AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I wiped tears away as her quick footsteps approached, and re-established the smile as I turned around. She was hurrying to catch up. “Cass? Hey. Hold on.”
I ramped up the smile. “Hey, there. Looks like loads of fun is about to be had.”
Freya glanced back over her shoulder as a burst of laughter came out the door of Holly’s room. Her smile was tender. “Holly’s so excited to have a friend here,” she said. “Her life has been so restricted since Shane got taken. Even before, it wasn’t easy for her to find kids with her interests. She’s so far ahead, and this year just made that gap even bigger. But Reggie is amazing. And wise beyond her years.”
“Too wise,” I blurted out, louder than I meant to. “She shouldn’t have to know how shitty things can get. Not yet. She’s too goddamn young. It’s too soon. Those fucking bastards. I want to kill them all.” To my horror, my face started to shake.
Freya gave me an impulsive hug. “I get you. I feel the same way about Holly.”
She squeezed me close, which made it even harder to fight the tears. I did not want to subject the poor jet-lagged woman to one of my crying jags, so I swayed back, sniffing aggressively. “Sorry,” I mumbled. “Didn’t mean to leak on you.”
“Don’t apologize,” Freya said fiercely. “Cry on me all you want. You deserve it, a million times over. You switched out that canister of poison gas for Shane and hauled him out of that place. Which makes you my hero until the end of time.”
“Aw. Thanks. But really. It was a transactional thing, not a heroic act, so?—”
“Don’t even try. I know perfectly well that he was unconscious at the time. You said so yourself, and so did he. So that’s actually a big fat lie. Just give it up, Cass. What you did was brave, amazing, and heroic. Accept it. Own it. End of story.”
I laughed, but I still felt self-conscious and a little guilty. It seemed to me that what I had done for Shane had been far too self-interested to merit all this gratitude.
They had snatched back my precious girl for me. So we were oh, so square.
But being appreciated did not suck. Particularly since Shane had seemed quite underwhelmed by me. Not thrilled enough to keep me in his bed all night, that was for sure. But there was no point in thinking about that.
I hugged Freya again and exchanged good nights, and headed back to my room thinking about how much I liked her, Kat, Rose, Angela, Ethan. The Drakes, too, come to think of it. I wanted them for myself, goddamn it. I wanted this tight, safe, intimate family vibe they had going. What a fantasy. To have people I trusted, respected and admired, all around me. This place was like a shimmering oasis in the desert.
But the hard truth was, they belonged to Shane. And if Shane didn’t want me, it was back out into the flinty desert once again. Alas, poor me. Cue the fucking violins.
My pity party ended now. I had my sister. I was away from Halliwell. Thanks to these people, my lot was the best I could hope for. No more wallowing allowed.
I took a shower to get the rest of the tear gunk rinsed out of my face and dressed for bed. I wrapped a fleecy robe around myself and settled into the big, soft couch that faced the window, leaving the light off. I stared out into dark, letting my brain sift and sort the events of the past few days. Trying to see it through different lenses. None of them yielded great insights. None of the viewpoints looked good for Reggie.
If Halliwell could hurt me through her, he would. He had us stalemated.
No. I had to face reality. Halliwell hadmestalemated. I could not count on these people to back me up, in spite of their friendliness and their warm welcome.
I was so anxious for Rose to get us more info about the medicines Kat had retrieved from the fake clinic. What it was, if it worked, if more could be made. If I had a working solution for Reggie’s problem, I’d fear absolutely nothing. I’d spit in Halliwell’s eye without a care.
A knock sounded on the door, making me start. I stared at it for a moment.
“Yes?” I called.
“It’s me.” It was Shane’s voice.
Oh, God. A new tangle of conflicting emotions to jerk me around and tear me apart. Fear and hope, anger at myself for being so damned vulnerable.
“It’s late, Shane.” I kept my voice crisp. “Get some sleep. See you tomorrow.”
“Can I talk to you? Please?”
I let out a sigh. No way could I resist that deep, scratchy voice. “Just for a minute,” I warned. “I’m very tired.”
He opened the door and stood staring into the dark room, trying to find me in it. His tall, lean body was silhouetted in the light from the corridor.
“Sitting in the dark?” he asked.
“Seemed appropriate for my mood.”
He came in, shut the door, and flicked the lock shut. Hmm. That was bold, but I didn’t feel articulate enough to call him on it. This was hard enough as it was.
