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I smiled at that because I knew she was talking about the safety rails that parents sometimes used on younger children’s beds to keep them from rolling out of it and onto the floor while they were sleeping.
“Exactly,” I said. “It’s like that.”
The girl hesitated, then handed Newt a small plastic doll that was part of the tabletop train set the kids were playing with. “You wanna be the driver?” she asked.
Newt nodded shyly. The girl’s brother still seemed hesitant so I said to the kids, “Do you guys wanna know a secret about Newt?”
My statement caught the interest of both kids and they eagerly nodded. I lowered my voice and said, “His best friend—” I looked around me dramatically like I was making sure no one could overhear us— “is a wolf. A white wolf.”
Both kids went wide-eyed. “Really?” the little boy asked.
Newt eagerly nodded. “Yeah, and his name is Loki and he sleeps in my bed with me each night.”
I stepped back as the kids pressed forward to pepper Newt with questions. When I turned around, I saw Isaac watching me with what looked like watery eyes. I went to him and, not caring who was watching, closed my uninjured hand around his. He looked down at our joined hands in surprise but didn’t say anything. He just followed me to the reception desk so I could check in, and I couldn’t help but think that despite the pain in my hand and the little bit of tension I was still feeling after the car ride, things had never felt more right in my world than they did at that very moment.
Chapter Fourteen
Isaac
The trip back to the sanctuary wasn’t quite as bad as the drive to town, and it took less time to bring Maddox out of whatever trance he seemed to automatically fall into the second he got into the vehicle. Newt had been so enamored with his new friends that he’d talked all the way back to the sanctuary about little Emily and Justin Knapp. The kids’ mother had even asked me if Newt wanted to come over for a play date sometime and had handed me her cell phone number.
I’d been too preoccupied with Maddox at the time to really give it much thought or even respond, but as I stared at the computer screen, I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
And everything else that had happened in that short span of time.
Maddox had held my hand.
In public.
And not because he’d been in the midst of a panic attack.
He’d been Newt’s savior and then he’d held my hand and I didn’t know what any of it meant.
Except there was one thing I did know.
Newt and I needed to leave Pelican Bay.
Like yesterday.
Not only was this thing with Maddox fucking with my head big-time, Newt and I had gotten in way too deep with Dallas and Nolan. Somehow in the span of two weeks, they’d become like uncles to my brother. We spent every evening having dinner as a family and then we’d either watch a movie or play a game. I usually woke up after Newt, only to find him helping Nolan make breakfast before we all got to work caring for the animals. Loki had taken up residence in the bed I’d been sharing with Newt, so Dallas and Nolan had cleared out a guest bedroom and brought a spare mattress in from the apartment above the garage for me. Everyone, including Sawyer, was mindful of always keeping an eye on Newt in case he had another seizure, but they didn’t baby or coddle him so that he’d feel self-conscious about his disorder or the fact that I was making him wear the dreaded helmet.
And now Newt had some new little friends.
Friends he already couldn’t stop talking about, on top of everything else.
Friends who knew his real name, a parent who knew mine… not to mention that I stuck out like a sore thumb in Pelican Bay. It was just a matter of time before someone got curious and started asking questions. And if the cops started looking into me and Newt…
A chill went through me at the prospect of Gary finding us.
No, I just couldn’t risk it.
Nothing was worth Newt’s safety.
Nothing.
I glanced at Newt who was quietly coloring as the kitten, Snotrod, lay on his lower back and Loki was resting his head on my brother’s butt. I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture and set it as my new wallpaper.
God, how was I going to give this up? How was I supposed to make Newt give it up?
I heard the office door open and immediately felt warmth flow through me as Maddox walked in. His eyes landed on mine and I felt it everywhere.
Yeah, Newt and I definitely needed to go.
I only had the cash from my second paycheck, minus the part I’d had to take out that Dallas was still including–Maddox’s salary. It would be enough to get us to Chicago and maybe secure a motel room for a few nights, but that was it.
