Teach Me To Live (Teach Me - Book One) by Alannah Carbonneau Read Free Book Online Page A

itself. Austin had this bad-boy aura about him that really shocked a girl when he constantly contradicted his appearance with the charming, thought provoking personality he possessed.
    For a while, we sat watching the water tumble along the rocky bed. Then, the sound of his voice interrupted my thoughts with the same chill that would have claimed my entity had he tossed a bucket of ice water over me.
    “You have sad eyes.”
    “Oh,” I shifted in place on his jacket. “Um, thanks, I suppose.”
    “Beautiful eyes,” he assured softly, gravelly. “But sad all the same.”
    He moved his body closer to mine, and even though there was a part of me that tensed inside, there was a bigger part that found comfort in his nearness. The way he made me feel was something Austin, and Austin alone, seemed capable of doing. No one set the butterflies loose inside my body like he did.
    He spoke again, this time on a sigh. “So, tell me,” he paused as though for effect. “Why does a beautiful girl like you have such sad eyes?”
    “I have no reason.”
    I felt shame growing inside of me for not hiding the very sadness he claimed to see so easily. Usually, people were fooled by my faux smiles and prim responses. Usually, people believed that I was happy. Over the years, I had become such a talented actress that even I believed I was happy. Until recently. Recently, I began to see straight through my lies to the bullshit that lay beneath.
    I continued. “I have a perfect life. I’m a lucky girl, Austin.”
    For a moment, he was silent. I knew he chewed over my words, and the tone with which I had spoken them. There was an odd underlay of shamed guilt that bled from the hostility of my true feelings into words I believed, with my whole heart, were true. I did have a perfect life. I should feel guilty for my feelings of suffocation. The truth of it all was that I was a selfish girl. I wanted more from my life than the abundance I had already been given.
    “I’ll be the first in line to admit that from an outsiders standpoint, your life seems pretty sweet, Miss. Audi Q5.”
    I sighed. Everyone thought the way Austin thought. And, how could I blame them? I mean, really. It was just so perfect.
    I did truly have a sweet life, and ride.
    His words continued, startling me. “But, I’ll also be the first to admit that more times than not, appearances are deceiving,” he pulled in a ragged breath. “The kind of sadness I see in your eyes, that’s a sadness that doesn’t just appear. It’s there for a reason. And no matter what you think, a sadness that has that kind of rawness is real. If it’s real, it’s valid.”
    “So?” I was trying with everything I had inside of me to keep my emotions bottled up inside. But, if he kept on talking the way that he was, I’d cry.
    He tipped his head down a notch, peering into my misting eyes. “So, what’s the reason behind the sadness in those beautiful eyes, Madison?”
    On a shaky breath, I demanded. “Do you always ask such personal questions on a first meet?”
    “Technically, this is our second meet.”
    “I’d hardly say the first counted.”
    “You got my number on the first.”
    I snorted. Laughter really was a brilliant defense mechanism. “You mean you practically tattooed me with your number. Against my will, I might add.”
    “You could have stopped me.” His voice was gravelly and raw. “I realize you’re deflecting, Madison. Just want to let you know I won’t give up until I’ve uncovered the source of your pain.”
    “Why are you so confident that I’m hurting?”
    He leaned back on his palms, his eyes gazing out over the water. “Hurt knows hurt, sweetheart.”
    “I’ll show you mine if you show me yours . . .” Suddenly, I wanted to know the hurt that recognized my own. Suddenly, I was confident, that I would do anything, be anything, to heal him of his pain.
    He laughed, his eyes lifting from the river to my own. Then, his laughter died and he pushed