“I didn’t know you owned lipstick,” I say, watching her.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” she winks.
“How’s Mom?”
Millie shrugs. “Same. Morning was bad. She couldn’t get out of bed.” She picks at the sleeve of her shirt. “I got her to eat a little.”
Guilt presses in as I look at her. Millie’s only a few years older, but I’ve always looked up to her like she’s already lived a full life. She had to grow up fast for us.
She applies the lipstick for me, steady and precise, then turns me toward the mirror.
In the reflection, I barely recognize myself.Good.
“My little sis is all grown up… just… don’t forget where you come from when that boy’s around.”
“Who?” I ask.
She smiles, then reaches out and pinches my nose like she used to when we were kids. “You know who.”
Seventeen
NOW | JAX
Iwish she would just say that she fucking hates me. Whatever this silent treatment is, it’s brutal. But I keep my mouth shut. My eyes keep drifting back to her leg. Honestly, it’s a miracle she can even sit like this already. My father made sure to tell me that on the way out—that her healing rate isn’t human.
What was I supposed to say? That I bargained with The Pit again? People are so quick to judge decisions they’ve never had to make. And yeah, I know the drill. People who bargain don’t live long enough to enjoy it. What he doesn’t get is that his son is a beast shaped by The Pit itself. Not living long would be a mercy. One I know I won’t be granted.At least the old bastard let me borrow his car.
“What about my things?” Her voice brings me back, a reminder this isn’t a nightmare where I hurt the only person I care about.
“I think I got everything you need,” I say, eyeing the bag on the backseat. “I can go back if I forgot something.”
“You went to my place?” she asks. “Talked to my dad?”
“Well. Not much talking.” I turn into the narrow alley behind the bar. “I told him you were fine. Said I was surprising you with a trip.”
“He barely knows my name these days.”
“Not gonna lie,” I say, cutting the engine, “your dad’s memory loss worked in my favor.”
She huffs despite herself. “He would’ve never let you set foot in there otherwise.”
“I made up a name anyway.”
“Was Millie there?”
“Not yet, but she lives two blocks away. They’ll be fine.”
“Jax, Millie can’t even take care of herself.”
“I’ll keep checking on them.”
She closes her eyes as if she’s taking the weight of everyone’s problems and packing it into her own ribs.
“Are you in pain?” I ask.
She wiggles her toes once, testing the limits of the bulky white brace. “No. Whatever pills your dad gave me are doing their job.”
I get out and jog around the car, opening her door carefully. The snow melts into gray slush beneath my boots, but it’s not enough to cover the sour stench of trash and urine. I rethink for a moment if this is what she deserves, to live above a fucking bar.
