Almost without thinking, I close the distance between Ronan and me and punch him in the jaw.He stumbles back a step and looks at me, eyes wide with shock.
“That’s for calling me Evie at dinner,eejit.”
He holds his jaw, trying to rub the pain out. “Jesus, E, when the hell did you become G.I. Jane?!”
I start walking back to the house, but I pause to look over my shoulder.
“The day I had no one left.”
I continue up the stairs and go back into the house, slamming the door behind me. They’ll see themselves off.
Chapter 6
Maeve
Boketto (v) the act of gazing vacantly into the distance
Standing in the window near the front door, I pull the curtain to the side just enough to watch Callum slam his fist into Ronan's arm, knocking him to the side. I almost feel bad for Ronan. Almost. He deserves every punch tonight. Maybe it will make him think twice before keeping secrets from me. He was just as much my friend as Callum was.
I step away from the window, letting the curtain fall back into place. My body is tense, my mind spinning. It wasn’t all just a bad dream. It wasveryreal.
Callum washere, back in myhouse, back in mylife. As I trudge slowly upstairs toward my bedroom, I wonder whether he’s aware of exactly how much I know. All this time, he thought he was watching me from the shadows. But really, I’ve been watching him, too.
Maeve 19 Years Old
I was walking out of class, tired as hell and dragging ass, when my phone chimed. I pulled it from my pocket to see what Orin wanted. I knew he was around here somewhere. He always was.
I looked around to see if I could spot him quickly, scanning the Junction only finding students scattered about studying, sunbathing, or smackin’ face. Today, he seemed to be hiding pretty well, so I checked the message.
Lorcan pushed training up an hour, so pick up the pace, Princess.
Which was code for, “Lorcan wants to talk about last night, and there’s no getting out of it.” Ugh. I was not in the mood for this shit, but it was unavoidable.
Last night's events would have been soul-changing for most anyone. But for me, stuff like that was becoming a new normal. Orin hated it, but he never stopped me.
Last night was a bit different, though. Last night went further than it ever had, but I didn't regret it. The guy had it coming.
I quickly tapped out a reply to Orin:
I know what you’re doing.
I slide my phone back into my bag and hurry onto the sidewalk, making my way to the vehicle parked a few blocks away.
Students were gathered outside one of the larger coffee shops on campus. A young guy wearing a plaid button-up was giving some kind of speech. He was using a mic, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying. The closer I got to the crowd around him, the harder it became to navigate through the mass of people. I decided to cross the street toavoid them. As I made it to the crosswalk, I caught a scent that was all too familiar. Juniper and amberwood.
Callum.
He’s here.
There was no one else on this earth who smelled like that. I whipped my head around to look for him. He had almost gotten out of sight, but I caught a brief glimpse of him as he squeezed himself between students. He almost got out of sight in time, had it not been for the short guy bobbing on his tiptoes, attempting to see the speaker better. Callum’s shoulders were broad, his hair wet and tousled as if he had been on a run.
How convenient. Did Orin know he was this close?
I knew he was attending school here, and I knew he was watching, but this was the first time I’d seen him so close to me. I’d seen Callum watching me from a distance since we started college, but I never let him know. I’d catch glimpses of him in my periphery, and I’d feel that familiar awareness of his presence that I never could quite explain.
I watched him disappear, then continued crossing the street to find Orin.
I don’t think he ever realized I’d seen him. He wouldn’t expect that. He knew the old me, not the me I had become. The me I had to become. The kidnapping had made me paranoid and on edge. I wouldn’t allow myself to be taken again. I couldn’t.
