"I think I finally get it."

"Get what?" There was something about the look in his eyes, the confidence, the surety, that had me swallowing hard.

"You." And as he smiled, it was almost smug. "I get you, Oz. You're a little, Aren't you?"

If only I had known at the time just how much those few little words were going to change my life.

The Little Of Oz Series

I considered that. I thought about it for a long while, taking a sip of the icy lemonade. It wasn't the wisest choice in the cold weather, but it was refreshing and helped ease the burn that had taken hold of my throat and chest.

/"I'm sorry I hit you,/" I whispered at last. /"I don't know why I do dumb things, but I don't want you to be unhappy and I'm glad that you make my brother happy./"

I didn't want to be surrounded by people who hated me like in my dream. I didn't want to be the reason so many people were unhappy and hurt.

And Oz could have done a lot worse. If Oz had ever felt scared and unsure like I was right now, if he had met somebody who had mocked him rather than understood him . . . I didn't want to think about it. My brother's confidence had come on a lot since he and Blake started swapping spit, so maybe that in itself was a sign that he was happy and I really needed to back the hell off.

Chapter163