He shakes his head as Slade’s hand slide’s down until his fingers are clutched in mine. My eyes grow watery as I watch my little brother, hating that he’s feeling this same deep confusion that’s been growing through me since sitting down with Anton. “She hated mom, Blake. Ever since high-school. She wanted to take everything away from her and what better way than taking what she loved most…us.”
Shay leans forward onto her knees, burying her face in her hands as Blake starts to look lost. “How could she do that? She was always the good one, the one we could run to when Lucien was…”
I nod, knowing what he’s referring to. “She’s just as much of a monster as he is, Blake. Both the devil in disguise.”
“So, she did this?” he questions. “She put Anton up to this?”
I nod.
“But what if mom and dad had those three weeks? What if they were able to pay back their debt?”
Shay rocks her head back and forth in her hands, whispering low. “Then maybe they’d still be here.”
Blake is quiet for a long while, his eyes so far away, deep in thought. When he finally looks up, his eyes come straight to mine, blazing with fury, regret and a tortured pain. “I swear, Sky, no matter what, no matter how hard or how fucking dangerous, we’re going to make this right. Our parents are gone because of her. Anton is untouchable behind those bars, but Maria…she’s ours and I don’t care what it costs.”
“Even if it costs us our lives?”
“Even then,” he promises as Shay gasps in horror. Seeing the caution and hesitation in my eyes, he goes on. “I’m going to do it with or without you, Sky. Lucien and Maria have taken everything from us and now that we finally have something to live for, I won’t let them take anything ever again.”
I watch him for a second. He means every damn word and I can’t help but agree, but at the same time, it could be up to six months before he’s even able to walk again. “I’m with you, but I won’t let you get hurt.”
“I’m not going to get hurt.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Sky,” he says. “I’m not a child who needs your protection anymore. I said I’ll do this with or without you and I mean that. So, what’s it going to be? Are you in or out?”
I nod as Shay cries silent tears. “I’m in.”
Chapter 13
“Well look who finally decided to show up,” Damian says as I walk through the doors of Aston Creek High on Monday morning with the eyes of the whole school on my back, but what’s new? It seems like every time I walk through these doors, there’s always something that needs to be said about me.
“Shut up, turd,” I laugh, knocking his shoulder. “You know I would have been here earlier if my doctor approved of it.’
“I know,” he chuckles, still proud of his stupid little comment anyway. He throws his arm over my shoulder and walks with me to my locker as Slade slinks behind us. “So, what’s going on? How’s Blake?”
“Angry,” I grumble. “He’s worried he’ll never be able to play again. By the time he heals and can start moving around, he’ll miss the start of next season. He always wanted to be captain in his senior year but he’s not going to get that, not now and who knows what’s going to happen with college.”
“He’ll be alright. Coach knows how good he is. A few months on the sidelines isn’t going to destroy his life.”
“Try telling him that.”
“I bet,” Damian says, pulling his lips into a tight line as his eyes darken. “I hope he’s planning some pretty epic revenge. No one would be able to do that to me without paying for it with their life.”
“Trust me, he’s working on something, but it’ll have to wait until he’s able to actually move. I just hope he’s not going to regret it or ruin his life in the process. He’s already been through enough.”
“He’ll be alright. He’s strong just like you,” Damian murmurs low, not wanting to let on to the rest of the world that he has a thoughtful bone in his body. “You need to remember; you’re a survivor, Sky, but so is he.”
I look up at him and meet his eyes. “He might be a survivor, but that doesn’t make him invincible. He’s still my little brother.”
“That might be true, but you also don’t want him resenting you for holding him back from something he feels he needs to do.”
“Whose side are you on here?”
Damian’s hands fly up in surrender. “Just trying to keep the peace,” he says. “You two have been through enough already. I don’t want to see your downfall in the form of a sibling rivalry because when it comes to you two, it could be lethal.”