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“What the hell is going on?” Kellan asks.
Wes shifts uncomfortably, barely able to look Athelia in the eye. “Something was different this time with him.”
She lifts a brow. “What do you mean, this time?”
“I’ve…” Wes swallows audibly. “I’ve seen you with him before.”
“You watched?”
He nods, jaw clenched.
Athelia doesn’t seem to like that, but she doesn’t address it. She strokes the back of her stuffed cat’s neck and takes a deep breath. Her wince sends a physical pain shooting through my chest, but when I reach out to touch her, she glares at me.
“Just let me help adjust your pillows,” I plead. “I think I can make you more comfortable.”
“How badly did he hurt her?” Kellan asks. “I heard you mention a hospital, but—”
“No hospitals,” Athelia snaps. “They’ll ask too many questions, and I don’t know how to explain it to my parents. They already worry about me enough.”
Kellan’s voice is bordering on desperate as he says, “But you’re hurt badly enough that you need to go?”
Athelia glances at me. When I hesitate, she narrows her eyes.
“No,” I mutter. “I’d prefer it, but she’s probably fine.”
Running a hand through his hair, Kellan asks, “Then why is she in so much pain?”
“Because getting beat up hurts, you idiot,” Athelia seethes. When she tilts her chin up to look at me, her eyes soften slightly. “You can help me.”
I’m as gentle as possible as I help Athelia rearrange her pillows. When I help her lean back against them, she sighs with relief.
“That is better. Thank you.”
“Of course.”
It’s the least I can do, considering this is all my damn fault.
“Now go over there,” Athelia says, nodding to the others. “I don’t want any of you near me if I can helpit.”
I retreat toward the opposite end of the room. If she could, Athelia would force all of us out of here in a heartbeat. The only reason she hasn’t is because she physically can’t.
Except… maybe she does want us here with her. She looked so lonely in the bathroom. We’re obviously not her first choice for comfort, but at the moment, we’re all she has.
Athelia grabs her phone and checks it. With a frown, she asks, “Have any of you seen Haven? Or heard anything about her whereabouts?”
“The last I saw her was after we…” Kellan clears his throat. “She asked me if I’d seen—”
“After youwhat,Kellan?” Athelia’s stare sharpens, zeroing in on him and making him squirm. “Say it out loud.”
“After we tied you to the tree,” Kellan says, shoving his hands in his pockets and staring at the floor. “After we tied you to the tree and left you there.”
Athelia nods, silently telling him to go on.
“She came up to me while we were standing around the fire. She didn’t know it was me, obviously, but I was the last person she saw you with. She asked where you were.”
“And what did you tell her?”
“I said that I showed you something upstairs, and then you wandered off on your own, and I hadn’t seen you since.”
