Page 67 of A Fool's Game

“Yes, he did,” I say firmly.

“Put a sword in the back of his own head?” Taylor argues, but I ignore him, choosing to keep my attention forward, on where Ainsley is still pondering the scene.

“There’s no bad cards, right?” he asks finally, not looking up.

I smile to myself, proud of him for remembering what Marisol told him at his reading. “That’s right.”

“Okay, so this is a good card then.”

I bite my lip rather than correct him. If no card can be inherently bad, it stands to reason that no card can be inherently good.

“It’s clearly death,” he starts thoughtfully. “But maybe for rebirth?”

He looks up finally, suddenly, and catches me by surprise with his steely gaze. I give a little nod of encouragement, and he nods back, looking back down at the card.

“There’s a black sky above him, but really nice looking weather on the horizon. You know what’s interesting?” He glances back up and I raise my eyebrows, curious to hear anything he has to say about the card or life in general. “He’s all tucked up with a blanket. Like he’s sleeping in bed. And yet, he’s out in the dirt. He’s outside his house, but he still wants to be comfortable.” He looks up at me then, and I can see the depth in his eyes as he processes. “I’d say it was a kind murderer, someone who loved and cared for the guy. But you said he did it to himself. Is it cheating to use what you said?”

I shake my head, biting back something that feels like a smile, but it might actually be tears.

“You know what it makes me think of?” Ainsley sits back in his chair, taking the card with him, staring down at it as he talks, rather than over at me or Taylor. “When I got arrested.”

The silence falls heavy around us. I know even Taylor can feel the weight of the moment, because for once he keeps his jokes to himself.

“It felt like the end of the world. I was so embarrassed. And even though my dad insisted they were bunk charges and the whole thing never should have even made it to court, I know he was ashamed of me for getting myself into that situation. I probably wouldn’t have stabbed ten swords into myself over it, but I did feel like I needed to punish myself somehow. I almost moved back to New York. He wanted me to. He never said it, but I could tell that he thought this all happened because I left. I transferred to UDub and got arrested for shoplifting soon after. Even though I spent years traveling, and he had no choice but to trust me, this was different. I moved away. I chose to leave the city. It was a separation between the two of us.And look how it turned out, Ains.I can hear him saying it, even though he never did.”

I’m aching to comfort him, but I don’t move. Taylor shifts behind me, but he stays silent as well, as we both let Ainsley get wherever he needs to go.

“But that arrest was the reasonI was in that bar on Christmas.” He looks up finally, meeting my eye.

And then, as has happened over and over since we sat down here, his gaze shifts behind me.

“And it’s the reason I needed to do community service.”

Ainsley looks back down at the card in his hands. “I died in the back of that cop car, knowing how much I was going to let my father down. But look at me now. Reborn.”

After a moment, he smiles, huffs out a small laugh, and then looks back up at me. “How’d I do? Am I a tarot reader?”

I nod, returning his soft, sad smile. “You did great.”

He tosses the card toward the coffee table, but it misses, hitting the gray rug.

We all stare at it for a moment, before Ainsley seems to recover. “How about the rest of the tour?”

Chapter 25

Gemma

At the top of the gray stairs is a long hallway lined with doors. Two on one side, three on the other.

“Jeez, you hiding a secret family in this place?” Taylor asks.

Ainsley looks back at him as his hand reaches for the knob on the last door in the hallway. “I’ve been gone a lot, and you never know where Doc’s nose is going to lead him, so I try to keep the doors closed.”

“And somehow, that answer just raises more questions,” Taylor mutters, glancing at all the closed doors as I push past him and follow Ainsley into his room.

He turns on the light and the first contented smile I’ve felt in a while spreads over my face.

This room? This is Ainsley.

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