Page 52 of Bones
“He’s just worried,” he said, leaning back against the wall, one leg raised and pressed against the wall behind him. “He wants to make sure you’re alright.” He paused. “We all do.”
You didn’t seem to care about that when you fucking dragged me here,is what I wanted to say, but didn’t.
He sighed. “I know this is fucked up. I’m sorry we dragged you here.”
He hesitated and I couldn’t resist glancing at him, unnerved that he said almost exactly what had been on my mind. He stared at me, brown eyes almost golden in the beam of sunlight he stood in.
“I wish things were different—reallydifferent—but they’re not. Not yet.”
I looked away. I didn’t know what that meant, and I wasn’t going to ask. He was quiet for a while and I started to hope that maybe he’d stay that way.
“Lana betrayed all of us, and we’re all dealin’ with it in our own way,” he said, crushing my hopes for silence. “Mac and me, we’ve tried real hard to make this crew a safe space, but we’re just a few people in hundreds and there’s only so much we can do.” He took a deep breath. “What happened to you yesterday was awful, and I don’t blame you for not trusting us. But…and I’m real sorry if I’m bein’ a pain in the ass,butI’m just gonna keep reminding you that you are a part of this crew and that means something to all of us.”
Gods, I wished he’d stop talking. I continued to ignore him, wiping down the counter for the third time in a row just to have something to do with my hands.
“I hope you know?—”
The door opened and I could have cried from relief to see a pale-faced man stumble in.
Trey quieted and I busied myself with healing the man's injuries. After he left, Trey tried to continue talking to me between patients, but around the noon hour he seemed to accept that I wasn’t going to respond and fell silent.
Thank the gods the day was busy with a near endless stream of sick and injured people. It seemed like the people of the Vault were warming up to my presence. Most of them still watched me with suspicion, but they still came. More than half of the people made comments about my face, but they were surprisingly kind. They seemed to know what happened, so I guessed that meant Madame had put up a notice.
The woman with baby Jet came back and introduced herself as Leda. I checked Jet over, but I slowly realized she seemed more concerned aboutme.
“Everythin’ looks good,” I said, but when I glanced up she held out a small wrapped parcel.
“I made a strawberry cake and brought you some.” Leda smiled.
“O-oh,” I stammered. “You didn’t have to do that.”
When I took the parcel from her, she gripped my hand for a moment. "I saw the notice." She pitched her voice low. "I just…well, I just wanted you to know there are good people here and we're so grateful for you." Her eyes glittered with tears. "I'm sorry for what happened."
I didn’t know what to say, but she didn’t seem to mind. Leda squeezed my hand once more before letting go and scooped up Jet who had started to fuss.
“Time for his nap.” She smiled at the little boy. “Thanks again, Bones.”
I stood at the exam table staring at the door after she left, feeling bewildered.
“Leda’s one of the good ones,” Trey spoke up from where he stood near the door. He smiled when I looked at him.
The door opened and Clarity stepped inside. I hadn’t seen her since the day I’d woken up in her room at the brothel. She had a fresh ring of bruises around her neck, but she smiled. I waited on edge for her to react to my face, but she didn’t say anything.
“Hi, Bones,” she said like we were old friends, then smiled at Trey. “Hey, Trey.”
“Hey, sis.”
I looked between them in surprise. “You’re a Mason?”
“No,” she replied. “We had different dads, and mine wanted me to take his name, so I’m a Reed.”
“The only thing our dads had in common besides likin’ our mom was that they were both assholes,” Trey said.
I didn’t care. I really didn’t. “Were?” I heard myself ask.
“Mine died in a bar fight,” Clarity explained with zero remorse.
“Mine died in an animal attack outside the hold,” Trey added.
