Page 140 of Outcast
“You didn’t answer my texts.”
My phone had died while I was wallowing in bed with Emory, and then with all the excitement with his dad and the sheriff, I hadn’t thought about the possibility I might be missing calls and texts.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I told you I’d never leave again without talking to you first.”
Axel averted his gaze and shrugged. “I know.”
I set my helmet on my bike seat and headed up to the porch, Loki dogging my heels, tail still wagging as if my brother wasn’t showing me his soft underbelly right now.
“So believe me, then. I broke your trust once. I’m not ever gonna do that again.”
He looked at me with the wounded eyes of the fifteen-year-old I’d left behind so long ago. “You can’t disappear on me. You can’t just go silent, okay?”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.”
I got to the top step and held out my arms.
Axel scoffed. “What the fuck is that?”
“Hug me.”
“No.”
“Fine, I’ll hug you.”
“I don’t need?—”
I threw my arms around his rigid body and squeezed until he sagged into me.
“Ugh, fine,” he mumbled. “If this is what you need to feel better.”
I clapped his back and withdrew. “It is, man. I don’t want you to doubt me. If I give you my word?—”
“I know. It’s my fucked-up issue, not yours. I just… I get a little panicky when people leave. Always have.”
I nodded, understanding all too well the way childhood wounds could haunt you years later. When the old man told me I had to leave, I was that little kid on the grass watching his life burn down all over again.
“Next time, I’ll text you.”
He scuffed his boot against the porch floorboards, a little sheepish. “Holden’s been quiet since you two argued. I think he knows he fucked up. He and Bailey are in the kitchen sorting out dinner.”
I nodded. “All right.”
“Don’t expect much,” he warned. “They’re making a trash skillet.”
I clapped my hands together. “Ooh, yum. Are there hot dog chunks? I love that shit.”
“You’re all weird,” Axel said, following me inside, Loki trotting behind him. “You’re not supposed tolikepoor man’s food. You eat it to survive. We don’t have to live like this anymore.”
“Speak for yourself,” Bailey said as he stirred the slop in the pan. Looked like hash browns with chunks of hot dogs—score!— bell peppers, cheese, and salsa mixed into it. “This is—” He brought two fingers to his lips and flared them open again. “—chef’s kiss perfect.”
Sugar and Taz seemed to agree, sitting by his ankles and watching him with eager anticipation. Loki trotted over to join the chow line. Bailey didn’t disappoint. He dropped a piece of hot dog for each of them. They pounced, scarfing it up.
“You’re gonna spoil them rotten,” Axel said.
“Like you don’t already?”
I pulled out a chair at the table. “Where’s Holden? I think we should talk.”
