“What have you been doing?” I asked.
“Tracking down a leader for the human trafficking ring Sage was bought from. Zevon can’t do it, given that his hands are a bit full.”
“What have you gotten yourself into, Wyatt?” Sawyer asked, standing quickly and pacing towards him. There was something in her voice that rattled her. Was it about my family?
“Nothing I can’t handle. I’ve been doing this for years, sis. Believe me, this is the easiest thing I’ve had to do so far.”
“I can’t believe you.” Her words were bordering on yelling. “They…” she stopped herself.
“Then don’t. I’m not here to pick a fight with you. With anyone. I’m here per my employer’s request to keep his daughter safe. And I will do that to the best of my ability.”
“I don’t like it.”
“You do stuff I don’t like,” he countered. “And you don’t let me have a say in what you do. So you can’t tell me what to do, either.”
“Knock it off,” I said, leaning back. I didn’t want to listen to them fight. “When was the last time you slept?”
“A while ago,” Wyatt answered.
“Then take my bed.”
“I can’t. Not while there’s a threat out there past these four walls.”
“Then keep watch there while we watch a movie in my room.”
“Fine,” he said. “Keep the door closed.”
“Yes Dad,” Sawyer said as she stood.
It didn’t take long to plug in a movie on the smaller TV my apartment came with. Sawyer happily made herself at home on my bed in the middle, flat on her back. I sat on the other side of her, one foot planted on the floor and the other bent.
“So, how did you meet my brother? He never talks about his work,” Sawyer asked quietly, being careful her voice didn’t travel out of the door.
“He helped my friend get home after he had one too many drinks,” I answered. I left out the part about why Dominic was messed up. “I wasn’t a fan of his at first, but that’s how it is with most males. Wyatt did give me some good advice, and I took it. No one was too pleased about it, but here I am.”
“He told you to come here?”
“Not here, exactly. But to find the help I needed to survive the world. My family isn’t normal, given who they are and what happened to me. I needed to hear those words more than I ever thought I would. I know what I want, I just don’t know how to get that without figuring out who I am first.”
“Huh,” Sawyer said, not having anything to say for once. “That was not what I was expecting.” A moment later, she asked, “What happened to you?”
“I was torn apart from the inside out, and now I’m slowly having to put myself back together,” I summed up. “You know I tried to kill myself, but I think you’re better off not knowing why.”
“We’re here whenever you want to talk about it. That includes Miles, even if he’s not in the room with us,” Sawyer said. “We have our own issues, but we can listen and give advice too.”
“I just don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay.” After a moment, she went on. “Miles had a concussion from a car accident. He hit his head and had a brain bleed. It caused him to stutter. A year later, he couldn’t deal with being made fun of at school. He dropped out and tried to take pills to kill himself.
“I ran into him shortly after that and we became great friends. And I try really hard to not talk for him, but I know him well enough to know when he gets frustrated so I step in. He knows to tell me if I overstep. Which I have done way too many times. And truthfully, he’s gotten a lot better. Some days are just harder than others.” She paused, thinking for once before she spoke again.
“He started taking self-defense lessons from Sean, and that has helped a lot. I’ve gone a few times, but it’s not really my thing. But I think it’d be great for you, Scarlett.”
“Only if you do it,” I said, looking at her.
“That I will pass on. Thank you very much.”
“Come on. I don’t want to be in a room with a man by myself. Youhaveto go.” I grabbed her arm gently, begging. The idea of being able to fight, even a little bit, was the most appealing thing to me. There were only a few certain people I could be in a room alone with, and a stranger was definitely not one of them.
