The Fortunates (Unfortunate #2) - Skyla Madi Page 0,26
his face before I instinctively drop my stare to the white tiles at my feet.
“You’re Anna? The child my aunt had before she met my uncle?”
Anna. Not Nine.
A Fortunate. Not an Unfortunate.
He’s my cousin? I never saw him come down to the cells to see Kathryn. I drag my gaze up his long legs, slim hips, and lean torso. Caught in the collar of his white button up shirt is a decaying leaf, and staining his skin three centimetres above it is a small love bite. He sways where he stands, his dark eyes heavy with sleep…or intoxication. I can’t tell.
“Yes,” I state, clearing my throat.
“I’m Oliver.”
I force my spine straight and square my shoulders. I can’t look afraid. I can’t expose my fear because he’ll see it. My cousin pushes his hand through his short blond hair. He can’t be much older than me…twenty, maybe.
“You’re prettier than I thought you’d be.”
I press my lips together.
“And disgustingly thin,” he adds for good measure.
I don’t know where he’s been for the past few months but I haven’t exactly been living a healthy lifestyle. In the cells I got one meal a day. A handful of broth in a bowl smaller than the palm of my hand and a chunk of stale bread. He should try maintaining a healthy body on such little food. I hug myself harder.
“You running away?”
“I was just…I don’t like…” I shake my head and moisten my lips. “I’m not familiar with this house.”
“Ah.” Oliver steps closer, slipping into a shadow. “Kaden Sario. That’s where you’re going?”
He takes another step and, without thought, I inch back. My body is tired, my mind exhausted; I can’t bring myself to fight another second.
But I will run.
There’s no shame in running when you know you can’t win.
“You can relax,” Oliver states, his expression amused as he turns toward the staircase. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
I swallow, tilting my head on the slightest angle. “You accept me?”
“Accept you? No. That would be social suicide.” He climbs the staircase, his hand gripping the bannister. “But attacking you wouldn’t be right. She wasn’t just my aunt. She was your mother too.”
I shake my head. “I don’t have a mother—or a family.”
“You do now.” Oliver pauses with a glance over his shoulder. “Don’t hang around those Sarios too long. The last thing you want is to become like them.”
Frowning, I stare after him until long after he’s gone. What did he mean by that? Why don’t I want to be like Kade? Sure, he’s a little aggressive and rough around the edges, but he’s not a bad person—or at least, he tries not to be. Who else do I have in this world?
I glance down at the shirt I’m wearing. Kade’s shirt. He offers comfort when everyone else refuses. To turn my back on him isn’t fair.
“Oh, and Anna?”
I snap my head up to the voice above me. Oliver hangs his head over the bannister. “If anyone asks, you never saw me tonight, all right?”
I frown. Why? What’s he hiding? I bet it has something to do with the leaf stuck to his collar and the love bite on his neck. Was he out seeing someone he wasn’t supposed to be?
I nod. “All right.”
And he disappears.
Raking my fingers through my hair, I blow out an exhale and step away from the door. Maybe it’s not so bad here? Maybe I can adjust. Oliver doesn’t seem so bad. I mean, it could be worse. I could’ve ended up with a relative like Vince. I shudder at the thought. Though incestuous sex is against the law, I can’t imagine it stopping someone with the same mentality as Vincent Sario.
I inhale and my thought train slows its engine. Here is safe. This is your new home. It will be difficult. It will be your biggest challenge, but you are strong and you are adaptable.
I exhale.
I can’t go back to Kade. I can’t run to him every time something terrifies me. The Sario mansion isn’t where my life is anymore and Kade has no hold over me. Taking back everything I said to Kade and begging for him to take me in will render the words I used against him meaningless and he won’t take me seriously. If I’m going to survive as a Fortunate, I need to be taken seriously…or they will crush me.
A false bravado is better than an exposed soul.
Confidence, not vulnerability, is key for my survival.