“Until someone rips her out of my dead hands,” Reed shot back.
“Which they will, as soon as one of your brats sells her out. There’s a reason Nate’s kept this from you.”
“Quit that.” Nate elbowed Alden weakly. When Reed frowned and both of them quieted, Nate went on, careful and slow. “You didn’t have to come. Go home. Tell Pix I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
Nate turned away.
“Is this your doing?” Reed asked Alden. “Pixel told me how you—that you—”
Alden tensed like a cat ready to pounce.
“It’s not his fault!” Nate said. “It can’t be helped.”
“What do you mean?” Reed asked.
“The same thing will happen to Pix when she’s older.” Nate wheezed. “We get sick. I wasn’t lying about getting medicine from Alden.” He could feel Alden’s satisfied smirk without looking and elbowed him again.
“Can you let us talk? Alone?” Reed asked.
After a long pause, Alden shifted to stand, tucking Nate into Reed’s arms. “Ten minutes,” he said, oddly quiet, before leaving them in his room.
“I’m sorry,” Reed said. “Nate, I’m so sorry.”
“No.” Nate didn’t want to spend the time before the stillness itchy with regret. “I don’t want to do this.”
Reed stiffened. “I can get Alden.”
“No, not. . .” Nate sighed and rubbed his cheek against Reed, trying to show him that he liked being close, that he wanted Reed here. “I don’t want to say sorry back and forth. We’re both sorry, okay?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want this to happen. You’re as trapped as I am now. You have to keep this secret too.”
“You know I will,” Reed said.
“But the Breakers—”
“Nate, no.”
“I didn’t want to make you lie to the girls.”
“You’re notmakingme do anything. Neither is Pix.” Reed brushed at Nate’s hair slowly, the faint tickle of it pulling Nate away from the pain. “It’s all a mess, but it isn’t your mess. You didn’t start this.”
“How bad was it coming over here?”
Reed laughed humorlessly. “Bad.”
“Fires?” Nate asked, twisting to look at Reed’s face.
“A few.”
“Brick and Sparks told me. . .told me how you’re. . .”
“Scared of fire?” Reed asked.
“Notscared, but. . .yeah.”
