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Tristan pulls up his knees, resting his forearms on them and hanging his head. “I’m sorry, Sloane,” he croaks, one of his eyes barely visible through the swelling on his face. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I was fifteen, and when I heard you might get killed…” he trails off, his Adam’s apple bobbing with a harsh swallow. “I was just scared.”
My mom approaches him, tossing a bag of frozen peas in his lap. She must’ve grabbed them from the freezer in preparation while he and Madd were still scuffling. “How did you even do that?” she asks as it lands.
It’s a fair question- while I’ve always been technologically inclined, working in IT at the Denver hive and here at the six-pack security squad, Tris has never demonstrated much prowess when it comes to computer skills.
He picks up the bag of peas and presses it to his swollen eye, shrugging a shoulder. “It isn’t hard. I just googled how to block numbers. I was around both of you enough to have access to your phones, and everyone knew your passwords were each other’s birthdays.”
I frown, crossing my arms over my chest. “What about after I got back? Didn’t it ever occur to you that we’d figure it out?”
“I didn’t think it mattered anymore,” Tristan sighs. “You guys had moved on! Or at least I thought you had.” He shifts his weight, moving to stand up. “Mom, a little help here?” he asks, holding out an arm to her.
She backs up a step, pointing a finger at him with a scowl. “I don’t think so, mister. You know better than to mess with fate! What the hell were you thinking?!”
He heaves another sigh, shaking his head as he slumps back down. “It was stupid.”
“Damn right it was stupid,” I snap.
Though part of me understands. It doesn’t make me any less furious, but…I get it. If I’d heard that either of my siblings were in danger, I would’ve acted, too.
“How’d you stop me from getting through the gate in Denver?” Madd murmurs, swiping a hand over his chin.
“Hayes,” Tristan answers simply.Our cousin. “When Avery told me you’d gone to Denver, I called him and told him that you were a stalker and to make sure you didn’t get through the gate.”
I turn away from my brother, repulsed, and step closer to Madd, slipping my hand into his. “Come on,” I say, nudging him toward the door before he can jump my brother again. “Let’s go. I’m done here.”
“You’re not staying for dinner?” My mom pipes up.
“Another time,” I grit out, tugging on Madd’s hand.
Mom nods in understanding, and I turn to meet my Dad’s eyes, suddenly tongue-tied.
“Sorry…”
He shakes his head, holding up a hand to cut me off before I can continue with my fumbled apology. “We’ll talk later.”
I nod gratefully, eager to just get the hell out of here while everyone’s still in one piece. He hands me my phone and I take it from him, sliding it into my pocket and turning back for the door.
“Sloane, Madd,” Tris calls desperately after us, his voice strained.
Neither of us turn around. Hand in hand, we make our way to the door, our mutual misery finally uniting the two of us. And I can’t help but think about how even though Tristan messed with fate when he blocked our phones, Madd and I still found our way back to each other. That can’t just be an accident, right? It has to count for something.
Even after everything… maybe there’s still a chance for us, after all.
27
“Here,” I say, handing Madd’s phone back over to him as he drives the winding forest road that connects the six-pack territories.
Tristan was right- it’s shockingly easy to block and unblock contacts on a cell phone. Within five minutes, I’ve already learned how and removed the block from both of our phones. If only the damage it caused to our relationship had such an easy fix.
Madd’s tattooed fingers brush mine as he takes his phone from my hand, lingering for a beat longer than what passes for incidental contact. I don’t flinch away, though. My gaze snaps over to meet his as I register the sensation of sparks dancing between our skin, a silent longing passing between us in our stare. Then my stomach lets out a loud growl of protest, interrupting the moment.
The corner of Madd’s mouth ticks up in amusement. “Hungry?”
“Starved,” I admit with a breathy sigh, clutching a hand against my loudly complaining belly. It’s to be expected after my body had to work so hard to heal itself this afternoon- something I probably would’ve given more thought to if I’d actually stuck around the infirmary for discharge instructions. As it is, I can only hope we make it back to the complex in time to catch dinner at the dining hall. “Maybe we should’ve stayed for tacos after all,” I mutter to myself.
“Yeah, that wouldn’t have been awkward,” Madd snorts, shooting me a side-eyed glance.
Okay, it may be a while before he and Tristan can break bread together again.
