Read The Color of Heaven - 09 - The Color of Time for Free Online Page A

picked up a rock from beside the towel and tossed it halfheartedly into the water.
    “So they think you’re still with her?” I asked. “They don’t even know about me?”
    Ethan shook his head. “Trust me. It’s better this way.”
    I felt a rush of anger and rose to my feet. “You are ashamed of me.”
    “No, really, I’m not,” he replied, squinting up at me in the blinding sunlight.
    “Yes, you are, otherwise you would have told them the truth a long time ago and let them meet me. I’m a nice person, Ethan, and I have big plans. I’m not some stupid “local” who’s going to end up working in a fish plant or something. I’m going to go to college and do something amazing with my life. I’m sure they’ll like me if you give them a chance.”
    “You don’t know my father,” he said. “If he found out about you, he would have sent me straight home to New York the same day.”
    Rancor sharpened my voice. “So that’s it then. You were never going to tell them. You were just going to have your fun with me, then go off to Yale and forget we ever knew each other.”
    “That’s not true,” he said.
    “I don’t believe you.” Bending forward, I scooped up my sundress, pulled it on over my head and kicked my feet into my flip flops. Seconds later I was stomping up the beach and walking past Ethan’s car.
    “Where are you going?” he called out, gathering up our towels.
    “Away from you!” I shouted over my shoulder.
    I was aware of him running to catch up. By then I was on the narrow wooded lane, determined to march all the way back to town on my own.
    The sound of his car engine starting up and the tires skidding over gravel alerted me to the fact that he was whipping the car around to catch me. I moved to the side of the lane to let him pass but he didn’t, of course. He pulled up beside me and said, “Get in, Sylvie.”
    “No.”
    “You can’t walk all the way back to town by yourself. It’ll take hours. It’ll be dark by the time you get home.”
    “Doesn’t matter.”
    He stopped the car, shut off the engine and got out to walk beside me. “I’m sorry,” he said.
    “No, you’re not. You don’t care.”
    “Yes, I do!”
    “Then why won’t you tell your parents? If you did, they might help us see each other. Your dad has his own jet!”
    Ethan touched my shoulder, but I shook him off.
    “It’s not that simple,” he said. “My dad’s really strict.”
    “But you’re eighteen!” I argued. “You’re out of high school. You should have the freedom to choose your own girlfriends.”
    “No kidding, but I’m not the one who needs to be convinced of that. He is.”
    I stopped on the lane. “Then why won’t you stand up to him?”
    Ethan stopped, too. “Like I said, it’s not that simple. He controls my future, at least right now he does. He’s paying for Yale and he owns that car.” Ethan pointed at it.
    I shook my head in disbelief. “So you’re telling me that your car means more to you than I do? Great . That’s just what I wanted to hear.” I started walking again. “You know what, Ethan? I don’t think we should see each other anymore. I think we should end it. Right now.”
    “Sylvie…” He ran to catch up.
    When he grabbed hold of my arm, something in me snapped. I was sixteen and hormonal, and I totally lost it.
    Sobbing uncontrollably, I shoved him away. “Don’t touch me! You don’t care about us! You’ll go off to college and meet someone else—some rich girl your father will approve of so you can keep your fancy car. I hate you!” Then I turned and ran into the woods.
    “Sylvie, wait!”
    Branches whipped past my face and scratched my legs as I fought my way through the leafy bush.
    Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I was behaving like a child, but I couldn’t stop myself. I loved Ethan with all my heart and soul. The way things were turning out was enough to send me into an emotional tailspin.
    Tears streamed down my face as I