“These aren’t ugly,” North told her. “They’re the signs of a fighter. A warrior.”
“They’re the signs of a survivor. We’re all survivors,” Jared said. “And all of your scars, inside and out, are a badge of honor. Wear them proudly, baby girl. Because we are so proud of you.”
She buried her face into his chest and he simply held her tight.
Every word was true.
She was a warrior.
46
Angie was worried about Rex.
Where could he be? She missed him.
He always had a smile or would make a joke. And he was always singing.
Very loudly.
And completely off-key.
She really hoped he was okay, but she had a bad feeling.
As she walked down the stairs, she heard a loud knocking on the door. North moved along the hallway and opened the door. She couldn’t really hear what was being said and she sat on the stairs so North didn’t see her there.
He and Jared were very against her walking up and down the stairs on her own since she’d mentioned her vertigo issues.
Ridiculous.
She wasn’t in the mood to have her bottom smacked just because she’d walked down the stairs. So she remained hidden.
Then North walked back in after closing the door, holding a large box. Setting the box down on a hallway table, he opened it and she could have sworn that he recoiled slightly.
Reaching in, he lifted up . . . a head.
Not just any head
Rex!
Somebody made a strange noise. It sounded like they were being injured. Like they were in a huge amount of pain. She clapped her hands over her ears, unable to stand the noise that just kept going and going.
North put the head back in the box and turned, staring at the stairs. At her.
Then he started rushing up the stairs, toward her. His lips were moving but she couldn’t hear what he was saying over the screaming. She wished that person would stop.
He reached for her, but she shied back.
He’d touched the head.
The head without a body.
Rex. It was Rex.
She buried her face in her knees, and immediately all that noise quietened.
Had it come from her? She hadn’t even realized.
She rocked back and forth slightly.
