Текст книги "Fable of Happiness book three"
Автор книги: Pepper winters
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“No.” I shook my head, confident and regal. “The initial moments when he hurt me were never directed at me, but more at the past he couldn’t face.” I shrugged. “I’m not justifying his behavior or saying I accept it, but I am willing to forgive because I’ve seen firsthand the growth and healing he’s already made.”
“So, you’re saying you feel safe in his company now?” Her eyes narrowed. “Even though you still barely know each other?”
“I know him better than anyone.” My spine locked into a stiff line.
“Yet you asked our medical team to treat you together. Why did you not want to be separated? Did he command you to do that? Does he allow you out of his presence? You can be honest with me, Gemma.”
I smiled thinly, trying to stay open instead of prickling on Kas’s behalf. “That was for other people’s sake, not mine.”
She tilted her head. “You’re saying he’s a danger to others?”
“I’m saying he’s endured more pain, damage, and suffering than anyone can understand. He hadn’t talked to a single person in eleven years before I found him. He’d shut down. He’d become part animal. My intrusion into his life was the biggest upheaval he’d had since he was abducted. Again, I’m not excusing his behavior nor denying that he struggled having me in his home to begin with, but what I am saying is, he’s fought so hard to be human again. He’s awed me and amazed me at how much he’s fought to deserve some resemblance of happiness.” I leaned forward, my tone slipping into firmness. “If you’re going to ask if my feelings are misplaced, let me assure you they are not. I fell in love with him, that’s true. I fell for a man who many will see as dangerous. But...he’s not. Not anymore.”
Silence fell between us for a while, her eyes never leaving mine.
Finally, she said quietly, “I appreciate your ferocity defending him. The situation you would’ve found yourself in—caring for a man with deep-seated trauma—cannot have been easy. I also appreciate that true feelings have arisen between you both, and I’m not diminishing that in any way.” She smiled. “He’s lucky to have you.” Her smile fell. “But I do have to warn you that men who have endured pasts, such as the one you’ve mentioned Kassen has lived, can cause irreparable harm. It can make them volatile, even when they seem healed. He might always have triggers. Moments when he forgets and is transported back to a time that makes him violent to escape.”
She patted the file in her lap. “I’ve read his notes. Dr. Wright has diagnosed him with PTSD as well as a severe concussion, mineral deficiencies, and a general lack of care. Are you prepared to continue looking after a man who will need to lean on you possibly for a long time, who will take everything you have to give before he’s able to give anything in return?”
“That’s where you’re wrong. He’s already given me what I’ve given him.”
“Affection?” Her eyebrow rose.
“Loyalty.” My hands balled. “Love.”
She sniffed. “You’ve done an admirable job saving his life, Gemma. If I may call you Gemma?”
I nodded. She’d already used it enough not to need my permission.
“A concussion of his degree can take years to fully heal. He’s looking at a substantial length of rehab, therapy, and other medical treatments before he’ll be back to normal.”
Normal?
What was normal for Kas?
I didn’t think even he knew.
“Whatever he needs, I’m willing to pay for.” I crossed my arms. “Money isn’t an object.”
“That’s very generous of you.” Dr. Mary smiled. “And I’m sure he appreciates it greatly. But I need you to know how difficult caring for a partner with mental trauma can be—especially one who is so new to life and being back in a society.”
“I’ll ask for help if necessary.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She smiled again, thoughts clouding her eyes.
“Anything else?”
She licked her lips, her professional façade falling a little. “I’m not going to say I don’t understand. I, myself, fell for a man who’d survived a traumatic event in his youth. It was what led me to become a psychiatrist and volunteer the time I could to helping women escape from situations where their own and their children’s lives are at risk. I understand the deep satisfaction you’ll earn each day Kassen wakes up calmer, happier, and more centered. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I cleared you both for discharge without fully making you comprehend the levity of what you’re taking on. The rehabilitation of a man who, by all accounts, has no name, no history, and no family won’t be easy.”
I shivered, recalling the brief meeting with the police Kas had had yesterday. They’d arrived, asked a few questions about where he’d been snatched from, what he could remember, and any other facts he could give before Kas had turned stony and uncooperative.
They’d wanted an interview once we were no longer in the hospital, but I didn’t know how successful that would be this early on. Having the uniformed officers in our room—even for five minutes—had set Kas on a razor-sharp edge.
I hadn’t been able to tell if Kas had been truthful or not. He’d said he couldn’t remember his real name. And, according to Jareth, he’d been a foster kid—same as Jareth—which meant the home he’d been living in before Storymaker abducted him would’ve been transient anyway.
Without a name or location, finding his family (if he even had one) would almost be impossible.
Kas truly was alone.
No, he’s not.
He has me.
My chin arched, answering the doctor’s question. “I’m prepared for it not to be easy. Whatever comes next won’t be nearly as hard as living with him alone in the very same house where he was trapped and hurt. I’ll have my family to help show him he’s safe. I’ll have my home to protect him. And he’ll have me...fighting beside him every step of the way.”
* * * * *
“Gemstone?! Holy frosting on a goddamn cupcake, is that really you?”
I laughed as all my worries and stress from the past few weeks faded instantly at the sound of my brother’s voice. “Hey, Joshy-kins.”
“Oh, my God, I don’t even care that you used that nickname. God, it’s good to hear your voice!”
My eyes stung as I sat on the single bed in our private hospital room and spoke into the cell phone I’d bought from the gift shop downstairs after speaking with Dr. Mary Channing. Kas still hadn’t returned, and instead of panicking that he’d tried to kill someone for touching him, I kept myself busy by reassuring the hearts of those who loved me.
“I’m so sorry I vanished for a while.” I wiped at a tear that dared to fall. “It wasn’t my intention to age you beyond your years.”
“Well, for the record, I have thirty gray hairs because of you, my heart has become a fan of palpitations whenever I get a text late at night, and I swear to God I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since the local news picked up your disappearance and found it highly entertaining to air morbid hypotheses of what happened to you.” His voice switched from the jovial brother I knew into someone serious and sad. “Honestly, Gem, it’s been bad. Your YouTube channel? They have a bounty on whoever can find you. There are comments galore on your videos claiming you’ve been eaten by a mountain lion or grabbed by a grizzly bear. Fuck, some of the stuff people are saying....Some say you’ve been abducted and used as a sex slave. That you deserve—” He let out a shuddery breath. “They’re assholes.”
That last one is eerily close.
“You shouldn’t be reading them, you know that.” I leaned back against the overly starched pillow. “Some are avid climbers and follow me to learn and share what I love, but others are just nasty trolls who haven’t peeled themselves off a couch in a decade, let alone go exercise in nature.”
“Yeah, I know.” He sighed heavily. “It’s just been...hard.” Silence fell for a bit before he muttered, “I missed you. Who would’ve thought I’d miss my annoying sister who can’t bake to save her life and has more cash than I’ll ever have but refuses to buy a damn lawnmower?”
I laughed softly as he sighed again. “Where have you been, Gem? What happened? I’ll admit I was a few days late looking for you, but...I’m so used to you disappearing on some stupid rock hunt that I thought for sure you’d be home, dirty and tired, forcing me to watch unedited versions of your ass climbing some scary cliff.”
He sighed again, his voice quieter. “But there was no mention of a boulder in Mammoth Cave in that group you gave me access to. I asked in the forum, and no one could help. It was like...you disappeared.”
“I’m so sorry. Someone deleted the post. It wasn’t your fault you couldn’t find it. I should’ve screenshot it and sent it to you.”
He continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “I called the national park. The police. They assured me they were running search and rescue parties. I went along on one—took an entire week off from work. Traipsed all over that damn park and didn’t see any sign of you.”
“You came out here?”
“Of course, I did. You were missing. We thought you were dead!”
“I’m so sorry, Josh.”
“Yeah, well...I’m not gonna forget it anytime soon, and I can’t say I won’t have some serious hang-ups next time you decide to disappear on a rock mission.”
“I’ll stick closer to home for a while, I promise.”
“Is that supposed to mollify me?”
“Is it working?”
He grunted. “Maybe.”
I laughed. God, it was good to hear him give me a hard time. His affection seeped right through the phone and directly into my heart. “I love you, Joshua.”
He sniffed. “I suppose I can learn to love you again. Now that you’re back from the dead and all.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“You’ve got to do something about the online stuff, though, Gem. I kept what I could from Mom. I know you two aren’t exactly super close, but she misses you just as much as me. Luckily, she still doesn’t know how to work YouTube. Otherwise, I would’ve probably had to feed her sedatives all hours of the day to stop her from reading all the shitty comments. I even scrambled her TV reception so she wouldn’t see the news and all their ridiculous theories on what happened to our local online celebrity.”
“I left you in a tricky spot.”
“Yeah, you did.” His voice hardened for a second. “Don’t fucking do it again, okay? Just...come home. Where are you, anyway? Why aren’t you on my doorstep right now, on your knees, begging for my forgiveness?”
“Eh...well...” I looked around the hospital room just as the door opened and Kas walked in. His face was etched with stress, his lips thin, eyes haunted.
My immediate reaction was to go to him, to soothe the aches and wounds in his soul, but I had others that needed me just as much. Forcing myself to stay on the bed, I gave Kas a wave and replied to Josh, “I’m still in Kentucky, but I’m coming home tomorrow if they discharge us.”
“Discharge you? Wait, are you hurt? You’re at the hospital?” Rustling sounded on his end of the phone. “I’ll come get you. Right now. Tell me where you are, and I’ll—”
“It’s fine, Josh. Honest.” I swallowed and smiled softly at Kas. “It’s not me who was hurt.”
Kas threw me a look as if calling me a liar. I stuck my tongue out at him, which made his eyebrows fly into his long hair.
“What the hell happened to you?” Josh asked. “And the truth. No bullshit.”
No bullshit?
That didn’t exactly leave me with a lot of things I could share.
I frowned as Kas came toward me, kissing my forehead like any gentle lover. His hand ran down my arm and squeezed mine before he went to sit on the chair by the window. His touch had been cold, his body hiding the faint tremble of dealing with things he wasn’t mentally equipped to deal with yet.
Every part of me wanted to go to him, but I also couldn’t give my brother any more gray hairs. Keeping eye contact with Kas, I murmured, “It’s not really a phone conversation, unfortunately.”
“Is it more of a coffee and cake convo or a tequila shot, panic room type discussion?” Josh asked.
I laughed, loving how he could always smooth a strained topic. “It’s a...I have quite the story for you, and you need to keep an open mind, but if you do...then you get to meet my new friend kinda situation.”
“New friend?”
“His name is Kas. I found him in the national park.”
“You found him? Like you’d find a pet squirrel?”
I smiled. “Something like that.”
Kas cocked his head, his eyes narrowing on mine as if his curiosity was burning.
Josh paused for a moment before his voice switched back into that stern, serious tone. “Whoever this friend is...he didn’t hurt you, did he? That’s not why you’re in hospital?”
“No. Like I said, it’s him who’s been kept for observation.” I ran a hand through my hair, dislodging another whiff of smoke. “We were in a house fire. It’s just a precaution to monitor us.”
“A house fire? Jesus, Gem.” More rustling down the phone. “That’s it. I’m not waiting around. I’m gonna come get you.”
“No. Please, we’re fine. I’m going to rent a car and drive home tomorrow. Honestly, I’d rather wait to see you when I’m back at my place. You can come round. We’ll talk. I’ll introduce you to Kas, okay?”
“Wait, he’s staying with you?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously? First, you disappear, and now...now you’re living with a pet squirrel?”
“Be nice. You’ll understand why when you meet him.”
“Yeah, we’ll see.” Silence for a moment. “You spoke to Mom yet? Told her you’re alive?”
“No, not yet.”
“I’ll do it. Wait until you’re back so she can see for yourself you’re okay. I like hearing your voice and can’t tell you what a relief it is to know you’re alive, but it sucks not being able to touch you. Until I get to see you with my own eyes, I’m reserving the right to accept you’re not a ghost, and this isn’t an overly lucid weed high.”
I sighed. “Still smoking that stuff, huh?”
“I’ll have you know I eat more gummies these days. They satisfy my sugar craving and give me a good buzz. And you can’t talk. Your drugs are boulders that are one finger slip away from killing you. We all have our addictions, Gem.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Fair enough.” I cleared my throat, keeping my eyes on Kas as he suddenly shot to his feet and went to pour a glass of water from the jug on the side table.
He drank deep, his throat working, distracting me with inappropriate thoughts.
“Safe trip home, Gemstone. I’ll be your very first visitor, so be prepared.”
I laughed while fighting the little butterflies in my stomach from watching Kas. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and returned to his seat. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Oh, and Gem?” Josh added. “Tell that new friend of yours that if he doesn’t treat you like a freaking queen, he and I are gonna have words.” His voice lightened from the threat. “See ya soon, sis.”
He hung up, and I let my arm drop from holding the phone to my ear.
Damn.
Josh had always been protective of me. Despite his digs that I never put myself out there to meet men and that my love life was abysmal, he was part of the reason I wasn’t successful with the opposite sex.
He liked to grill them—to try to trip them into confessing their deepest, darkest secrets on the first date. Most of the time, it didn’t bother me because no one tripped a live wire inside my heart like Kas did. But if Josh did his usual protective brother routine on Kas...
Oh, God, how is that going to work out?
Would Kas snap and hit him?
Would it trigger one of his memories and make him relapse?
Kas noticed my apprehension and came to sit beside me on the bed. He took my hand in his, squeezing my fingers. “Everything okay?”
I squeezed back and rested my head on his shoulder. “Everything will be perfect.” If I repeated it enough, it would come true.
Won’t it?
“Will it be perfect?” Kas asked, his tone sad and tired.
I nodded, clutching onto conviction, for his sake and mine. “Definitely. All of it. You, me, us. Your new home, our future.” I kissed his shoulder. “Everything will be perfect. You’ll see.”
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
I BLINKED FOR THE thousandth time, doing my best to focus on my new life.
The past few days were a blur, despite my attempts at remembering everything: the stay at the hospital, the tests, the examinations, right down to the pride and dread I’d felt when I’d willingly agreed to go with the concussion expert and have a frank discussion about my issues.
Apparently, I had plenty of those. Too many to fully remember because everything had happened so fast.
I still smelled the smoke of my dormitory going up in flames, yet I’d been away from my valley for four days. I still struggled around people even though Gem did most of the interactions on my behalf. There was too much newness. Too much to soak in.
Yesterday, I honestly hadn’t known how I’d coped with everything as well as I had.
Well enough not to kill anyone, anyway.
Perhaps I’d gone into shock, and the overwhelming upheaval of my life would come to bite me in the ass later? Or had Gemma truly sculpted me from the animalistic man I’d been into someone who could hide the feral part of himself and pretend to be human—for a little while, at least?
When I’d had my private meeting with the expert, I’d locked down all my instincts to either hurt him or run and forced myself to answer his questions honestly (or as honestly as I could). I permitted him to touch around my head to search for any abnormalities in my skull and at the base of my neck and subjected myself to hearing, vision, balance, speech, and memory tests. I told him about the guy with the white beard who kicked me in the head, my years of amnesia, and the struggles I’d had ever since falling off the cliff.
By the time he’d finished examining me, my headache was ten times worse, the whiteness that could appear at any moment and snatch me from reality whispered on my vision, and I almost begged him for a cure. To let down my façade and be brutally real that having a constant throb in my temples and a wobbliness that came and went depending on how tired I was fucking sucked.
Not to mention the mood swings.
The unexplainable moments when I’d accept whatever was happening. I’d happily surrender to the unknown and be ready to go with this new life because it was a damn sight better than my past. But then my mood would switch, darkness would fall over my thoughts, anger and temper would rise, frustration to be well, panic to be hidden, and a rush of anxiety that I was no longer free to go home.
But I can’t go home because I’m homeless.
Cast out of a valley that’d sheltered me in both good times and bad and left to flounder in this new existence. That was the hardest thing to swallow. To know that no matter how this new existence went, I had to suck it up because I had no alternative.
You have Gem.
I gritted my teeth, latching on to that thought.
Yes, I had her. And thank fuck for that. Otherwise, I’d probably be locked up in a different prison by now for hurting someone.
My hand stroked the pill bottle in the small bag beside me. I’d yet to take one. My naturally suspicious soul and inherently honed paranoia hadn’t let me self-administer yet. Would they even help the chaos in my mind? What exactly would they do to me?
At the end of the consult, the doctor had given me some pills. He said they’d stabilize my physical and mental pain, reduce any lingering inflammation, and told me to set up regular appointments with a doctor in my home state.
What home state?
I didn’t have one of those.
As I let out a heavy sigh, my churning, chaotic thoughts turned to Jareth. Where was he now? Had he hiked his way out of the national park, or had he stashed a vehicle somewhere like Gemma had and driven out?
Did he fully intend to hunt every member of Fables?
I should be helping him.
That was my job. My job was to protect and wear their blood, not his.
My nostrils flared with annoyance for what he’d done.
He hadn’t asked. He’d just done what he’d wanted and set Fables ablaze, but...if we ever met again, I owed him a massive thank you.
My hands curled with anger. Okay, so I owed him a punch to the face for burning down my house, but...he’d been right.
I couldn’t even deny that part because it was obvious, to both Gem and myself, that being away from the valley, being thrust into a new world where people didn’t know about my past had been the saving grace I’d needed.
My night terrors—my tendency to crawl out of bed and hunt the devils of my dreams—had stopped.
Well, not stopped exactly.
The sleepwalking had abated. I’d slept in the same room as Gem for four nights now and not once had I woken while strangling or hurting her. Each morning, she gave me a hug that throbbed with pride and hope that I was mending.
I let her believe my mind wasn’t as putrid, but that was a lie.
I might not act out on my fears in this new life, but it didn’t mean the nightmares had stopped.
After that first night, when I’d passed out cold and had one of the best night’s sleep of my life while pretzeled on an uncomfortable chair, I’d felt re-energized and woke feeling almost sane. However, the next night I’d had a nightmare of Storymaker, followed by another of Levin.
They were just as potent as usual. The scent of Storymaker’s sweat. The reek of my fear. The awful sensation of being used. Colors and voices, pain and degradation, but the difference was...I was no longer in the same house where such atrocities were done to me. I was far, far away, and my mind seemed to know that.
There was no need to go hunting—to kill the ghosts that continued to haunt me. I was here, and their corpses were there. I was no longer the caretaker, watching over death. I was free, and if the nightmares were the only thing I had to endure, I could handle that because I gained more than I could ever imagine in return.
Staring out the window, I sighed again as fields flew by followed by road signs, cars, and life. Life that’d continued without me.
Christ, I’d missed out on so much.
It made me regret waiting this long.
It made me second-guess that I could’ve found Gemma years ago, if only I’d grown some balls and left my valley. If only I hadn’t waited until I was too afraid to leave. If only I’d chosen to chase happiness instead of allowing myself to rot in that tree-surrounded tomb.
“What are you thinking about?” Gem’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “You’re glowering at the passing cars as if you’re going to murder them.”
I swallowed everything I was thinking and slipped back into the present. I turned my head to focus on the most stunning girl alive. How the hell was she with me? After everything I’d done?
I doubted that repetitive question would ever stop.
I drank her in, inspecting the new clothes she’d purchased during a short stop at a massive department store before leaving the city behind. The huge building with a sea of parked cars and bright signage had reminded me of a time before I’d been a Fable kid.
Cold sweat had formed on my back. The whiteness crept over my vision, hinting that I wouldn’t like what I’d find if I let that particular memory return.
Shutting it down, I’d shaken my head when she’d asked if I wanted to join her shopping. She’d hopped out of the black SUV rental that she’d arranged to be dropped off at the hospital when we’d been discharged, rummaged in her backpack for her wallet, then waved goodbye.
The rush of fear filled me as she disappeared into the store.
Familiar hints on my psyche whispered that something had happened to me in a department store. Had I been kidnapped in one of them? Had I lost my family while they purchased soaps and sweaters?
I couldn’t remember, and I refused to go digging. Eventually, I’d have to face those memories, but not today. Not while I was lucid and almost starting to enjoy being in a car, on a journey where I didn’t even know the destination.
Gem hadn’t kept me waiting long. She’d returned wearing new jeans, a yellow T-shirt with a sunburst on the front, along with a gray windbreaker. She’d tossed me a bag as she’d climbed back behind the wheel and buckled up.
I’d opened it with caution, finding a pair of dark jeans, an off-white T-shirt, some socks, a pair of black boots, and a hoodie with a tiny scorpion stitched into the hem. I’d changed my smoke-riddled clothing for new while she drove, my awe at how she handled the pedals, the steering wheel, and changing gear never ceasing.
When she’d first started driving, slipping into traffic and adding speed, my heart had chugged in fear. It’d been so fucking long since I’d been any faster than a run.
White had flickered on my vision, reminding me that all this newness was too much for my concussed mind, and fear switched to anger. As my hands balled, I did my best to remember what the doctor had said. The tricks he’d recommended I use whenever my mind took control.
I’d close my eyes and breathe deep, reminding myself I was safe and sane. It was a silly trick...but it worked.
Gemma reached over and patted my knee, bringing me back to the present moment again, squeezing me as if she was determined to keep me with her this time. “Is this all too much, Kas?” Her eyes flicked to the road, keeping us straight and following the cars ahead. “I can’t imagine how overwhelming all of this is for you. Leaving the hospital, traveling in a car for the first time in forever, new clothes that didn’t come from an awful guests’ wardrobe, an entire world open to you after living in the wild.”
She looked at me again, worry tightening her pretty hazel eyes. “I’m taking you home, and you’ll be safe there, but I’m aware a lot of things are changing for you. I’ll do my best to be as understanding as I can, but you can rely on one thing that will never change.”
My heart flipped with love for this wonderful girl, gratefulness softening my stress and pain. “Oh? What’s that?” I licked my lips, doing my best to tame my raging headache.
“Me. I’ll always be there.” She squeezed my knee again. “No matter what.”
I covered her hand with mine, staring at our linked fingers in silence. She glanced at me and smiled, but I didn’t know what to say.
How did I reply to that?
How did I tell her that I needed that promise so fucking badly to be true? That I needed her and not in some superficial new puppy love kinda way but in an I might not actually survive this transition without you terrifying kinda way.
Who wanted that burden placed on their shoulders? All I’d ever done was bring her pain and imprisonment, and now that we were heading back to her home, I only brought more issues instead of peace.
Removing her hand from mine, she placed it on the gearshift.
The silence continued to thicken between us. The hair on the back of my neck prickled as I struggled for something to say. Something that didn’t admit: ‘I’m not sure how long I’ll cope, and I’m doing my best to hide it.’
“How...how much longer to your home?” I asked quietly.
She smiled in my direction. “Another few hours or so.”
“And you live alone, right? I’m not...going to be a pain in the ass?”
She chuckled. “You’re not a pain in the ass, regardless if I had roommates or not.”
“Isn’t it lonely living by yourself?” Images of endless winters in the valley came and went. The ache in my heart was all too recent not to sympathize with someone who also lived alone, even if our circumstances were different. Vague memories of her telling me about her living situation came and went. We’d had a similar conversation back in the valley, I was sure of it.
Stupid concussion.
“It had its moments, yes.” She switched lanes and sped past a slow car. “That’s why I work a lot. I latch onto new climbs the moment they appear. I tell myself it’s because I’m cashing into my channel while revenue is good, but the real reason is because sleeping alone isn’t something I enjoy.”
My head pounded with all the new words she’d used. Words that I knew but not in the context she’d used them. “Cashing into your channel?”
She licked her lips, sunlight catching her blond hair. “Yes, remember? I said I film my climbs for work?”
“I remember.” I squeezed my nape, thinking about her brother on that video recorder, not really keen on revealing just how much I didn’t know when she seemed so fucking capable in this busy world.
I scowled. But I wanted to know. I wanted to know everything there was to know about her, and if that meant I had to sound like the uneducated heathen I was, then...so be it.
Tensing, I asked the one question that’d been hounding me ever since a driver dropped off the keys to a brand-new fancy rental at the hospital. He’d mentioned that they didn’t usually drop off to clients but because she tipped so highly, they were happy to oblige.
The way he’d treated her made it seem as if he was both envious and impressed, presenting the keys as if she was higher up the food chain than him.
My skin had crawled, and I’d wanted to ask the second Gem had led me from the hospital and hopped into the leather-infused car, but I’d swallowed my questions down.
I didn’t know how to word such things, but I got the distinct impression she was someone. She had power, just like Storymaker had power.
Frankly, it made me nervous.
“Kas...you know you can talk to me, right?” Gem squeezed the steering wheel. “I know you’re probably still digesting everything that’s happened so far, and I don’t ever want to pry about your appointment with the specialist or make you feel like you have to tell me everything, but...we’re together. People who are together don’t have to hide.”
I swallowed hard. “Fine.”
“Okay then.”
“I’m just gonna come out with it.”
“Okay, great.” She braced herself. “If you have questions, fire away.”
She might regret that invitation, but I sat taller in my seat and said, “You mentioned...back in the valley that you had enough money to pay whatever ransom I put on your head. At the time, money meant nothing to me. I still don’t fully remember the concept but it’s slowly coming back to me.” I gave her a look. “The more I remember, the more I realize...you weren’t lying, were you?”
“Lying?” Her forehead furrowed. “Lying about what?”
“That you have money.”
Her cheeks pinked. “Is it that obvious? I thought I wasn’t that flashy.”
I looked out the window as an expensive-looking car drove past. “I overheard the nurse giving you the final tally for the hospital room. It sounded expensive, but you didn’t even blink. You were able to go and select new clothes with just a tiny plastic card instead of working for an entire season for something of value, and...the way the guy looked at you when he dropped off the car? You have power that only comes from having something other people want.”
