Page 69 of Ransom

Blair wore the edges down with her matter-of-fact attitude. She didn't treat me like some poor foster kid. It was more like I was a bug under a microscope, and she wanted to figure out what I was made of.

The way she looked at me pissed me off at first. Then, when I got to know her better, I started to love it. Blair didn't look at things that didn't interest her. Never. And I liked that she was interested in me.

The coffee shop comes into view, and I quicken my pace, suddenly craving one of those blueberry muffins. The place is packed, but I snag a place at the end of the line, my back pressed against the door.

Being tall has its advantages. Today, it's allowing me to see the display case over everyone's heads. The muffin selection looks fucking spectacular, and suddenly I'm starving again.

There's a bump against my back, and even before I turn around, I know it's her. I fucking feel her. I give myself a second, just one, to brace myself before I turn around.

I'm prepared for Blair. For the power of her. At least I tell myself I am.

I am not prepared for Maggie.

"Maggie," I breathe, reaching out for her. She looks nothing like the girl I remember. That girl was all curves, pink cheeks, and wild hair. This Maggie? She's all bone, her cheeks sunken in, hair short and close to her scalp.

And her eyes? They look ancient and so, so tired. And she's clinging to Blair's arm like it's the only thing holding her together.

Maggie's sick. Really sick.

And suddenly everything people have been saying about Blair, how she has so much on her plate, makes sense. It's Maggie. They've been friends forever. And I know she was sick when they were teenagers. It happened before I moved here, but it wasn't a secret. The way the girls talked about it, it was no big deal. As often as Blair and I spent time together, I also spent time with Maggie. It was the three of us, and sometimes four if Maggie brought any of the boyfriends she rotated through. The girl lived big.

I take her hand carefully and tuck it into my elbow. She leans in, and she weighs almost nothing. I catch Blair's eyes, and I see everything there. The devastation, the pain, the resignation.

Maggie tightens her grip and looks at me, a hint of the girl she used to be in her eyes. "Ransom. Fancy meeting you here. I thought you would have headed back to your life by now. Aren't you some sort of big shot? Aren't things falling apart without you?"

So we're doing this, huh? Just pretending that everything's fine? I want to confront her. To find out what the fuck is going on, but something in her gaze stops me. An almost pleading look. So I put on my most charming smile and play along.

For now.

But no fucking way am I letting her off the hook completely. I want answers. I want to know what's wrong. But for right now, we'll do it her way.

"Yeah, I'm a big fucking deal. But my assistant is really scary, so she's handling things. And my brothers can take care of anything she can't."

"Brothers? Really?" Her lips curve into a smile. "You have to tell me all about them. How many?"

We move forward in the line, and I'm very aware of Blair. Together, we've snugged Maggie between us, buffering her from the crowd. "I have nine brothers," I tell her, tucking her even closer.

"Nine! Holy Jesus, Ransom. How the hell did that happen? I need details, man."

"We all met in a group home. Well, not John. He wasn't there. But his brother Colton was. We formed a family in there."

She stares up at me. "And? You just decided to be a family, got the fuck out of there, and immediately became gajillionaires?"

"Not exactly."

She growls a little. It's tiny and cute. "You are so frustrating! I need details, man! How did you go from a group home to all of this?" She waves her arm up and down in front of me, making me smile despite the worry in the pit of my stomach.

"Things weren't easy back then. The group home was a shithole. The kids in there didn't have anywhere else to go. It was the literal bottom of the barrel. And when there's no hope, shit can spiral. There were fights, drugs, and all kinds of unsavory shit."

"But you didn't get sucked into it?"

"No, I didn't."

"How?"

I look at Blair, seeing the girl I remember. "Because I saw what life could be. And I knew that if I had any hope of finding that again, I would have to build it for myself. No one was going to hand it to me. They'd already written me off."

"I hate that," Maggie says, bringing my attention back to her. "You had a life here. And you blew it up. Stupid."

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