Page 126 of Dark Surrender

Side by side, we walk up the gravel drive to the back of the cabin. Ryker and his dark-haired brother, Kade, are outside with Ghost when we approach.

Tarek clasps Ryker on the shoulder and squeezes. “We’re leavin’ tonight.”

As I suspected, this starts a fight, and I have no energy left to deal with the fallout. Ignoring the bravado brigade, I slip into the icy house and sigh as the cold air bathes me in its love. I find Kali reading on the couch and drop into my usual spot opposite her. She looks up, flashes me a weak smile, and tucks back into whatever book our librarian, Kat, gifted her. Probably smut.

A bottle of water and a granola bar appear on the end table beside me. Though it’s not Kat who sets them there, it’s Fog, the quiet, introspective, vibrating-with-anger son. I nod my thanks, and because I don’t have the heart to tell him I don’t need it, I choke the water and bar down. It sits like lead in my gut, but he watches me eat from his post against the wall, standing sentry. Not in a creepy way, more like Dee. He reminds me of her. Intense but loving in his own way. To anyone else, he might seem scary, but to me, he’s not. All I wanna do is hug him. I dunno why. Not that I plan to act on it. But the need’s there.

“I hear we’re leaving tonight,” Kali whispers under her breath as she continues to read.

I swallow the last bit of my water and set the empty plastic on the end table. “I guess so.”

“Good.”

Good is… good. Right? At least we’re on the same page about getting out of here. Closing my eyes, I drop my head back against the soft cushion of the couch and sigh as I let my stress go. The leather creaks as Kali shifts beside me. There’s a featherlight touch on the top of my knee. It’s gone a moment later, but something’s left there in its wake. I roll the tips of my fingers across it. Another crystal. Small, pebble-shaped.

“Fuchsite, for emotional healing,” Kali whispers as I hear the distinct sound of her turning a page in her book.

Healing.

I could use a lot of that.

“Thank you,” I whisper and continue to play with the crystal. I’ve kept every one Kali has given me over the short time we’ve known each other. They’re a small reminder that friendship and love come in all shapes and sizes.

Kali’s a friend, a true one, and once we get home, I don’t see that changing anytime soon. We have a long road ahead of us, but something tells me we’ll work through it together.

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

ONE MONTH

Iris

Sitting on the floor next to Cell in my living room, I bump my shoulder into this insane woman. She folds over, covers her face, and howls with laughter. I try not to join in, I truly do, but Kali, on the opposite side of me, follows suit like the traitor she is, and I hate her for it. I hate them both. Okay. Not really. But come on, you cannot tell me that Jack Black isn’t hot. He is. Isn’t it universally known? It seems like it should be. We’re watching the first Jumanji with him in it after the OG with Robin Williams. I’d never seen either of them before. I’m a little behind in the movie-watching department on account of not growing up with a television.

Though our local library did show PBS shows in a media room, and anytime I visited to pick out my month's worth of books, I may have snuck a peek or two, even though Dad forbade it.

I’m making up for lost time, and my friends are here to make sure I don’t miss out. It also gives us a reason to spend time together, eat greasy pizza, and forget that it’s been exactly one month and four days since Dark and Sunshine went missing. We don’t talk about it much. Sure, the undercurrent is always there, the waiting, the pain. I still check my doorstep every morning, hoping my breakfast is there. It’s not.

Since I have nothing to do, I’ve taken to visiting Dark Delicacies most days after forcing myself out of bed. I’ve stopped wearing wigs altogether. Not that I won’t wear them ever again. I just don’t have the energy for the prep and care right now. The most I can muster is putting on some fake lashes and painting my eyebrows. This keeps stares to a minimum. Most people either assume I’m protesting something by rocking a bald head or that I’m a cancer patient. The truth is, I don’t owe anyone an explanation. I am who I am.

“Jack Black is hot, in his own way,” the blonde, curly-headed bitch beside me forces out through a fit of roiling laughter, her red eyes and equally red face fixed on me. She blows out a breath to calm down. It doesn’t help. Cell snorts by accident, like a pig.

Fake insulted by her poking fun, I cross both arms over my chest, and my ankles too, and harrumph an overly exaggerated, deep breath in, chest expanding, grumpy exhale out.

Kali snickers.

Cell rolls her eyes, grinning from ear to ear as she shoves my leg. “Don’t be such a baby. I agreed with you.”

“After you laughed,” I point out, lip twitching, feeling lighter than I have in almost a week.

“How many times do I comment on hot men, and you completely ignore me?” Cell cocks her head to the side, waiting for me to answer, but I have nothing to add, so she continues. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you, outside of a certain someone, say anyone is hot.”

That’s true. I don’t.

“Is Jack your Hall Pass celebrity crush?” Cell waggles her brows with hearts swimming in her eyes, then looks past me to Kali. “How about you, Boss Lady?”

“Idris,” our friend says without missing a single beat.

Grasping her heart with one hand, Cell fans her face with the other and swoons. Toppling to the floor in over-the-top Cell fashion, she rolls onto her back and whispers in reverent awe, “Oh. Yeah. Now that man is fine. Really fine. Sell your soul to the devil, fine.”