Page 104 of The Fire We Crave

“It’s okay. This isn’t really a social, get-to-know-you visit anyhow.”

The words hit me like a punch to the stomach, but I work to keep the smile on my face. I’m sure Melody can tell it’s fake.

“You okay, Quinn?” Smoke asks, appearing in the hallway while wiping his hand on a dish towel. Then, he stops…mouth open. He recognizes her as quickly as I did. “Holy fuck. Mel?”

Mel doesn’t immediately realize it’s Smoke, but I’m grateful he took a moment while I went downstairs to zip up his jeans and add a T-shirt. The lines she used to get across the bridge of her nose when she was confused appear. And then, I see it. The moment she recognizes exactly who she’s standing in front of.

Then, she looks at me. And she laughs for the very first time. “Did I throw the two of you together? Because that would be really weird. You’re how many years older than her?”

Discomfort settles in my bones. There’s a snark and derision in her tone. And she’s looking at the two of us with disgust. Like what we have is somehow wrong and dirty.

“Eight years,” I say quietly. “And no. This is new.”

Smoke puts his arm over my shoulder and tugs me to his side, as if he senses my sudden discomfort. “It’s good to see you,Mel. Real fucking good. But don’t come into Quinn’s house and start shitting on us when you’ve got no clue about us.”

I think of all the preparation and reading I’ve done. And everything I’ve thought since I first saw Melody is true.

Patience.

But Smoke’s defense of me is…special. I have an ally. A man on my side. And it doesn’t even matter that he was Mel’s first, because he’s always been destined to be mine. And without being asked, he showed me where his heart lies.

“I’m sorry,” she says. “That was uncalled for. I’m…nervous.”

“Come and sit down,” I say, gesturing to the living room.

Mel steps into the living room ahead of us and takes a seat on the armchair. The one she always used to sit in and curl her feet up beneath her to watch television.

“Where have you been, Mel?” I ask.

She shakes her head. “I’m not here to talk about that. I need your help.”

I look to Smoke, briefly. I don’t see a hint of attachment or affection in Smoke’s eyes. There isn’t even any relief. From the wrinkle of his brow and the slight frown, I’d guess he’s as perplexed as I am.

I sit on the sofa, and Smoke sits down next to me. The warmth of his leg next to mine is a reassuring anchor.

“I don’t know what the fuck happened to you, Mel. But this is a lot,” Smoke says. “You disappear for fourteen years, then just walk back in, wanting help, and then what? You just leave again with no explanation? Who the fuck does that? Tell Quinn what happened. She’s needs closure too.”

“It’s okay.” I put my palm on his chest, even though I know nothing about this is okay. “Just a simple explanation of what happened to you will suffice.”

Mel sighs. “Life happened. Hated this small town. Hated sharing this tiny apartment. There’s a whole fucking world outside that window, Quinn. You should go see it sometime.”

And just like that, everything I thought I knew about her disappearance unravels.

32

SMOKE

“You left?” Quinn says.

The two words are spoken in a wash of incredulity and hurt. Quinn’s pain hits my skin as certainly as the fire did on that mountain.

Melody shrugs. “I did.”

“You fucking bitch,” I say, unmatched fury pulsing through my veins.

Melody looks up at me and blanches. “You know I was bored, Ronan. You were meant to be my walk on the wild side, but all you ever did was talk about the club all the fucking time.”

Her use of my name feels wrong. “Not sure how you go from being a miserable eighteen-year-old to thinking, fuck it, I’ll just abandon my family and leave them thinking the worst for their entire lifetime.”

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