Page 63 of Taking Chances

“Justbarelypoisoned!”

I shut the door to my room, closing out Dane’s nonsense and the inevitable fight among the Quad. It was the first time I’d been alone since everything had happened, since I’d had my world pulled apart again.

I took my phone from my pocket, but when I found it with no messages, no missed calls, my heart sank. It really was over, wasn’t it? They wouldn’t half-ass something like this.

They’d cut ties with me, and even though I had their numbers still, even though I could reach out, I knew it would be pointless. It would only hurt me more when they ignored it.

So I held the phone tightly, then crawled into the bed, too tired to shower, to change, to do anything but curl around the phone and close my eyes.

Now alone, I let the pain wash through me.

I had no idea love would hurt this damn much.

* * * *

Nem

Flying took it out of me, or perhaps it was my age. In my early twenties, I’d felt as though nothing could slow me down. As I reached thirty, however, I didn’t feel quite so spritely.

Or perhaps it’s because I’d been so focused on revenge before that I never noticed my own exhaustion.I’d hardly felt alive back then, which meant being run down didn’t feel any different.

Someone handed me a mug, and when I lifted my gaze to find Bray there, I smiled. At least, until I looked inside the cup. “What is this?”

“Chamomile tea.”

“Who drinks this shit? I want coffee.”

“It’s after midnight. You don’t need coffee at this time of night—it’ll only make it harder to sleep.”

I narrowed my eyes, annoyed by the fact he didn’t fear me.Everyonefeared me, yet Bray ignored my glare as though I were some little girl making a pointless threat.

When it seemed I wouldn’t win this fight, I took a sip of the tea, surprised to find it less objectionable than I’d expected. It even had a lovely sweetness to it, suggesting that he’d used honey.

I glanced toward the hallway when I hadn’t yet spotted Kenz.

“She went to sleep after she calmed down,” Dane said.

I took the cup of tea and sat on the couch beside Dane, Colton sitting in a chair and Rune pacing. It was strange, but I had an ease I hadn’t experienced in a long while.

Why?Was it because I had Kenz here, as well? Having her close, knowing she was safe, let me relax in a way I’d struggled with ever since she moved.

“Is this how parents feel when their kids come home on holiday?” Colton asked.

When I looked toward him, he had his gaze pinned down the hallway, no doubt thinking the same as me.

“It’s nice having her back,” I acknowledged. “Like finding something that’s been missing, like getting to take a deep breath finally. How is she?”

Bray answered, his voice careful and without inflection. “She’s changed.” After he said that, he frowned as though he didn’t care for his own answer. “She’s always wanted to do as she pleased, but she bent to the will of others. She’d argue with us, but in the end, she’d do as she was told.”

“That shows she’s smart,” Dane said. “She knows that she should listen to us because we know better. We have more information.”

As he said that, however, it didn’t sit right. It took me back to the many times in my life I’d had people telling me how to live my life, how to dress, how to act. Even still, Ifeltthose judgmental looks from others. They rarely dared to say anything—at least to my face—but I still felt it.

How often had that ended up with people thinking it would be best if I simply gave in? If I listened to them, if I behaved myself, if I did as I should?

Yet I wouldn’t be where I was if I did that—I wouldn’t bewhoI was.

“I didn’t really think she’d do okay here on her own,” I admitted.