons of dreams. But without you in them they’re just...empty. I have to get used to the fact that it’s going to happen, because one of these days I’m going to do something terrible and turn into a monster-”
    “Stop that!” I yell, and she shrinks down. I take a deep breath, waiting a few seconds, before I lower my voice and say, “If I was going to leave you I would’ve done it already. I do a lot for you, Rosemary. If I didn’t love you and didn’t want to be here, I’d be long gone. I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that. Just stop worrying about it.”
    She drops her head down and instantly guilt sets in. I hate shouting at Rosemary, but sometimes it’s the only way to get through to her. I push her playfully and say, “Rosie. Smile.”
    “Nope,” she says, but the corners of her mouth are already turning up.
    “Smile!” I say again, and then instantly attack her sides in a furious tickle war. She screams and falls over, and soon we’re wrestling around on the ground as she tries to stop me.
    “No-ah!” she protests, giggling as I sit on her and mercilessly start tickling the shit out of her. I don’t stop till she’s out of breath and has given up, lying on her side and waiting