To be perfectly honest, I’m taken aback at just how well all the former harem boys are doing. They went through hell, so the fact that Jade is struggling is not at all surprising. They really haven’t been free all that long, and trauma like that takes its tolls in different ways.
Pink is incredibly resilient, but I know the scars run deep. I wish I could wrap him in my arms and tell him he is safe and nothing bad is ever going to happen again. But he doesn’t deserve my lies. I don’t have the power to keep that promise.
“I think this is fully inverted now,” says Pink, pulling my attention back to my experiment.
I run my gaze over the runes and sigils. It really is stellar work. It should work. But I don’t want Pink to go yet.
“Would you mind staying while I give it a go? In case anything needs tweaking?”
Pink grins at me. “As long as you promise not to blow us up.”
“I swear,” I say solemnly, and Pink laughs.
Oh goddess. I want to capture the precious sound and keep it in a jar to cherish forever. Soon my father will die and I’ll have to take up my duties. I will have to leave Pink behind and never hear him laugh again.
So every laugh I hear, every smile I see, every touch I feel, is all going to have to last a lifetime.
They will be my only treasures.
Chapter twelve
Pink
Once again, thoughts of Monty are distracting me from a good book. This time because I keep checking my phone to see if he has messaged me. I had a wonderful time helping him the other day, and I’m pretty sure he enjoyed it too. So why hasn’t he invited me back? I’m sure he has lots of experiments that I could assist with.
But he hasn’t said a thing. Or sent a single message. And here I am, comfy bed, good book, fresh cup of tea, and all I can think about is him. It is getting ridiculous.
A sudden knock on my door sends my heart racing even though I know it’s not Monty.
I open my mouth to welcome my visitor in, but Lello bounces through the door before I can say a word.
He skips up to my bed and flops down on it dramatically. The mattress wobbles and I’m glad my cup of tea is safely on my bedside table.
“It’s awful!” he wails.
“What is?” I ask.
Lello draws in a big breath. “Jade went to Morgan’s house and told him Ned is his dead wife’s great-grandfather, and Morgan dumped Ned, and now Ned is really sad.”
Oh my goodness. It feels like a lump of ice has formed in my gut and the coldness is leaking out into my veins. Why would Jade do such a thing? How did I not know he was thinking of it? If I had been paying attention, I might have been able to stop him.
“So let’s go make cookies to cheer Ned up!” declares Lello.
He leaps up and holds out his hand. I put my book down and allow Lello to pull me out of bed. It really is impossible to say no to the little kelpie, and besides, helping him bake cookies is the least I can do towards making amends for being such a terrible friend.
We clatter into the kitchen, and Lello starts throwing cupboard doors open and grabbing ingredients. I find the mixing bowl and the baking tray and set them on the counter.
“Why is Jade being so mean?” asks Lello.
I really don’t know what to say to that. Brodie listened carefully to my concerns, but couldn’t tell me anything. Patient confidentiality, which I appreciate. It is not as if I’d want him to share my health issues with everyone. So I understand, I really do. But it means I’m completely in the dark about Jade. Maybe I can go back to Brodie and ask if there is anything I can do to help Jade? That shouldn’t break any confidentiality.
“When Jade got scared at his work, Ned dropped everything to go and help him. He had to take the kids to Morgan’s office first and everything. And that was before they were boyfriends. So Ned was worried Morgan was going to fire him.”
My body freezes. I’m in the middle of pulling the scales out of the cupboard, and now I’m motionless as a statue.
“So Ned is nice to Jade, so Jade should be nice to Ned,” huffs Lello, seeming oblivious to my shock.
I remember the incident Lello is talking about. Clearly. I’d been so worried at the time. Everyone else was away. Red was in heat, so he and Brodie were occupied. Ned and I had received the same message from Jade’s work and we decided Ned should go in case it was something more than a panic attack.
