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“Do you want me to start?” Hector’s voice is gentle. One I’d never imagine coming from a man born with the kind of savagery he has.
Halen’s head bounces from beneath her hoodie.
Hector’s fingers wrap around the bottle of whiskey that’s on the table. “Before I start, what I’m about to tell you goes deeperthan the people in this room right now. It involves others outside of it. We can handle them together. Agreed?”
A round of mumbles in agreement, and I raise a single finger to show my approval.
“Halen was fourteen years old. Three weeks before War’s birthday. A man came by the house and gave her a video. He threatened that if she didn’t come to him, that she would live to regret it.”
Fuck it.
My arms swoop around her body and I lift her onto my lap. Instead of fighting it like I thought she would, she curls into my chest.
My lips skim her forehead, bringing my arm out across her back to keep her locked against me.
“I can tell them.” Her whispers scatter over my chest from the softness of her lips.
My hand lands on her head, forcing her further into my neck.
She wriggles and I know she needs space. A strangled groan leaves my throat as I spread my legs out, loosening my grip enough for her to be able to talk, but staying in the same position.
“First, I need to start by coming clean about the curse. I don’t have it.”
“We know,” Priest’s glare is hot from across the room. “Which is why we didn’t give much of a fuck when you told us because we all knew you were lying.”
“Priest…” Madison warns from the other side of the room. “Let your sister finish.”
His mouth closes.
Halen continues, “I used it as an excuse after the night terrors and hallucinations started because the girls started asking questions. It grew from there. The only thing that would weaken them, if not rid them completely, was cold waterimmersion. A kind of—” She stiffens in my arms and I squeeze to reassure her. “—form of therapy for PTSD.”
“PTSD?” Priest cuts in again, and I’m pretty sure I hear the growl of Madison at my back.
Halen ignores him. “It only worked for as long as I did it.” She lifts her head from my shoulder, and I follow her line of sight to the girls. “I’m sorry I lied to you. When I got the booklet, it just kind of made it easy for me, because the truth was something I wasn’t ready to talk about.”
She rests her head back against my chest, her fingers wrapping around my wrist. “The video showed some kids around the same age as me, kneeling in front of the camera. They weren’t beaten or malnourished. They just looked… sad. They had no life in them, as if they’d never known anything other than pain and torment. At that point, I thought he was crazy. Why would I care? They looked fine.
“He flipped the camera onto his face, and I was proven wrong. So wrong. He announced I had two days—” She stops, and the room falls silent.
Priest shuffles uncomfortably on his feet. “What kids, Halen?”
Madison kneels in front of us. “Honey. It’s okay.” When did she move? Why is my body trembling?
Halen shakes her head. “I’m just going to skip to the part where it started. Where I left with them…”
My body stiffens.
Halen
14 years old
It’s cold. Winter had come early, and the longer I stand out on this road, the more I’m going to freeze.
My hands work up and down my arms to keep them warm. The hoodie is thick, but still not enough to thaw the frost chilling over my skin.
Particles of snow fall to the ground around me, one melting against the tip of my nose.
My phone starts ringing in my pocket. Shit. I forgot to fucking leave it there. Mom’s name flashes over the screen and I lose my balance when the world tilts, steadying myself with the street pole.
