Page 54 of Drown My Sorrow

I go cold inside. “Shale says you missed the point?”

“He thinks there’s more to you than this idyllic life, and I should find out.”

“So, you thought you’d come in here and ask me point blank after offending me twice today?”

“How am I going to know if I don’t ask? I don’t like to beat around the bush. I want to hear it from you. Tell me how this happened.”

He waves a hand at my leg.

The water roars like thunder in my ears. I shake my head, trying to dislodge the sound, but it gets louder and louder, seeping into my vision and across my skin.

Kelly is staring at me in expectation. He’s got the same colouring as my dad. I remember the way Dad threw me out of the second-story window into a tree.

The neighbours pulled me to safety, but before he could get my sister out, it was just gone.

“Hey, bitch!”

I blink and blink again.

“Ah, good, you’re back with me. Good girl.”

“Stop calling me that.”

Nat snickers and leans in. “Get up, we’re going to have a girls only minute.”

I get up and let her drag me away. Kelly is watching me from the other side of the room. His eyes are shadowed, and I can’t tell what he’s thinking, but, no doubt, he’s wondering why the universe cursed him.

Nat pushes me onto my bed. I sit on the edge while she paces.

“What was it?”

“The flood.”

She winces. “What brought it up?”

“He asked about my leg.”

Nat exhales through her nose, clenching her hands into fists. “I’m not sure about these three, Aspyn. There is something so off about the way they are behaving.”

I shrug. “It’s not every day you find your scent match. It must be a shock to them.”

“And that’s another thing. Why are they here? Why didn’t they leave with the others?”

I shrug. “Maybe they enjoy it here. Maybe they need to stay for… reasons.”

Nat hisses. “The Daane are up to something.”

I study her in silence.

She looks at me and smiles wickedly.

“You just want to be in on the fun!” I accuse.

“Guilty.”

We go back out and sit at the dining table and eat. Pack Daane keeps the conversation going with Nat. The Raines pack eats with a sullen quietness that makes my skin itch. Nat is right. There is something up with all six of them. What is going on?

In the end, getting Shale to escort me and Nat home is a relief.

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