After getting comfortable next to me in the bed, Wyatt found an action movie for us to watch. “Do you need anything?”
I shook my head.
He held out his hand to me. “Want to hold my hand?”
I placed mine in his and closed my eyes.
“Can I give you something before you go to sleep?”
I opened my eyes, meeting his. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. Not just any necklace, but the bloodstone one Ms. Clark had given me. “I found it under the seat in my car. Roe said you had been looking for it.”
I felt a tug on my soul seeing it again.
“Do you want to put it on?” he asked.
“Yes.”
He helped me while being careful of my tender neck. Once it was on, he gently straightened the pendent and let it drop to my chest. “It’s an interesting stone. I like the red wave that’s swiped through it.”
I picked up the pendant and rubbed it between my fingers. “It was a gift from one of my teachers. She’s into crystals and called it bloodstone. She said it would give me courage and protect me.”
He took my other hand back in his. “I hope it works.”
Up until the evening, I was in and out of sleep. At one point Bram attempted to bring me soup on a tray again. He looked calmer, but closed off.
I wasn’t hungry. Worried I’d upset him, I forced myself to take a bite of the earthy orange soup. It was tasty and familiar. After I took four bites, Bram left after telling me that he’d be in the garage if I needed him.
I didn’t eat anymore and asked Wyatt to set the tray on the side table for me. He seemed reluctant to do so; he’d also wanted me to eat. I had to explain that if I continued to force myself, I would probably puke it all up. He relented then.
Until it started to get dark, no one else showed up. Wyatt lay quietly with me, playing one movie after another. His phone kept going off. One time I managed to see who he had been texting back and forth with. It was a group message with Roe and Reid, neither of whom I had seen in hours. I only asked Wyatt about Roe and why he hadn’t come back. Wyatt simply told me that he would be back later. That he had to run an errand.
I was just resting with my eyes closed when I heard rustling.
“Looks like I beat Roe and Reid back,” said Mac’s voice. “I have more bags in the car.”
I felt Wyatt move. “I’ll go get them.”
“Is she sleeping?” Mac asked, and I chose that moment to open my eyes. She was standing next to the bed staring down at me with bags in her hands. She was dressed in comfy-looking, berry-colored sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. Her face was bare and her hair was piled onto the top of her head in a messy bun. There were bags under her slightly swollen eyes. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I said back.
She winced at the sound of my voice, but quickly recovered. “I’m sorry I haven’t been here.”
“I understand why.”
She nodded. “My early childhood was pretty fucked up.”
“I know.”
“Reid told you?”
I nodded.
“You’d be the first girl he ever did,” she said, and set down the bags she was holding.
He hadn’t really told me because he’d wanted to, but I didn’t tell her that.
Mac grabbed Bram’s chair that had been moved out of the way for Bobby and she dragged it back to the side of the bed next to me. She took a seat. “I don’t like to talk about it or think about it. I’ve always just wanted to move on and be happy. Shove all the bad into a box and forget about it.”
