“I watch a lot of TV,” she said softly. “I like the company.” She flushed. “The voices, I mean.”
Heart breaking for her, I launched myself at her, for once not second-guessing myself.
“You’re an amazing friend, Jess. You know that, right?” I held her tight enough I hoped I could make her believe it. “Without Sloane, I wouldn’t have broken out of my shell. I want to help you do that too.” I worried I was pushing things, but I had come this far. “Since Sloane and I started rooming together, we’re closer than ever. Have you considered posting for a roommate? You might enjoy living with someone.”
“I don’t know…”
“I was so happy when I moved to Brentwood and got my own space. It was fun for a while, but I started to miss the background noise of the pack. They didn’t interact with me much, so it was easy to ignore it for a while, but having Sloane in my life made it clear how isolated I had been and how lonely I still was.”
“Do you think…?” She swallowed. “Would someone be willing to live with me?” She linked her fingers and flexed until her knuckles turned white. “I would be embarrassed if I asked around and everyone turned me down.” Her cheeks pinkened. “That’s probably what would happen anyway, but?—”
“I’m starting to see what Sloane was up against,” I mumbled to myself.
Neither Jess nor I had much in the way of self-esteem. That had changed for me, but only because of the support and friendship I had found with the Walshes. I wanted to gift the acceptance to Jess that I had been given, but she had to be willing to accept it. She had to believe she was worthy of it.
I definitely had my work cut out for me.
ten
The smellof cotton candy woke me from a light doze to find a small, warm body curled on my lap. It almost didn’t seem worth the effort of cracking my gummy eyelids until it hit me where I was and what I had been doing.
Emergency clinic.
Sloane.
For a second, I feared she had crawled out of bed to cuddle me, but she wasn’t half as stealthy as Goldie when she put her mind to it. I found wide blue eyes staring up at me with an impish grin on her cherubic face.
“I came to check on Sloane for Liam.” She held up her phone where typo-riddled instructions filled the screen, evidence he was still high on pain meds. “He wants a picture of her as proof of life. He’s willing to send me five extra dollars for one with her eyes open.”
Paying for a stealth picture of her sleeping? That wasn’t creepy at all. Nope. Not one bit.
“How did you get here?” I wiped drool off my mouth with the back of my wrist. “Does Rían know…?”
“He’s the one who brought me.” She smoothed her hands down her shirt, swiping away the insinuation she would lowerherself to sneaking out alone. Or, say, into the clinic through a window. “He went to talk to Burdock, so I came here.”
“Have you gotten your picture yet?”
“No.” Somehow her eyes grew even wider, clearer. “I was hoping if she heard your voice, she might wake up for a minute.”
“Ah.” I stifled a yawn. “I see.”
“I’ll give you half the fee if you help me.”
“I’m not going to accept your money.”
“That’s not why I took the job. I have a reputation to uphold, you know?”
“Hmm.” I wasn’t sure how to answer that. “This is to boost your profile?”
“Yes.” She slid off my lap. “I have a long way to go if I want to become the next maguri, and that means I have to prove I can handle any job. No matter how big or how small.”
With sleep clouding my brain, I couldn’t recall if she had ever come outright and told me she wanted the job. I had assumed with her natural skills, and the training she was receiving, she was being groomed for the spot. But to hear her determination, I could tell she had named it as one of her many future goals.
Clever as she was, I had no doubt she would achieve them all and then some. “How is Liam?”
“Gran told me not to worry, that he’s fine. I let him stay in my room.”
“That was kind of you.” A pinch in my chest tightened my throat. “Where are you going to sleep?”
