Page 67 of Clouded by Envy

Wes hadn’t spoken to her, but she had heard the engine of his work truck or car when he would leave to go somewhere.

Rolling to her back on the floor, Bray stared up at her and Brenik’s words on the ceiling. Each day she had carved a new word into the wood:selfish,lost,hate,missed,broken,insanity,misunderstood,heart,longing, andHook.

The sound of the back gate opening and closing radiated into the tree, but Bray didn’t move. Even when the branches groaned and the vibrations could be felt through her wooden cell, she stayed perfectly still.

Bray turned to her side away from the hole. She didn’t want to see Wes.

Something poked her back, and she turned around to find a large folded piece of paper. She looked toward the outside and didn’t see anyone there.

She wanted to throw the paper back out of the hole, but she was curious. Anxiously, she unfolded the note to messy handwriting written in black ink.

Bray,

I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it. Please meet me outside because I’ll piss my pants if I have to wait up here in the tree for another second.

Wes

Bray didn’t rush to meet him outside—she made him wait a couple of minutes. Slowly, she walked to the opening, and peered out to see Wes tightly gripping the branch above.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Bray asked, “How long would you have waited?”

“An eternity,” he said softly, eyes locked on hers.

“We both know that’s a lie.”

Trembling, Wes edged closer to where she was. “I was remembering when I carried you into the dollar store and you said, ‘this isn’tPretty Woman.’ Since this is your apartment in a way, I wanted to climb up like the guy scales the stairs in the end.”

She felt the words hit her heart, but then she remembered the rest of the movie. “I’m not a prostitute, either.”

“I know, Bray,” he whispered, looking exhausted. “And I know you’re not a pet or completely human, but you’re special, and I’m sorry. I’m not going to say I won’t say anything stupid ever again, because we both know I probably will. My mouth can get out of control. Whatever harsh things may come out when we argue, we both know those words aren’t true.”

“I forgive you.” Bray wasn’t good at holding grudges, and she didn’t want to. Especially after all they had lost.

“Now, will you please come down and go inside?” His body wavered, and he looked as if he might throw up.

“You want me to go inside the house?”

“Please.”

In her own way, she answered Wes by flying past him and waiting for him at the door. She watched as he climbed unsteadily down the tree and then headed for the house. He opened the door, and she flew straight to the couch and shifted forms.

“I’m so sorry, Wes,” she finally said gently. There wasn’t much else she could say.

Wes let out a long sigh. “I had time to think, time to hate, time to think some more. It was everyone’s fault, and it was no one’s fault. But you lost a brother, too. Not just me.”

She actually felt like she had lost two brothers, and if she said that out loud, it would cause her to break down. And she might never stop. “What happened afterward?”

Wes leaned back and propped his head on the back of the couch, rubbing his tired eyes. “I went to the hospital, and it was a big mess. I had to do a whole lot of lying mixed with some truth, and say this guy posed as a family member and kidnapped Luca. The police went to the cabin and since his body is now dirt, which I couldn’t say, they are still after him. He’s also wanted for Rana Alvi’s kidnapping.

“I had to tell Kyle not to bring up your name because you were out of town for a few weeks, and Luca wouldn’t want you to be a part of this mess. I shouldn’t have asked that of him, but he seemed to understand, so he just told the police how this strange guy came to the school twice.”

Bray didn’t know what to think or feel. She had spent so much time in the tree crying because she wanted both boys back—her little brother and her little beast. She knew she could only get one back.

There were tears beading up on Wes’s black lower lashes. She reached over and wiped them away. “Do you want to bring him back?” she asked quietly.

Wes’s body stilled. “I know what you’re getting at, and I’m not going to force you into that. It’s also way too soon to think about babies. You have your whole life ahead of you. Somehow, we’ll tell people you have amnesia, get you a social security card, and then you can go to school or work or whatever. Not just sit in the house or a tree for the rest of your life.”

“I can still do all that, but I want to bring him back.” Bray couldn’t imagine a world without Luca in it.

---