Page 116 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)
Mom snorts.
I grin. “I needed a change of pace.”
He nods slowly. “I think you’ve accomplished that, my girl.”
“Stop flattering her.” Liam sets down his glass on the table. “She’ll probably do something crazy next, like green.”
I make a face. “Green isn’t my color. Maybe blue.”
He laughs.
We all take a seat: me and Mom on one side of the long table, Liam on the other. I’m closest to Liam’s dad, and his mom is on the other end. If Jake were here, he’d be next to Liam, probably making a fuss over my hair, too. Or the septum piercing.
I eye all the food and scratch at my neck.
They ask me about Ashburn, about what classes I’m taking this year. We talk about Liam’s plans for after graduation, which he’s decidedly tight-lipped about. Laura and Alan fill us in on Jake’s adventures, even though we just saw him. Still, it was a quick trip—and I barely spoke to my old friend about his life. Small smiles grace his parents’ faces as they detail how he’s doing, what clubs he’s involved in.
Mom mentions getting the house ready to sell, and that causes a moment of silence to radiate around us. Alan is the first to clear his throat and lift his glass, cheersing her to a new future. Something brighter than what we’re currently living.
But no one says a word about the missing girls and the reason why Liam and I are home.
After dinner, I get up from the table and help Laura clear the dishes. She stops me in the kitchen, putting both hands on my shoulders.
“I just… I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see you and my son getting along,” she whispers. “We always saw the connection you two had. Ever since we moved in.”
I lower my gaze. “But something kept us apart, didn’t it?”
She scoffs. “Something—someone, honey. I know you don’t have the full story, but you sound a bit more curious?”
“I am.” I bite my lip. “I am a little afraid of what’s going to come out of the shadows, so to speak. It’s bad enough that my brain literally erased it.”
She squeezes my shoulders, then her hands slip down my arms. “It’s not erased. It’s not permanently gone. You’ll remember it when you’re ready.”
“Ready?” Mom parrots, carrying a few plates in. “For what?”
“Dessert,” I lie. “We should’ve brought dessert for our hosts, and we totally dropped the ball.”
Mom’s brow furrows. “You’re absolutely right. I’m so sor—”
“Don’t.” Laura grins. “How about a coffee?”
“Sky and I are going to go for a walk.” Liam strides into the room with his coat already on and mine in his hand.
I nod quickly, taking it from him and slipping it on. He follows me out the back door, pausing when I run my finger down the doorjamb There are little marks in the wood, initials next to each boy’s height. Unlike some, they don’t start down low. They only moved to this house when Liam was a teenager, and Jake my age. Still, there was quite a growth spurt.
And there, in tiny, barely visible pencil, are my initials.
“Still short,” he says.
I move past him, jogging down the steps and onto the grass. Winter will be upon us any day now, but it’s fleeting. Here one minute and gone the next. A lot like us.
How long will we remain?
“You okay?” Liam catches up to me and takes my hand. He leads me in the direction of the woods.
For a moment, I hesitate.
I glance back at the house. They have a large window above their sink, and right now both of his parents fill the frame. His mom is talking, probably to mine. Her head is turned. But his dad lifts his gaze and meets mine.