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“Those types never get what they deserve.” The words pop out before I think better of it.
Rhys stares at me for a second before nodding. I pull the sleeves of the sweatshirt down over my hands, which are getting colder by the second.
“You’re right. They don’t. Especially not here. My dad’s the sheriff of Wild Haven. He’s in Anthony Hatcher’s pocket, but that also means Anthony protects him. Even from things like murder. My sister Lena needed some way to feel in control again after everything that happened tonight.”
“So you burned down your father’s house?” I can see how that would be cathartic. Make them feel like they’re getting some kind of justice, even if it pales in comparison to the crimes their father committed. I’ve dreamed of setting the Duke’s manor alight more than once.
“We did.” Rhys closes his eyes again. He’s splayed out on the bench and he’s so… large. His long legs are spread, one foot on the ground, the other stretched out. Still, the weariness clinging to him tells me he’s got the weight of the world bearing down on him.
“Did it help?”
Rhys cracks his eyes back open, seeming to consider my question. “Not for me. It doesn’t matter if we burn that place down. It won’t make the past disappear. And now Scott’s going to be pissed. I don’t know how he’ll retaliate, but I’m sure he will.”
Scott must be his father. “It won’t erase the past, no.” I tip my head back and suck in a deep lungful of fresh air. “But sometimes change isn’t enough of an ending to feel like things are really over. When the door closing is only in your head, it can feel like it’s been left open a crack. Sometimes you have to slam the door in real life for reality to settle in.”
“I think that’s what Lena needed.”
“What about you?” I should mind my own business. I realize how nosey I’m being, but Rhys makes me want to pull back the layers to see what’s hiding underneath.
“I shut the door a long time ago.”
I don’t know if I believe him, but who am I to tell him that?
“What about you? You’ve had a lot of big changes recently. Is your door swinging off the hinges?”
“Is that a polite way of asking me if I’m going crazy?” I laugh a little to let him know I’m joking.
“Aren’t we all a little nuts? In our own way?”
“I’ve spent my whole life, at least as far back as I can remember, trying to be invisible. I came out here tonight because Ruby had a point. I haven’t lived at all. Not like a walk in the middle of the night is wild, but all I’ve done is survive. I haven’t experienced anything. Well, nothing good.”
Rhys lifts his head from the tree and focuses his tired eyes on me. I bite down on the inside of my cheek, feeling self-conscious at his intense regard.
“You’re right.” He sits up straighter, looking like his mind is spinning. “You’ve missed out on so much.”
I try not to cringe, because he’s telling the truth, but I didn’t need the reminder. Rhys grabs my hand and squeezes.
“We’re going to give you those experiences.”
I wince, not expecting him to squeeze the wound on my hand.
“What is it?” Rhys frowns at me, looking down at my hand. I try to pull it out of his grasp, but he’s too fast. He slides my cuff up and flips my hand over to inspect my palm.
“What happened?”
“It’s nothing. It’s healing fine.”
“It doesn’t look fine. It looks infected. What happened?”
“I cut it on a broken plate. Honestly, it’s healing. It’s better than my ankle, at least.”
“What’s wrong with your ankle?”
I want to slap my hand over my mouth. What is wrong with me? “Nothing. Truly it’s fine.”
“Show me.” The low tenor of Rhys’s voice sends a shiver down my spine and my pulse takes off. I’m not scared, though, not even a little.
I angle my body so that Rhys can see my foot and pull up the hem of my pants to show him. Rhys jerks up, standing over the top of Axil who merely lifts his head. Rhys is right. He’s a terrible guard dog.
