Page 13 of Enter if you Dare: Part Three

Two more weeks.

Now I understand why Vincent said not to make any promises to Cave. I couldn’t keep them. Guilt crashes through me. I told him to be strong, that it wouldn’t be much longer. He still has a few weeks left, so why would they want to add more time? Do they really think they can fix him? I know doctors see someone like him and think they can use their fancy degrees to fix everything, but he isn’t broken, not in a way that needs to be repaired. He’s perfectly fine the way he is.

I give myself ten minutes of solitude. That’s what I have always done, ever since my parents passed away. Space so I can feel it, then tuck it away. Today the time doesn’t feel long enough, but I turn around and walk back.

I know I should have gone straight back to the shed and told Noa and Cipher, but I needed a moment. On the walk back, I try to figure out what to even tell them, as it’s not news any of us wanted. But what can we do?

As I pass through the doorway, I find Cipher at his workbench, still working on the music box. He looks up as I enter, and when I ask where Noa is, he tells me he’s in the cornfield, which makes me smile. If Cave were here and Noa was digging random holes in his field, it wouldn’t end well for Noa.

I make coffee and sit at the makeshift table Noa brought back here the day he declared us a family and decided we needed to eat meals together. Cipher keeps peering over at me; he knows something is up, but I will wait for Noa to arrive back, as it will be easier to only say this once.

Tires crunch against the fallen twigs, causing both Cipher and me to look at each other, then at the door. A few seconds later, I hear Noa’s voice. “I’m back!” he shouts.

Cipher tilts his head back down to his work, and I take a deep breath. I was low-key hoping he would be a little longer.

“Look who has graced us with her presence,” he says, a split-second before he steps through the door.

Leni appears beside him, a bag slung over her shoulder. “Hey, sis!”

I stand, and she runs across the shed, dropping her bag before her body slams into mine. I press my face into her shoulder and close my eyes.

“It’s going to be okay,” she whispers.

I pull back and look at my sister; I swear she has matured since I last saw her. “Since when did you grow up?”

She laughs. “Since I stopped having my sister watching over my shoulder all day.”

“Hey, I wasn’t that bad.”

She rolls her eyes at me. “Yeah, you kind of were, but I’m not complaining. You are the best big sister a girl could have asked for. I’m just glad I had a chance to really see everything you did for me. Now enough about me, I officially want to meet your other man,” she says and leans in closer. “Three men? Go, sis!”

I chuckle and Noa claps. “We are going to have so much fun. Leni, come meet Cipher.”

My sister turns to Noa, who has a smile from ear to ear, while poor Cipher looks like a fish out of water. I move to his side, taking his hand, and he relaxes a little.

“Leni, this is Cipher. Cipher, meet my sister, Leni.”

Cipher extends his free hand, and Leni practically throws herself into him, wrapping her arms around him. My sister is a hugger. “It’s so nice to finally meet you!”

Cipher is still ramrod straight as she pulls back. “Nice to meet you too,” he says.

“Would you believe Noa talks about you all a lot? My sister, not so much. But I’m so excited to be here. Noa and I have so much planning to do, and he is taking me to meet this Nixie lady today. It’s sad Cave isn’t here, as I have been looking forward to meeting a real-life scarecrow.”

The mention of Cave reminds me of the conversation I need to have with the guys. While I shouldn’t do it with Leni in the room, I also don’t want them to hear it from Nixie or anyone else first.

“Actually, I have news, and it’s not great.”

Both Noa and Cipher look my way at the same time. “They’re trying to add another two weeks to Cave’s hold. Vincent thinks it won’t happen, but we won’t know for a bit.”

“What? That’s fucking ridiculous! How can they do that? He needs to come home.” Noa paces while rambling about how unfair it is, and though I agree, our hands are tied. “Maybe we should send the Jester in, or Vero. Cave would look sane then.”

“Absolutely not,” Cipher says. “Cave would kill Vero and end up in prison. Let’s give Vincent a chance.”

Cipher and Noa bicker, and Leni turns to me. “You look terrible.”

“Life has kicked me in the ass recently. With everything that went down with Rowan, and now Cave, I’m soul-deep tired.”

Leni takes my hands. “I’m here for a while now, so let me help you. I wish you’d told me about Rowan sooner, because I knew it was bad, just not that bad.”