Page 21 of Light in Your Eyes
Yeah.Because it's fucking dangerous there, and you're not letting me there because you don't want me to die. You're leaving me here with no choice other than to accept that you could die anytime.
"Why did you even hire her?" I ask, not even trying to hide my irritation.
"Because you need her," Jaxon says.
Silence falls.
"What the hell does that mean?" I holler.
Jaxon sighs. "Listen, you're always angry," he pauses, as though he needs a few seconds to compose himself. "I know that you don't think you need a caregiver, but I do think that you need one."
Before I can interrupt him, he continues, "It's not that I think you are incapable, but I need someone to look after you while I'm gone." His voice holds vulnerability, and for a second, I think that my brother is going to break.
I hate this. I fucking hate a situation in which I can't do anything to make it better.
"I have looked through some care agencies," Jaxon says. "I just want you to have a friend. Layla is around the same age as you, a bit younger, as I remember. She has a family member who is also blind, so she's used to taking care of someone blind who is close to her. I know for a fact that she needs money, and I think she's not the kind of girl that will cost you trouble."
If Jaxon hadn't sound that serious, I would have laughed out loud because of how ridiculous it was.
I just can't imagine my brother, Jaxon Romero, digginginto a care agency and trying to find a girl to take care of me.
"Seriously?" I almost shout in frustration. "A girl?"
Jaxon lets out a small chuckle. "What?" I can imagine him raising an eyebrow. "Would you prefer me to hire a dude to take care of you?" His sense of humor might kill me someday. "Are you still mad that I brought Cole and Levi here with me?"
My nostrils flare. Now, he's reminding me that it wouldn't only be him who could get his head shot there but also my best friends. I don't like people, but strangely, Cole and Levi have no problem hanging around me.
"Cole will be ecstatic to hear that you miss him," he says in amusement, "But Levi...you know him. He will shoot you if you say that you miss him." Jaxon tsks. "He's one cold-hearted man." It's clear from Jaxon's voice that he's trying to muffle his laughter.
"You're enjoying this, huh?" I say sarcastically.
"Come on." I can imagine him grinning smugly. "Let's look at the bright side of this. I just hired her, and you already picked up my call. Judging from my experience, it's one in a million chance."
My blood is boiling. "Rather than waiting for me to pick up your call, you could just drag your ass back here."
Jaxon sighs. I know that I'm being childish again, but I just don't want to hear that my brother died on a mission. He's the only family I still have.
I distinctly hear Levi reminding him to be quick from the other side of the line, and my heart sinks, knowing that he's about to be in danger again.
"I have to go," Jaxon says, already lowering his voicebecause of whatever happening there. "You may have a hard time warming up to her in the beginning, but give her a chance."
I grip the phone in my hand tightly, trying to hold my anger down. I know that I can't escape this. If there's one thing that I will regret later, it's disappointing my brother.
I sense that he will hang up, so I quickly say, "Wait. Before you go, I need you to clarify one more thing."
Jaxon doesn't say anything. All I can hear is the sound of a car door slamming shut and tires screeching, but I know that he's listening.
"That girl." I take a deep breath. "She's really not one of us?"
"She wasn't a part of Black Wings," Jaxon says in a serious tone. "I didn't choose her among our members, but she is a part of us now. It's the only thing that will make her safe."
I curse silently.
Had I known that earlier, I wouldn't have thought that she was a poser or a Black Wings member who stupidly tried to upgrade her status by telling some fucked up lies.
"You have to accept her," Jaxon says. "You can't tell me that you're fine, Kellan. Physically, yes. But you're always angry." He sounds like he's speaking through gritted teeth, leaving me no room to argue. "I'm not dicing with death here just to hear that you're fucking destroying yourself over there. I'm not fucking coming back from Italy anytime soon, no matter what you do to make me. I hired Layla, so I will contact her if I need to. You don't want to pick up my call anyway. I had to figure out a way to be assured that my brother wasn't going insane." With that said in fullauthority, Jaxon ends the call.
I roar at the ceiling, throwing my phone somewhere across the room with such fury that my body is shaking all over. My breathing is hard and fast. My chest is heaving up and down.
