“Was the blood from fighting him?” she asks, and I scoff.
“I wish. The blood came first, from getting out of the medical center. When I ran into him, I let him lead me here with my damn eyes closed. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would wind up here after falling back into his arms,” I admit, my voice little more than a croak, and her hand lands on my arm.
“I’m sorry, Elodie,” she whispers, and I offer her a teary smile.
“Don’t apologize, everything you said was true. Even when you weren’t there, you helped me. It took a hot minute, but I managed to get out of the medical center with your aid.”
Another smile from my roommate, and I let the ache and tension clawing at my insides melt away.
Ocean clears her throat as her eyebrows lift an inch. “Dare I ask how you learned someone can be granted leave?”
I frown as I replay the moment with Rion, and with every passing second, my chest grows tighter until my breath catches altogether. In my distressed haze, I didn’t consider what he said in that moment, not properly at least.
“Where are they?”
“Twenty-seven sixteen Cherry Blossom Lane.”
I knew they were no longer in The Vale because I knew that address…myaddress, but why?
A flashing reminder of the moment Rion saw my scars burns in my mind, but I quickly brush it off. He was the one here, not them, and I’ve seen them since, and they didn’t mention anything about my home, my parents… nothing.
Shaking it off, I refocus on Ocean’s question. “Apparently, Thorne and Kael were off campus. I think Rion knew he fucked up the moment he told me, but regardless, it looks like they’re back now,” I murmur, attempting to downplay it all, but the ember of emotion still flickers in my chest.
“Do you need me to beat them up? I don’t even need an excuse at this stage, but I feel like we’ve got a solid one here,” she offers, and a burst of laughter parts my lips, surprising both of us.
“No. Not yet, at least,” I say with a snicker, placing my hand on top of hers, which still remains on my arm, and she nods, but the way her nose crinkles tells me she’s not done.
“Are you going to be okay?”
I falter at her question, dipping my gaze to avoid her stare. “I have to be.”
“No matter what’s going on out there, you can let your walls down in here, Elodie,” she promises,and I have to force back the emotions that threaten to take hold of me.
I’m never like this, but I’ve never lived a day like today either. Tomorrow will be better, it has to be.
Mustering the best smile I can, I meet my friend’s gaze once more. “Thanks, Ocean, but I’m afraid I wouldn’t know how even if I tried.”
THREE
KAEL
Raw emotions surge through my veins, fighting inside me on a path to disaster that I refuse to succumb to. I want to chase after them, tell Ocean to go fuck herself with her unnecessary sass, and shake Elodie until she realizes how impetuous she is, but I’m rattled by the grunted words that fucker muttered before he sped out of here.
What did she call him? Walker? Fuck him, and fuck his words.
Power is forged in ruin.
My jaw tightens unbearably as those five little words flicker through my mind, sending a shiver down my spine. I’ve heard those words before, sadly, in that exact same order, with the same fierceness behind them. My gut twists. It can only mean onething, but I squander my grave conclusions and chalk it up to a coincidence.
The door to the institute slams shut in the wake of the impossible women who continue to cause issues in my life. I want to be mad about that fact, too, but the way it yanks me from my dwindling thoughts works in their favor. Wiping a hand down my face, I sigh, hoping to shake some of the tension coiled tight inside of me, but I fail miserably.
“Are we supposed to just let her disappear like that?” I grumble, my frustration quickly reigniting.
Rion clears his throat, but I don’t bother to turn to him. Not when the knowing sigh that parts his lips does nothing but irk me. “She looks like she’s been through enough,” he states, and I scoff, lightly shaking my head at the fact that I knew he was going to piss me off and side with her.
“She hasn’t seen anything yet.”
Thorne cocks a brow at me as he takes a single step forward to lock eyes with Rion and me before pointing to the side of the building. “Downstairs?”
