“Okay,” I said, not pushing it any further. My meeting with Ms. Hewlett had given me a whole lot to think about, and seriously given me some perspective. I’d been so caught up in everything Delta—despite my insistence that I wanted nothing to do with it—that I was practically drowning in the intrigue. If I was really serious about getting out, about not just rolling over and becoming their obedient little lap dog, then I needed to stop involving myself.
So it had been me who was attacked, but Beck and Dylan were handling it. There was absolutely no need for me to go off all Nancy Drew, investigating it myself and probably ending up in an even worse position.
“That’s it?” Beck asked, disbelieving when I said nothing more.
“Yep,” I responded, snuggling down into the blankets a bit more and closing my eyes. “Good night, Sebastian.”
He stroked my hair for a few minutes before whispering back, “Sweet dreams, Butterfly.” I felt the briefest press of a kiss to my lips. “And happy birthday for tomorrow morning, since I won’t be able to tell you until after school. I have a Delta meeting in the morning.”
My eyes flew open again. “You know it’s my birthday tomorrow?”
He snorted, his hand brushing down my side and sending tingles across my skin. “Of course I know. I haven’t forgotten anything about you.”
My body was warm, my chest aching in a good way. “It’s my first birthday without my parents,” I confessed my pain. “And even though they never made a big deal about birthdays, it still hurts like a fucking bitch.” Somehow, I wasn’t crying, even when my eyes burned. “I planned on forgetting it completely, but deep down I know they wouldn’t want me to do that.”
“I’m so sorry, Riles,” Beck said, his deep voice wrapping around me almost like a protective blanket. “You’re right though, your parents would want you to celebrate your birthday, because you deserve to celebrate every perfect moment.”
The tears finally came, and they were different to the last few times I’d cried about my parents. Healing, almost.
I was coming to see that Beck was more than just the guy who kept my nightmares away. He was also the one who was slowly healing me, piece by piece.
I’d never be over my parents’ deaths, but maybe one day I would be able to function okay in this world without them.
Hopefully.
* * *
Beck was gonewhen I woke up, but the bed was still warm beside me so he could have only just left. Sure enough, when I wandered out to my kitchen, I found a fresh, hot mug of coffee waiting along with a note that simply said “Happy birthday, Butterfly. Stay out of trouble - S” which seemed innocent enough but set my belly fluttering.
Stupid hormones.
A polite knock at the door clued me in to who my shadow was for the day, and I happily welcomed Dylan inside.
“I’ll just be five minutes, cool?” I called out as I hurried back to my bedroom to finish getting dressed. It was Friday and tonight I was going to party with Eddy and Dante, so I was eager to get through the day.
When I re-emerged, fully dressed in my Ducis uniform, Dylan gave me a sheepish look and presented a gift box from behind his back.
“You didn’t think I forgot, did you?” he teased when I just stood there gaping with my mouth open.
“Uh ... actually I didn’t think you knew at all,” I admitted. I should have known after Beck mentioned it last night, but for some reason, I thought it was only him that knew.
Dylan gave me a small frown. “You told us your birth date on pretty much the first day we met. But even if you hadn’t, one of us would have looked it up.”
My jaw dropped a little at the idea that he’drememberedsuch a small detail from when they were all hating on me. “Well, you still didn’t have to get me anything,” I murmured, accepting the box nonetheless.
It was all white, tied with an expensive looking satin bow and when I opened it up, I needed to dig through layer upon layer of tissue paper to reach the gift inside. When I finally got to it, I pulled it out and inspected it—speechless.
“It’s...” I trailed off, turning the clutch bag around to look at it from all sides. It was small, the sort of thing I’d use if I was going on a date, but instead of a normal clasp at the top, there were four loops with huge precious stones on top of each. So if I were to carry it, it’d look like I was wearing rings on all four of those fingers. “It’s stunning, and way,waytoo expensive.”
I knew designer and high quality when I saw it these days.
Dylan smiled. “It’s not just a vanity item,” he informed me. “Look.” He slid the fingers of my right hand into the loops and positioned the clutch bag in my palm. “Now, what would you do if someone attacked you?”
“Huh?” I frowned up at him and he just waited patiently for me to click on. “Oh, my god. You bought me a knuckle duster purse?” I burst out laughing and simulated a punch to his face with the bejeweled bag. “Dylan, this is seriously the most amazing present.”
He nodded, satisfied. “Not to mention functional.”
Not wanting to let go of my awesome new bag, I gave him a quick one armed hug and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, Dylan. You’re the best.”
