Page 183 of Exiled
The breath whooshes out of me, and I nod. “Patient. Meek.”
Zelda huffs, while Micah just throws his head back and laughs.
For a second, I think he’s laughing at me, but then he says, “Wow. Your parents really fucked up with that one.”
She rolls her eyes, and I find myself biting back a small smile when I remember saying a similar thing about myself to Nolan once upon a time.
“I’ll just add it to the list,” she says. Her gaze cuts to mine, and I’m well aware of the fact I can now bear to stand meeting her head-on. She must sense it too, because she narrows her eyes, and nods. “We good now?”
She doesn’t say it rudely—just bluntly—and for some reason, it reminds me of Nolan and the way he reacted similarly to my littlequirk.I bite back a rueful smile at the thought, and nod. “Yeah. S-sorry about that, it’s just—”
“Your thing.” She shrugs like it’s nothing. “We all got things.”
“Cheers to that,” Micah says.
I look between them, waiting for the punchline, but nothing comes. They’re really just…rolling with it.
Feeling like I can breathe a little easier, I grab my drink and take a sip. Still all the things it was before, but with the calmness and quiet in my head now, I find that’s it more than tolerable. Maybe even a little good.
Or that could just be the alcohol already working through my system.
Careful…a voice says.
It’s part of the reason I’ve stayed away from the stuff up until now. Every time I considered having a drink since turning twenty-one, all I could think about was Nolan, what he went through, and everything I learned back in Black Diamond when I was still following the rehab program.
Hearing all those stories…the regrets…how insidious it is…
Not going to lie—it turned me off big time.
Setting the glass down, I look up to find them watching me curiously. It’s a little nerve-wracking.
“What?” I say, running the back of my hand over my lips.
“Look, we don’t want to pry, but…are you in trouble?” Zelda asks gently.
Micah stares at me, arms crossed, brow furrowed. “We don’t get a lot of tourists up here, and we’re not on the way to any major city or anything. So unless you’re visiting someone, we’re going to assume you’re running from something.”
My eyes widen and I shake my head. “No, I’m not…I’m not running…” My voice fades, because in a sense, it does kind of feel like I am.
I was running to him.
The memory of seeing Nolan only moments before surges forward, spearing me right in the chest, like it’s happening all over again. I suck in a sharp breath, and blink a couple times to try to keep the tears at bay.
He was never gonna come for me.
I was just a distraction.
I was just a fling.
Micah and Zelda share a troubled look, and I realize I have to give them something. It’s clear they’re drawing their own conclusions, and I’d much rather them have the truth. Something tells me they won’t let me leave if they think I’m in any danger.
I don’t know why I know this, but I just do. There’s just this sort of…air of protectiveness. To both of them. Again, it reminds me of Nolan, and God, it hurts. Like someone reached into my chest, and squeezed my heart.
Maybe it’s a lie here too.
Maybe it’s all lies.
Shaking away the thoughts, I force myself to say, “I was here to see someone. An old…friend.”