During the drive back home, I keep turning it over in my mind. Who could’ve gotten my number and why would they send that text? What are they getting out of it? It’s been more than twenty-four hours without any other contact. As much as I want to brush it aside as a prank, the fact that they know how to hide their number from one of the best hackers around won’t let me believe that. It feels like something is just starting.
It’s after midnight when I get home, and my sister’s car is parked in the driveway. Voices and music filter through the door, growing louder when I enter. Lacey lies on my living room floor, clutching a throw pillow while Silver lounges on the couch, both of them laughing like hyenas. They’re having so much fun they don’t even notice me for a second.
Looks like I missed a party. Standing over them, I cross my arms and try to appear disapproving. “What the hell?”
Silver looks up and points at me with her empty glass. “Hey, don’t be mean to me. I’m del—del—delicate.”
Lacey howls with laughter and Silver clutches her side, gasping for breath. I have no idea what she’s talking about, but they’re clearly amused by it.
“I’m going to pee myself!” Lacey announces. She scrambles to her feet and rushes through Silver’s room to the guest bathroom. She never could hold her liquor.
Silver sits up, still chuckling every now and then while Idump my keys on the table and pull my boots off. “It smells like tequila in here.”
“It should!” Lacey shouts. “We drank a lot of it!” She snorts out a laugh which sets them both off again.
They’re going to hate life tomorrow but it’s good to see Silver having fun. She doesn’t complain but I know how hard things are for her right now. “What are you doing in there?” I call to Lacey when she doesn’t return from Silver’s room.
“Someone started spinning the room around!”
Silver follows me to check on her. Lacey is stretched across the foot of her bed. “Are you okay?” Silver asks.
“I’m great. This was so much fun. But I can’t move yet. The bedroom floor is unstable.”
“The living room floor was moving too. Whole damn house must be tilted,” Silver says with a giggle, laying her hand on the edge of the dresser to steady herself.
For fuck’s sake. “Crawl up there to the pillows and pass out. Silver can take my bed,” I order, pulling the covers back.
“On my way,” Lacey says, not budging.
“If you throw up on me, you’re sleeping in the tub,” I warn, picking her up and moving her to the pillows. She’s already snoring by the time I turn off the light.
Silver sprawls on the couch with a sigh. “Ah, that’s better. I’ll just sleep here.”
“No, you won’t. You’re going to my bed.” I’m not going to worry about her out here fumbling around drunk in the dark.
She rolls her eyes. “You’re too big for the couch. You’d have to fold yourself up.”
I make sure the front door is locked and start turning out lights. “Which is why I’m also sleeping in my bed.”
“Nope! Sorry, you had your chance last night. Now I’m purging the unborn.” She grins up at me. “That means I’m on my period.”
Drunk Silver is hilarious and just as stubborn as ever. “I’m not trying to fuck you and if I was that wouldn’t stop me.” I look her in the eye. “You know how this is going to go.”
She can’t hide her pleased expression as she shrugs. “Go ahead. I know you want to.”
I’m not disappointed by the opportunity. Instead of throwing her over my shoulder like last time, I scoop her up and carry her against my chest. She relaxes in my arms, laying her head on my shoulder and closing her eyes. It reminds me of the last time I carried her like this, and it must trigger that memory for her too.
Her words are starting to slur when she murmurs, “You saved me.”
“From tequila?”
“From the fire. There was so much smoke. I didn’t even know where I was.”
It’s not something I want to think about and not the best thing for her to focus on while she’s drunk. “You need to get some sleep.” I put her in my bed, then get changed and crawl in beside her.
It’s quiet long enough for me to think she’s passed out until she scoots over and cuddles close to me. “It was so hot my skin hurt. I couldn’t get a breath. It was terrifying, andthen you were there, carrying me through thick smoke and flames. I was so scared.” Her sigh is deep. “I’m still scared.”
Of course she is. Her house is gone, and how she recovers from that financially is up in the air right now. She doesn’t have her mother to turn to, and I know she was the person she would’ve gone to before. She never talks like this, never really shows much vulnerability. It’s something we have in common. I wrap my arms around her. “There’s nothing to be afraid of now. Everything will work out. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
