Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 72156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72156 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 241(@300wpm)
Gert inhales, holds her breath a few seconds. Then, “It’s probably best if you don’t visit again, Sav.”
“Seriously?”
“I know. You’re a good person, and you care, but Ash… She’s in a rough spot. She almost died, and you don’t have the best effect on her.”
“Is this her idea?”
“No. Not her parents’ either. Like I said, they love you. It’s Jordy’s, actually.”
“But Jordy and I—”
“Are friends. I know. She loves you as much as I do. But she also loves Ash, and…well…”
“Roommate thing. I get it.”
“Yeah. I’d do the same thing for you if you were lying in that bed and Ash was affecting you badly. I’d have Jordy tell her not to come. You get it, right?”
“No. I don’t get it.” I drop my arm and lean against the wall. “I never got what I did to make Ashley feel the way she does about me. I’ve always tried to be nice to her.”
“Believe it or not, she’s always tried to be nice to you.”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not, actually.” Gert gives me a wistful smile. “You said it yourself. Oil and water. You rub each other the wrong way, even though you’re both nice people.”
Is that true? Is Ashley a nice person? Are we just not compatible with each other?
“I don’t buy it, Gert.”
She chuckles then. A nervous chuckle. “I tried.”
“What do you see in her?” I ask. “Really. I want to know.”
“I guess it’s her fun-loving side.”
“The side that drives drunk and ends up in a hospital bed?”
Gert frowns and cocks her head. “Yeah. I guess.”
“Aren’t we getting a little too old for that nonsense?”
Gert nods. “We are. That’s why Jordy wants Ash in a program. She may have a serious problem.”
“If this isn’t a wakeup call, I don’t know what is.” I sigh. “Are you and Jordy going to be at my place again tonight?”
“Yeah, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t, but I want you two to take the bed. I’ll take the couch.”
“I don’t snore, do I?”
“No. After four years of rooming with you, I’d already know if you snored. You move around a lot. You kick.”
Gert chuckles. “So you’d rather I kick Jordy?”
“Absolutely, because I have to get up and go to a brand-new job every morning. I can’t be going in with dark circles under my eyes.”
“You got it. And Sav?”
“Yeah?”
She grabs my arm and squeezes. “Thanks for letting us stay.”
“Of course.”
“And…”
“What?”
“Thanks for understanding. About Ash.”
“Just let her parents know that this was Jordy’s idea. I don’t want them thinking it’s my idea to stay away.”
“I doubt they’re concerned about why you’re here or not at the moment.”
I nod. “Good point. I have to get back to the office. I’ll see you at my place later.”
Gert gives me a quick hug, and I head toward the elevators.
One is already waiting, so I enter, and then I push the button for the first floor. Without thinking, I hastily push the button for the sixth floor.
Falcon is there.
Falcon.
And I want to see how Raven is doing.
16
FALCON
Got waylaid. Can’t say anymore.
I read Eagle’s message for the fourth time.
I don’t reply because I know what it means.
My little brother is in trouble. Otherwise he’d be here.
It can’t be that bad, or he wouldn’t be able to use his phone. Still, though…didn’t he learn anything eight years ago?
Damn, Eagle.
I shove my phone into my pocket and go back into Raven’s room where Robin is sitting with her. They’re not identical, but they’ve always looked very similar.
Until now.
Robin is pink and healthy with her long dark hair pulled into a long braid.
Raven is pale and bald and so achingly thin.
That will change today, though we may not be able to see a difference for a while.
It will change when she gets my bone marrow.
“Hawk’s on his way,” I say.
“And Eagle?” Raven asks.
“Yeah. On his way too.” I hate lying to my sister when she’s in a sickbed, but I can’t tell her what I suspect.
My brothers and I…we all have rebellious streaks.
My sisters? They’re just damned good people. Angels.
I’m worried for Eagle but I can compartmentalize. I’m good at that. You learn to on the inside. When you hear some bitch screaming at night and there’s nothing you can do…you drown it out.
You compartmentalize.
If you don’t? You go slowly mad.
I was never meant to be there, and according to most others, they weren’t either. But most of them were lying. Most of them were damned guilty.
They had to believe I was guilty as well. In fact, I told them fictitious tales of everything I’d done, every crime I committed.
It made them fear me, and that’s what I wanted.
That’s why no one messed with me once I staked my claim…except that one time.
That one time that got more years tacked onto my sentence, and that was self-defense, pure and simple.
I’ve never been guilty of a crime, but that doesn’t mean I’m not guilty of something else.