I wasn’t sure if it helped.
Bodies filled the doorway as Joel was rolled back into the room. His knee was in a hinged brace that kept it in a stable position.
“Hey,” he said as the nurses helped him transfer into the bed. His face was black and blue after the number Valentine had done on it. But after extensive imaging and meeting with a plastic surgeon, it seemed he’d get off with just a few scars.
His eyebrows winged up the moment he spotted his sister in my arms. “She’s sleeping.”
I looked down. Sure enough, Amelia had passed out and was breathing steadily.
44
AMELIA
Monday, September 1 | 11:41 a.m.
“What the hell?” I whispered in utter horror as I stood on the threshold of my apartment door and stared inside.
At boxes.
And suitcases.
“You’re letting the AC out,” Joel said from behind me as he held himself up on his crutches. He’d been discharged from the hospital yesterday, and his physical therapy team in New Haven was less than thrilled to have him back today.
Judehad saidhe had some things to take care of in Newark, so I drove Joel to therapy, only to come home and find Jude in my living room, carrying suitcases out of Joel’s bedroom.
Instead of bitching out Jude the way I wanted to, I turned to my brother. “What’s going on?” I looked at Jude. “Why aren’t you in Newark?”
Joel shrugged and readjusted his crutches.
Jude came up behind me and slid his hands to my waist. “Come inside. Let’s talk.”
I hated how steady and calm his voice was as he urged me inside. I shot daggers out of my eyes at Joel as I turned and stomped in.
It was all for show. Honestly, I was exhausted. As long as my bed was still there, whatever the boys were up to was fine. All I wanted was to sleep, but I couldn’t.
It didn’t matter the time of day or if I was on the couch or in bed. It didn’t matter if Jude was with me or not. Every time I closed my eyes, nightmares instantly appeared. There was no escaping it. No escapinghim.
John Valentine was dead, but I had died just the same.
I glowered when I spotted Joel’s mattress propped up against the wall in a protective mattress bag.
I peered through his bedroom door. It was empty.
Joel eased down into a chair and propped his braced leg up on the coffee table. Warily, I took a seat on the couch, and Jude sat beside me.
“I’m moving to Rhode Island,” Joel said without skipping a beat.
My eyes widened and I sputtered. “I’m sorry—what?Since when?”
He shrugged. “Since I spent all summer up there and was constantly dragged along for ‘take a hostage to work day.’ Cole’s cool. The private security firm he works for needed a new receptionist after the last one retired. So I started pitching in since I kinda lost my other job. Turns out, I’m good at it. And I can’t really get in much trouble there, since everyone has a license to kill. Or at least that’s what they told me.”
My stomach dropped. “But—but your life is here. And if you’re there, I can’t?—”
“Mia,” he said with the kind of calm Jude had. “I need to be on my own for a while. I’ve gotta figure my shit out without relying on you to pick up the pieces for me. And you deserve to enjoy your time off work without also having to worry about me.”
After everything that had happened, I had been put on leave from Alcott until the new semester started in January. The idea of not having any classes to teach unsettled me.
“Joel . . .”
