Broken Bonds (The Bonds that Tie #1) - J. Bree Page 0,74

be caught and that’ll be the end of everything. The fear has me snapping at him, “I don’t need a fucking babysitter!”

He spins back around to snarl at me, “Then answer your fucking phone!”

I’m more open than I would normally be because it’s actually too freaking sweet to think he ran the whole way here just because I didn’t answer my phone, but I’m still freaking the hell out over having friends and ties holding me here. “You just said North checked the GPS, there’s no reason for you to be rushing over here and waking the whole goddamn building up!”

His eyes narrow at me and then his chest heaves as he takes a deep, calming breath, the type that probably means he’s trying to find a little patience to deal with my bullshit. “You said we were friends… well, this is what friends do, Oli. When you didn’t answer the phone I had to be sure that you weren’t taken. This is what friendship with me looks like, take it or leave it.”

I have no choice but to take it because I’m so fucking tired of arguing with him. I can’t change our situation, and I definitely can’t let my guard down around him, but all of the fight in me that I usually have for him is just gone.

“Okay. Alright, fine, now you know I’m alive and I promise I’ll answer my stupid phone next time. Go home and let me get a few more hours of sleep in.”

I slump down onto my bed, finally realizing that I’m wearing nothing but a pair of ratty old shorts and a tank, but Gabe hasn’t noticed or commented on exactly how homeless I look, thank God. I lay back against the terrible pillow and attempt to get comfortable but it’s impossible to do with the way he’s just standing there watching me like I’m so fucking interesting here in my shitty room with absolutely nothing personal. Not even a decent set of sheets or a blanket.

I give him a look which he completely ignores as he slides down onto the floor, his back pressed against the door and his eyes glowing in the darkness just a little, the only proof that he’s struggling with his gift at the moment.

I really can’t be fucked fighting with him, my voice wrung out and exhausted, “I’m still tired, Gabe, please just leave me to sleep.”

He shrugs and glances away to look out the tiny, grimy window. “I’m not leaving you alone here while there’s fucking Resistance snatching people. Just go to sleep and in the morning I’ll head over to the dining hall with you before class.”

I huff and pull the blanket up to my chin but it’s too freaking weird to attempt to sleep with him sitting there so I give up before I really give it a try. “What’s the Council doing about this? You can’t tell me they’re just sitting around letting people be kidnapped.”

I hear Gabe exhale in a long stream but I keep my eyes on the ceiling. “Some of them want to do exactly that. They’re too fucking gutless to form a plan and go after them, spouting some bullshit about higher ground and keeping the peace.”

Fuck that, there’s no such thing as higher ground when it comes to these people. They’ll take any weakness or show of morality and they’ll use it to destroy you.

I know this for a fact.

“And what does North think about it? What’s he doing for the community with all of that money and power of his?” My voice is scathing and Gabe doesn’t answer me for a minute, the room settling into a charged silence that’s full of all of our secrets.

My phone buzzes under my pillow and, without thinking, I pull it out to see Atlas’ message.

I heard about the abductions. There’s been seven here overnight as well. I’m going to push for a transfer, I’m not going to sit by and leave you alone to face this shit.

I swallow because I really don’t want him to come. He’s the tiny bit of joy that I allow myself because of the distance between us. If he shows up, then I’ll have to put that same distance between us that I have with the others and that feels fucking devastating to me right now.

“Whose phone is that?”

Fuck.

I drop it down onto the covers but there’s no use hiding it now, Gabe’s seen it and realized it’s definitely not the older model