Page 171 of Redeemed

“Mmhmm.” To my relief, Aurora takes another sip of her hot chocolate. “Greg has been busy. I’ve caught him ranting to Theo about Mark a few times. Is everything all right?”

“With the Rooks? Yeah, everything is fine.”

Just like I was, Aurora was given the chance to join the Glass Rooks, but she declined. She wanted her only focus to be ballet, and she has no interest in anything the Rooks are involved in. The only thing I care about is that she’s safe, and since she’s family, the Rooks’ protection extends to her.

But since she’s not a member, I can’t tell her the truth. It goes against the Rooks’ protocols, although it’s one I’d break for the right person. Aurora, though? I want her as far from this shit—and the stress that comes with it—as possible.

“And how’s Mom?” I ask. “I’ve been meaning to call her.”

“She’s good,” Aurora says, and for the first time since we sat down, her smile turns genuine. “She’s started humming again. I forgot she used to do that until I heard her the other day.”

“That’s good. That’s… that’s really good.”

Mom used to hum to herself all the time—while she did chores, while she went on walks, while she showered. She stopped after she realized Dad was cheating on her. He’d already crushed her self confidence down to nothing but dust, and that sucked the rest of the life out of her.

I’ve thought about hunting him down and killing him more than once, but he’s not worth it. My energy is better spent elsewhere.

“I know you don’t like Greg, but he’s really good for her,” Aurora tells me.

“That’s the thing that matters, right?”

“Yeah.” Her smile falters. “We miss you, though.”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

Greg and I don’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things, but I don’t consider him to be a bad person. Honestly, I can’t pinpoint what exactly it is about him that I dislike, but I always trust my gut. It’s rarely wrong.

“Is Xan doing okay?”

“Yeah. Really well, honestly, other than he misses Phil and Rachel. He says hi, by the way.”

“Tell him I said hi, too. And… maybe you two could stop by the house sometime? Maybe for dinner? I think it’d make Mom really happy.”

For however much I hate being in Greg’s mansion, I nod. “We’ll make the time soon. I’ll definitely be there for Thanksgiving.”

Xander has plans to go back to our hometown to spend it with his family. He always does. I want to go with him, or for him to stay, but he needs time with his family, and Rora and Mom need me.

Maybe one day, we can spend holidays together.

Shit. What the hell are we going to do with Haven?

Colton has skipped out on holiday gatherings with his family since he turned eighteen. Normally he takes some kind of trip, but with us taking care of Haven, I don’t think he has any plans.

I’ll have to ask him.

Aurora and I talk for the next hour, and I’m relieved when she finishes off her hot chocolate. An actual, solid breakfast would be better, but it’s good to see her not avoiding sugar.

When we part ways, I wait until Rora gets in her car and drives off before getting on my bike. I take the long way home, wanting a few extra minutes of riding. Xander and I haven’t gotten out together in way too long, and I miss losing ourselves in the thrill of zipping down a highway, surrounded by nothing but the blur of trees.

When I step inside the house, Xander and Colton are in the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast. Haven must be watching a class because I don’t see her downstairs.

“Hey, Colt, what are your plans for Thanksgiving?” I ask.

He shrugs. “Same as usual. I’ll just hang around here and work on random shit.”

“What about Haven?”

That gets Xander to look up, and his and Colton’s expressions tell me they forgot about her, too.

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