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“But this shit isn’t on the outside and The Guardian on the inside isn’t doing jack shit.”
“You heard what I said. I’ve got a meeting to get to. I’ll be in touch.”
The line goes dead, and I aggressively toss my phone into the middle of the room.Let The Guardians and The Elders handle it.What a bunch of bullshit. They expect us to endure hell to prepare ourselves for the future, but when we’re tossed into the flames, we’re expected to drag our own asses out, just because we’re in here and they’re out there.
“You can’t tell your friends what?” Scar asks from behind me.
Shit.I spin around quickly. “How long were you standing there?”
She crosses the room to my phone and bends down to pick it up. “Long enough to hear you express your anger about not being able to tell your friends something. So what is it?”
There isn’t much I can say to Scar about my conversation with my dad. He’s adamant that this stays between us until we know what we’re dealing with. The day after we found The Blue Blood shrine in the tunnels, I went back. The guys and I made a pact not to go alone because it could be dangerous, but curiosity got the best of me.
While we were down there, I found a diary. I hid it underneath a pile of papers and went back for it the next day. Turns out, it was the diary of Betty Beckett. The Becketts are a family that have hated every Blue Blood member for decades. Betty was married to the original founder of the BCA property. I only made it through the first couple pages when I put two and two together. That room has been passed down from members of the Beckett family for centuries. It also means, whoever is currently doing the upkeep is also the person who’s been stalking Scar—an outsider, and also a Beckett, or at least someone with a connection to their family. But how and why are the answers I can’t seem to find. I called my dad that night and had him look into the Beckett lineage.He contacted one of The Society’s Guardians who is investigating, but so far, nothing.
I get off the couch and eat up the space between us. “It was nothing. Just my dad being my dad.”
“Well, if it involves your dad’sfriends, that means it must involve my dad.”
She hands me my phone and I take it—fortunately it’s not cracked. “It does. Apparently, my dad told yours that I’d keep an eye on you. Make sure you’re safe and all.” That part isn’t a lie.
“I’m not surprised. They’ve done that our whole lives. Little good it’s done.” There’s a bite of sarcasm to her tone, and I can understand why after the hostile things we’ve done to her.
“Hey,” I say, grabbing her arm as she stares down at her bare feet, “I told him I would. You know that, right?”
With raised shoulders, she lifts her head. “But did you mean it?”
“Yeah. Of course, I did. Haven’t I proved that every day since you moved in? You’re here, aren’t you?” I’m referencing the house as I look around at the space surrounding us.
“I’m here because of Crew.”
I blow out a heavy breath. “Are you serious, Scar? I agreed to let you stay here, too.”
She laughs maliciously. “Agreed?”
“Yeah. When Crew mentioned it, I said it was cool. And, somehow, he convinced Neo, too.”
“My God. Why are you both so loyal to that jerk?” I’m not sure if it’s something I said, or her own thoughts clogging her logic, but she’s set off. Her demeanor shifts rapidly from calm to tense. “You know what? Forget it. I don’t even need protection. Not from you, and especially not from Neo.”
There’s a beat of silence before I finally say, “And Crew?”
Her lips purse, and she tucks the stray strand of hair in her face behind her ear. “Crew stood up for me. He stood up for our relationship, and he’s not letting Neo dictate his life anymore.”
If only that last part were true. Neo dictates everything, even if Scar doesn't see it all. The only reason Neo agreed to let her stay is because Crew convinced him it would be easier to keep an eye on her. Neo still thinks she’s the snake—that there isn’t even someone out there fucking with her. Even after finding that room in the tunnels, he somehow convinced himself she orchestrated it and is fooling all of us.
“As he should, if his feelings for you are genuine.”
“If?” She pegs me with a sour look. “His feelings are genuine. I know you and Neo don’t see it, but Crew and I have something special. We have for a while. It just took us both saying ‘fuck what everyone else thinks’ so we could be together.”
“I’m glad for you, Scar. Really, I am.” The emptiness in my words is apparent, and I can tell by the look on her face that my words didn’t appease her in the slightest.
Her arms cross over her chest and she pops her hip. “Really? Then why do you act so pissed about it?”
I’m not sure how to respond without sounding jealous, because I’m not jealous. Sure, Scar has been taking up a lot of Crew’s time. And the way Scar speaks like he’s some saint all of a sudden is annoying as hell. But I’m not jealous of their relationship. Maybe there’s a small part of me that wishes it was me instead. That I would have been the one to comfort her after Maddie’s accident, or the one to stand up to Neo in her defense. But I didn’t do any of that. He did.
“I’m not pissed at all,” I finally say, “I just think it’s a little premature for you and Crew to start living out your fairy-tale relationship after everything he’s done to you.”
She’s on the defensive and the last thing I want is to piss her off right now, but the scowl on her face says it’s too late for that. “You mean everything you’ve all done to me?”
