22
Marcella goes to the door and looks out the peephole. She only pauses a moment before turning the lock and pulling it open. I sit up straighter to see who it is.
“Come on in,” Marcella says.
Jackson gets inside, still a bit off balance on his crutches. “I hope you don’t mind me stopping by,” he says. “I … I brought pizza. It’s still in the car. I tried for, like, ten minutes to bring it in myself, but …” He holds up one crutch as an excuse.
“I’ll get it!” Brynn says, and jogs over to the door. She exchanges a smile with Jackson before heading outside.
“You almost have perfect timing,” Annalise tells Jackson. “You’re like the forever-five-minutes-late guy. Always showing upjustpast the time we need you most. I was hungry fifteen minutes ago. Now I’m ravenous.”
She winks at him, and Jackson snorts a laugh. Annalise getsup from the couch, saying she’ll grab some paper plates. Jackson nods hello to me as he follows behind her to the kitchen.
Brynn comes back inside with the pizza box and sets it on the coffee table. She drops onto the couch next to me, elbowing my arm in case I didn’t catch that Jackson was here. I tell her to be quiet, but pinch my smile closed with my fingers.
I notice Raven watching me, and when I do, she motions toward the kitchen.
“He with you?” she asks.
“Not exclusively.”
“Yes, definitely,” Sydney says at the same time.
Brynn leans in. “He misses her,” she adds unhelpfully.
Raven turns to examine Jackson as he says something to make Annalise laugh in the kitchen. I’m not imagining Raven’s confused expression; her brows are pulled in, her eyes narrowed. But when she turns back to me, she flashes a smile.
“He’s cute,” she says.
“He’s kind,” I say instead.
“And he’s the one who brought the paperwork about the expiration date?” Raven asks.
“He is,” I say. “It was in his mother’s things. She used to work for Innovations.”
Raven leans back in the seat, crossing her leg to rest her heavy boot on her knee. The way she’s studying me is a bit unsettling.
“He knows what you are, and he doesn’t care?” she asks. I bristle at the question, but I’m sure her intention is to protect us.
“He was there when we found out,” I say. “He helped us escape.”
“Let’s not overstate it … ,” Sydney says, picking at her fingernail.
I snort a laugh just as Jackson comes back into the room.
“Interesting,” Raven murmurs, trailing him with her eyes as he crutches toward the couch.
Sydney moves over so Jackson can sit next to me. He eases down, groaning under his breath when he does, and lays the crutches on the floor. Annalise sets the pizza and plates down on the table before grabbing a slice and biting off the end.
“Raven, this is Jackson,” I say, formally introducing them. She doesn’t say hello, but Jackson tells her it’s nice to meet her. After a quiet moment, Raven looks around at all of us, content to ignore him.
“Okay,” Raven says. “One more point on this Anton issue—”
“Anton?” Jackson repeats, turning to me. “The analyst guy from the academy?”
“Very same,” Marcella says, grabbing a slice of pizza.
“We heard his voice in our heads,” Brynn adds. Jackson stares at her, before shifting his eyes to me.
