Page 156 of Burning Embers
And if what Emery believes is true…
This will destroy her.
“Grayson will be okay,” Hale assures her, and Ashton actually has the nerve to scoff at those words.
Because we all fucking know that if Grayson is who we think he is, he won’t survive the encounter with the Council. We don’t tolerate Hunters.
He’ll be killed to teach a lesson to all those who think they can harm us.
I just pray Izzy will understand when all of this is over.
Because if she doesn’t…
We may just lose her before we ever truly have her.
Fifty-Two
IZZY
What the fuck just happened?
My mind races as I shakily sit on the very edge of my bed, tears of indignation and fear pricking the backs of my eyes.
Seriously. What thefuckjust happened?
Why did Hale and the others cart off Grayson as if he’s…as if he’s a criminal? Is this because he snuck into my room? Maybe I just need to explain myself better, tell them that this isn’t what it looks like, that Grayson is my friend.
Yet, for some reason, I fear that my words will do more harm than good.
Now, I’m all alone in the room, staring forlornly at the spot I last saw Grayson, my mind unable to piece together this confusing puzzle.
What did Emery mean?
And how did I not know that the twins have a sister? A sister that Grayson is dating?
I think I’m going to be sick.
I don’t know where Jake and Gerry are. They haven’t returned since the others left, but I can’t say I mind the solitude. It gives my brain a chance to rest.
I need to think.
Throwing myself onto my back, I place an arm over my eyes, shielding them the best I can from the bright artificial lighting.
Is this what Mr. Montgomery meant when he claimed others were keeping secrets from me?
My head pounds fiercely, threatening to explode at any second, as more tears well in my eyes. They don’t fall, though. Instead, they just sit there, suspended, crystalline droplets that hover at the edges of my periphery.
Maybe I need to leave. My eighteenth birthday is tomorrow. I’ll no longer have to stay with Gerry and Hale. I’ll be free to explore the world at large. Live where I want to. Do what I want to. Be who I want to be.
And yet…
The thought of never seeing my foster parents again leaves an ache in my chest. And what about Lissa and Jake and even Seth? I can’t leave them, can I?
Unbidden, my thoughts drift to a group of guys I have no right thinking about as often as I do. The pulsating ache transforms into a hollow feeling, like my heart has been physically removed from my body.
Can I leave them?
I blindly reach towards my bedside table and fumble until my searching fingers find my phone. With a huff, I remove my arm from my eyes and scroll through my messages, hoping for a new one from Grayson or Emery or any of the others. Hell, I’ll even take a text from the King Prick himself.