Page 57 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)
The food they ordered is brought out, set in front of us. The waitress narrows her eyes between the two of us, silently berating us.
I glower back, and she finally leaves us alone.
I dig into the food Sky ordered. If we’re stuck with the bill, I may as well enjoy the meal.
“Liam…”
“Can it, shithead,” I grumble. “I’m not going to do anything drastic, but she should know why we’re all freaking out.”
“She’s going to break again,” he says, leaning forward. “You saw her afterward.”
“I saw her?” I set down the fork. “Fuck you, Jacob.”
His face blanches. “That isn’t what I meant, and you know it.”
“Mom put me in therapy,” I tell him. He already knows it, but apparently he needs to hear it again. “We had just fucking moved in when it happened, and they were worried about how traumatized I would be. And then I hung on to every memory surrounding those moments while she forgot them.”
He stares at me. “And you’re saying that hasn’t fucked with your head?”
“No more than forgetting has fucked with hers,” I counter. “It’s time, Jake. You’ve got to see it.”
He stands, tossing a twenty-dollar bill onto the table. “I’m not going to be part of this. I can’t watch you hurt her again.”
I stiffen, fisting my hands under the table. Any other person said that, and I’d deck them. I’m not even in denial about hurting her—I know I have. But those moments are sacred between the two of us. And she… well, she hurts me back. It makes us even.
Now alone at the table, I’m getting even more curious looks. It used to be that I couldn’t go anywhere, do anything, without being asked about Howl. It died down, but if RJ and Colt follow through with their plan, rumors about it will spread once more.
They always do.
And then, whether I fight or not, I’ll be back in the center of attention.
So. I just need to figure out my shit with Sky before that happens.
17
Sky
My Environmental Economics project with Taryn is on clean water. We’re contrasting Boston’s privilege—which comes with being an American citizen—against countries that don’t have access to clean water. The next step of our project will be to give those suffering countries options. We both leaned toward water recycling plants.
It sounded gross when we originally heard it, but the process of sanitizing the water for reuse is actually pretty sustainable. Because of that, we’re going to see a reservoir that Boston’s neighborhoods use for our water supply.
Cambridge Reservoir isn’t too bad of a trek from campus. We meet at the T station and hop on one of the outbound trains, and then take a cab from there. An hour later—what would’ve been half that in a car but double the expense—we arrive at the reservoir.
At first glance, it seems to be paradise in the middle of the city. Huge trees crowd in around the reservoir, most of them in the last phase of color before dropping their leaves. Surrounding the lake is a riot of oranges, reds, and golds. Dark evergreens punctuate the color, and the water reflects the sky.
“Wow.” I pause to take a picture.
“You haven’t been out here before?” Taryn asks. “Whitney, Natalie, and I would come here in the summer when they visited.”
She goes quiet.
I risk a glance over at her.
There are tears in her eyes.
“Taryn—”
“I’m sorry,” she says. “I’ve had to be the strong one for Whitney, you know? They’re like sisters. We’re good friends, but nothing like them. And she’s been so distraught, I’m just… exhausted.”