Page 16 of The Hunger
Megan laughed.
“Yeah, I’m real deep. I get mad and want to beat on people. What’s there to figure out?”
“Your unpredictability makes you deep, Megan.”
“Okay. Sure. Whatever. Get to the pants.”
I laughed.
“I went home with Mom and spent the night to escape Adira. It wasn’t a planned thing, so I only have my dress and the t-shirt that my dad loaned me to sleep in.”
“Ah. Gotcha. You’re interested in getting into my pants to avoid Adira.”
“You make me question our friendship when you talk like that.”
“She’s been talking in innuendos since we left your parents,” Oanen said in the background.
“It’s addicting. I can see why your mom likes it,” Megan said, humor lacing her words.
“I’m hanging up on you now. Have my pants ready. Socks, too.”
She was laughing as I hung up on her. My answering smile faded as I passed through town. How long would I be able to run from my problems? Adira might not be able to track me, but she knew there weren’t many places for me to go. And now that I was avoiding Fenris—my chest gave a painful squeeze—my hiding places were even smaller. Mom’s and Megan’s. Thankfully, Adira was wary, if not afraid, of both of them. Unfortunately, Fenris wasn’t. Was I making a mistake going to Megan’s? Her driveway came into view before I could change my mind.
The sight of Megan throwing dirty snowballs at her house had me slowing. She turned at the sound of my car driving over the frozen but cleared and newly graveled driveway.
“Can you believe this crap?” she asked loudly enough that I could hear her.
I stopped the car and rolled down the window.
“What crap?”
“My house. Look at what he did!”
I looked at the building. The paint still looked good. The front porch was shoveled. Elbner had even made a path from the driveway to the front door.
“I think I’m missing something,” I said.
“He made it welcoming, Eliana. Why would he do that? He was a disagreeable little man. I thought we had an understanding. A commonality. I don’t want people to show up here, thinking I’m some kind of friendly fury.” She opened the passenger door and got in. “Here are your pants.”
She pulled the black leggings from her cleavage with a grin.
“Kept them warm for you. Figured your legs might be cold.”
I wrinkled my nose at her but took the leggings and shimmied into them before pulling around to the back of the house.
“I don’t think you really need to worry about too many people showing up,” I said as I parked. “The Council is trying to get rid of you, not welcome you. And you didn’t exactly make many friends while you were here.”
“You make a valid point. If people start showing up, though, I’m repainting the house.”
I followed her inside, grateful for the well-shoveled path Elbner had maintained. Heat and the sweet smell of pancakes engulfed me.
“Morning,” Oanen said from his place at the stove.
The comforting familiarity of his face wrapped me in a sense of homecoming. I stopped in the middle of the kitchen and stared at him as I struggled with what I felt. I’d lived with the Quills for years and, before that, with my dad, and had never noticed what was missing. A sense of belonging. A real sense of family. Of people who would do anything for me. While I knew Mom was trying to do her best, I still didn’t trust her to have my back like Megan and Oanen would.
“Hey, you okay?” Megan asked, touching my arm.
I nodded, glancing at her.
