“Including me,” Poison said with a chagrined expression.
“And whose fault is that?”
Poison stuck her tongue out at Rose. “I want to be in his life. I know I have no right to ask for that after everything, and I know it’ll take time for him to, you know, not see me as the mean lady who beat the crap out of his Keys. But I still want to be in his life.”
“He’ll come around,” Rose assured her. “He just needs to see who you actually are. Today was a lot for a four year old.”
“Suppose this means I have to work my way onto Keys’ good side, too,” Poison grumbled.
Rose shrugged. “Certainly wouldn’t hurt.”
Poison was quiet for a moment. “He’s going to be good to you. I can see it. I don’t like that I can see it, because it would be very convenient to still be furious at him, but I can see it.”
“High praise,” Rose said dryly.
“I poured this kind of strong,” Poison defended, lifting her mug like a toast. “Trust me, it’s the highest praise I have available right now.” Joking aside, she added, “Give me time. It’s been a long month.”
Rose winced, guilt stabbing at her heart. “Can I ask you something?”
“Always.”
“When you only knew me as MV…” She hesitated. “What did she… I mean, what didImean to you? Before you knew. When I was just a voice on the phone? I know what it meant to me, being able to get to know you as a person, as a sister, but I know I also kept you at a distance, didn’t let you ask questions. Was I just…a mystery voice?”
The snort that came out of Poison’s nose made Rose question justhowstrong that drink was before Poison answered.
“Rose, I tore apart the country looking for you. From the moment I got your message that ‘they’ had found you, before Kitty came inside and told me who you were, I was already prepared to find you. And I would have, Rose or MV. I would have burned the world down to get to you. Not because you were my sister, but because you were the first person in a long time who I could talk to like a friend. Not someone I was responsible for, not someone I was leading or managing or trying not to get killed. Just…” She shrugged. “For obvious reasons, I was in a really dark place when MV first reached out to me. And she was someone I actuallywantedto talk to. Maybe it was because you were a voice in my head or I didn’t have to look at you. In a weird, fucked up way, you were exactly what I needed to help me get through your death. Mom’s and Dad’s, too.
“Don’t get me wrong. I was fuckingpissedwhen I found out that I’d been lied to the whole time. I still feel that,” she added offhandedly, like it didn’t really matter. “But underneath the fear and the anger and the confusion, there was also…” She stopped again. Frowned slightly, she scrunched up her nose like her next words left a bad taste in her mouth. “Relief, I guess. That I hadn’t imagined the bond I felt between us. That the person I felt closest to in the world—besides Kitty—was actually my sister. Not a stranger.” She looked at Rose. “And fuck you very much for making me feel all these nasty, gross feelings the past several weeks.”
Rose laughed—because only Poison could curse her for being alive because it made herfeel things. “What happens now?” she asked. “With us, I mean. I’d like to still help you, to be your club’s tech.”
Poison lifted an eyebrow. “Of course you’re still my tech. I’d be evenmorepissed at you if you went over to the Dark Side and joined these VDMC goodie two shoes. You can stay here if you want to fornicate with Keys and live your best nerdy life—but make no mistake. You’re ours.” Rose felt a warmth spread through her chest at her sister’s claim. “As for me, once all this shit with Kennedy is over, I go back on the road, because that’s what I do. And when I call from now on, it’ll be as yoursistercalling to check in on you and her nephew.”
“And when you come through Mount Grove?”
Poison shrugged, downing the last of her Irish coffee. “I take my nephew and any other nerdettes you and Keys spawn out to do something that will horrify you and Keys.” She shrugged, adding, “Nothing illegal. Probably.”
Shaking her head, Rose couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
“Way I see it, we figure it out as we go, Rose. We’re not good at this. Neither of us has any idea what we’re doing. But we’re both still here, which is more than I expected a month ago.”
She had a fair point. “It’s going to be weird talking to you on the phone without the modulator.”
Poison snorted. “Little sis, you just came back from the dead. We really can’t get weirder than that.”
“Touché,” Rose laughed.
“For the record,” Poison added, “I am absolutely teaching that kid how to pick a lock.”
Rose blinked at her older sister. “You are not teaching my four-year-old son how to pick a lock.”
“It’s a life skill!”
“It is not a life skill,” Rose argued.
“It absolutely is. What if he’s locked out of the clubhouse?”
“Then he knocks!”
