Page 68 of Scarred Sins
Silence falls around us, and I’m trying my best not to push her into speaking. I was as moody as she is in my teen years, and I know that pushing her will only make her more closed off. There’s not a single scenario where me pushing her to speak would end with her opening up.
“On another note,’’ she turns to look at me, and the uncertainty leaves her features entirely, like she just flipped a switch. “Does Blair know that you stalked her?”
“Yes.’’
Aria frowns. “And she’s still around? What an odd girl.’’
I can’t help a snort that falls from my lips. “Don’t let her hear that. She might change her mind and leave.’’
“As if,’’ she scoffs. “I doubt you’d ever let her leave.’’
A sly smirk tugs on the corner of my lips. “You almost sound like an expert, hm?”
“No, I just know you. When you want something, you’re like a dog with a bone. Unless someone quite literally kills you, there’s no chance you’re ever letting her go. I’m just curious, why? What makes her that special?”
“Does she need to be special?”
“Under normal circumstances, no. But this is anything but normal, so I’m assuming there’s something that makes her special.’’
Aria’s not a child, despite her childish behavior. However, telling her all the details of this isn’t something I can do without consulting our parents. Besides, unless Blair tells her what happened to her, it’s not my place. But the curiosity in Aria’s eyes makes it difficult not to reveal at least something.
“How much do you know about Aunt Jane?”
Aria’s brows narrow. “Just that her boyfriend killed her and that her daughter’s been missing, presumed dead. Why?”
“There’s so much more to the story,’’ I pause, internally debating how much to reveal. Aria’s bound to find out eventually, and given how big her role may end up being, it’s better to be revealed sooner rather than later.
Aria is an excellent shooter. She takes up a few jobs here and there, nothing drastic so it doesn’t interfere with her schoolwork, social life, and other activities a normal teenager should indulge in. But if I need someone to shoot a person from a mile away, without missing, it’s Aria. She’s damn talented, and it’s fucking scary.
“Aunt Jane was involved with two politicians. Her boyfriend, Nelson Adams, and his close colleague, Paul Simmons.’’
Aria’s frown deepens, then a look of realization washes over her. Her mouth opens and closes a few times before she snaps out of it. “Wait, you mean the current candidate for the mayor of New York and the man running for president next year?”
I nod.
“Holy shit,’’ she breathes out. “Do you think one of them did it?”
“Adams did it; there’s proof, but it’s not enough.’’
She nods. “How does any of that correlate to Blair, though?”
“Those two… they hurt her. That’s my connection to her.’’
“Let me guess, you’re helping her get revenge?”
My brows shoot up to my hairline. “Yes. How did you figure it out so quickly?”
She snorts. “It’s soclichéit’s funny,’’ she laughs. “I’m assuming you’re not willing to share any more information on how they hurt Blair, which is fair, but if it’s as bad as I think it is, you realize that she might never recover from it, right?”
“She’ll… never get back time and things she lost to them, that’s for sure. I wish I could take all the pain away and make it all disappear, but I can’t. All I can do is give her the strength to push forward and to live her life without being chained to the monsters of her past.’’
“Ah, so you’re being patient with her. Smart move.’’
I blink. “Are you praising me?”
“No,’’ she scoffs. “I’m just saying that you’re not as stupid as you look.’’
I’m momentarily baffled. Only Aria can praise, compliment, and insult me in one breath without sounding like she planned on doing it. Teenagers these days are scary as fuck, especially this one, with unlimited access to guns and knives.
