She noticed what I was looking at and reached for the handle to close the bifold door, but I stopped her.
I blurted, needing to know, “You were in the system?”
She hesitantly nodded, eyeing me cautiously.
“Is that what you’re running away from?”
The question lingered in the air, along with her worry about what I’d do with the information, as I answered the question for her.
Not ceasing my interrogation, I pressed, “Where are your parents?”
Again, I should have known better because she wrote down, challenging…
Where are yours?
I argued, “I asked you first.”
Her stare narrowed in on me.
I don’t know.
There in three little words, I was shoved to the edge, crashing to my demise, and I sincerely replied…
“Me neither.”
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
KRAVEN
We stood there at a standstill,neither one of us moving or making a sound.
What can I say?
She’d seen my true colors, flashing bright and bold in front of her eyes. My truths were like a warning in the night, telling her to steer clear of the jagged rocks that approached. Like the current of a river, the force of gravity dragged her down the stream right along with me.
There was beauty in her pain.
Realizing we had a lot more in common than I ever considered was magnetic for me. We’d been taken by CPS a few times, but through it all, in the back of my mind, I always knew Julius would reunite us. I wouldn’t admit it to him, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. I had someone who loved me and made damn sure we weren’t separated after all these years.
Despite often bumping heads, we fought to stay together. I couldn’t imagine battling that alone. If she had someone to look out for her, they would have found her already, and it took this moment between us for me to truly grasp that concept.
Question after question plagued my thoughts. Each one moreunforgiving than the last, tumbling around in my head. I didn’t give any thought to what happened next. I swore I moved on autopilot.
One minute, we’re in Julius’s room, and the next, I’m leading her into my parents’ bedroom, only stopping at my mom’s closet.
I glanced at Isla, who was standing frozen behind me. I couldn’t remember the last time I was in there, let alone with someone.
And not just anyone.
Her.
My brother’s girl.
I wasn’t surprised when she mouthed, “You don’t have to do this.”
Our mom kept everything. She bought stuff simply on a whim, leaving clothes with tags still on them. I didn’t have any personal attachment to the clothes I handed her. They were all new and never worn. The second Isla grabbed them, I was out of there. Slapped in the face, I hastily realized what I’d done and who I’d done it for.
