“Yes, I can,” he said proudly. “I will help you with anything I can, and if I can’t, I will find someone who can. If you want, I can start by helping you evict your mother out of your house.”
So the house was mine as well.
All I could do was nod.
“I can tell this is a lot for you. It might be best if we give you some time to process.” JJ stood. Prue and Bram did the same. JJ reached into his pants pocket, pulled out his wallet, and retrieved a business card. “Here’s my number again. Please call me when you’re ready to speak more.” He patted my shoulder before Bram walked him out.
Prue lingered for a moment. “Your mother was out today, so I took the opportunity to pack as many of your things as I could. You’ll find everything in your car.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“She’ll know that I helped you. So I won’t be going back,” she said. “I’m going to go visit family far away. I’ll come back for the meeting with your grandfather.”
“Why did my father send you a letter?” I asked.
She gave me a small smile. “I’ll tell you if you go to that meeting with your grandfather.”
Of course she knew I was reluctant to go.
“I will see you in a month,” she said, and followed JJ out.
After a few minutes, Bram returned. I hadn’t moved from my spot.
He sat back on the couch but closer to me. “Do you need to talk about it?”
“It’s been a shit day. I think I’d rather go draw.”
He nodded.
I stood and headed for my room.
Chapter Eleven
Walking into my favorite café,I was hit with this sense of calm as soon as the smell of coffee filled my nose. It was so nice to have my car again and be able to go places, even if I had two twin tagalongs. We had yet to really warm up to each other. Bash made too many rude comments for my liking. Trying to think positively about their presence, I reminded myself they were here to keep me safe.
I was meeting Lemon here for coffee. We’d been texting so much, I was looking forward to finally talking in person again. Like with Mac, Lemon and I clicked. It was nice to be able to experience true friendships—something I’d used to envy others for.
When Lemon had mentioned that she really wanted to hang out, I thought it would be best to meet for coffee before I gave her my new address on the south side of the bridge. Not that I didn’t want her to come over or thought that she would judge. Lemon wasn’t like that. I just didn’t want to have to explain the new address and my situation over the phone. Plus getting coffee got me out of the house. And my wallet was among the things Prue had packed for me, so now I could buy my own stuff again.
As I waited in line, I glanced at the spot where I’d been sitting when Roe had snuck up on me while I had been drawing a motorcycle parked outside. Then Wyatt had walked up and invited himself to sit with me.
It had been three days since I’d asked them for space. Wyatt stopped sneaking in at night and even Reid didn’t come over, which made me wonder if Roe and Wyatt had told him what happened—that I freaked out after Roe pretty much admitted he’d give up on something the three of them had worked so hard for. I wondered if Reid didn’t have to “try” to hate me now and just did.
Over the past couple of days, Roe and Wyatt had kept texting me, saying that I should talk with them rather than take time alone to think. Every time, I was tempted to give in. I missed them so much it was torture. It was confusing how strongly I ached to see them.
I needed to figure out what the right thing to do was. For me and for them. What I knew for sure was that they were leaving Summerhaven. I refused to be the reason they didn’t go because what one did, the other two followed. That was their dynamic. Wyatt had mentioned me going with them. Roe was wanting to go to MIT or Stanford. Was I willing to follow them to Massachusetts or California? What about my future? My grandfather wanted me to go to Brown. But after he learned I wasn’t blood-related to him and Mother had murdered his son, he’d more than likely cut ties with me.
I had applied to an art school in California. I’d looked it up again. It was close to Stanford. We’d be finding out soon which schools we’d gotten accepted to. If things lined up that perfectly, I could see myself going with them. But if they didn’t, I needed to figure out what I was willing to give up.
I ordered myself and the twins coffee. I had decided to order something sweet for the first time. I held my breath as I retrievedmy card and used it to pay. I only exhaled when the card was approved.
As we waited for our drinks, I went to snag the most private table. It was in a corner. I took a seat in the chair that allowed me to face the door. Bash and Theo sat at the next closest table.
Lemon arrived less than a minute later. She was still in her Kendry Academy uniform. Her long yellow-blonde hair, which she normally kept pin-straight, had been styled into loose spiral curls held back with a black headband. She spotted me right away and gestured that she was going to place an order.
When she headed over, her green eyes flicked to Bash and Theo. Bash caught her staring and she quickly looked back toward me. As she sat across from me, she asked, “How are you feeling?”
“Better.” I sighed. I didn’t want to lie. “To be honest, I haven’t been sick. I got hurt. I got a bunch of stitches and injured my ribs pretty bad.”
