him a new perspective and at least get you in the front door.”
I’d always walked lightly around the golden child. Huck’s half brother was touchy on good days and downright evil on bad ones. I got really good at avoiding his wrath, right up until he figured out the one surefire way to get me to bend to his will was to turn his ire on my mother. If I pissed him off or ignored him, he would make my mom work in the garden all day with no protection from the heat and the sun. He would make her get on her hands and knees and scrub marble floors until her hands bled. He would force her to wash windows balanced precariously on ladders that always seemed unstable. He would call for her in the middle of the night, over and over again, making sure she was sleep deprived. None of it was outright torture, but considering my mom was never in the best health, they were all risky tasks that strained her weakened heart. He endlessly exploited my desire to keep her safe when he figured out I would always acquiesce to keep his attention off of her.
After the accident, it was a weakness that worsened, and one that he used to his full advantage.
I was so done with living in a state of constant fear that someone would show up and make me go back to that house. Sure, I’d always wanted to track Huck down and see how he was doing and how far he’d come, and offer an explanation for my actions the night everything changed. but it was the ever-present fear that finally forced me to uproot my life and follow him. I wanted to believe, even after everything we’d been through and how badly I hurt him, that he’d still protect me, that he would keep me safe from those trying to keep me prisoner in a world where I didn’t belong.
At first, when my mom passed away, I hadn’t known where I was going or what I was going to do with myself. It was like sleepwalking, and when I finally woke up, I found myself here. I suddenly knew the only way I would stop being scared and get a handle on my future was if I managed to get as close to him as I’d once been.
I hadn’t known Huck was the buffer between me and absolute evil until he was gone.
I sighed. “I can’t blame him for wanting to protect himself and those he cares about from me.” He had every right not to trust me anymore.
“Those boys aren’t just friends. They’re family,” Mercer stated this matter-of-factly. Huck and his boys were almost celebrities in the small town. They made waves as freshmen for different reasons, but mostly because they became an inseparable force to be reckoned with. It was pretty well known amongst the student body that all four boys came from less-than-ideal homes. There wasn’t a single outstanding parental figure between the four of them, which meant they raised themselves and helped each other figure out how to be good, upstanding young men all on their own.
She sighed again and told me, “You know you are welcome to keep the room in the shop through this semester if you need to. I know it isn’t anything luxurious, but it’s better than nothing.”
It was way better than nothing. Other than not having a real kitchen, the little room was actually just fine. The only thing it lacked was Huck. I didn’t want to live in the Victorian because of comfort or convenience. I wanted to live there so I could finally stop looking over my shoulder and live like a normal human for the first time in forever. I hardly slept when I was living in the back of the shop…not because it was cramped, but because every shadow that moved terrified me and had me ready to jump out of my skin. I wasn’t willing to go back to my previous life, but I knew that wouldn’t stop someone from trying to make me.
I tilted my head to the side and let it rest on Mercer’s shoulder. She always smelled like wildflowers and vanilla. What I wouldn’t give to be as centered and calm as she always was.
“You saved my life. You know that, don’t you?” My voice cracked, and I realized today had been one of the longest in history. It was a miracle I managed