Page 56 of Friend
Chapter Twelve
Roses
Bianca was already waiting by the time I was finished. My clothes were way too big on her—the shirt hit her mid-thigh and the bottom of my shorts hung way below her knees—but it was her expression that threw me off.
“Hi.” She smiled at me, seemingly nothing out of the ordinary had happened at all. “Thanks for this.”
Why was she smiling? It was unnerving.
I touched the back of my neck, looking past her as I breathed. I was going to have to do extra meditation tonight.
“Yeah.” There was no way I could come up with a more eloquent response.
I needed a break—a moment where I didn’t have to think about any of this. That way I could plan and handle everything the right way.
But I also didn’t want to leave her.
Her small form seemed even more fragile, and I was afraid of what she might do once left alone overnight.
Would she even be able to sleep tonight?
I was torn—was this something I should tell her parents, or Dr. Reed? Or was this more private, and I should leave the final decision to Bianca?
Leave it up to her.
“Hey,” I ventured. “Do you want to visit Dr. Reed?” It never felt right calling Dr. Kohler by her old name—but that was what Bianca knew her by, and so that’s what it was.
Bianca’s brow creased as she tilted her head—from the surface, appearing completely confused. “Why?”
“Because…” My words trailed off. She was going to pretend nothing happened.
I would never get an answer. It’d been eight years, and she’d still refused to even scratch the surface of her life before adoption. It wouldn’t matter what I said, or how I acted, she would not talk about this now.
There was only one way. A necromancer wouldhaveto pull it out of Adrian Collins.
“It’s nothing.” I sighed. I’d never felt so helpless. “Do you want to grab a burger?”
I wasn’t even quite sure why I said it—I’d only just blurted out the first thing that came to mind, just to change the subject. But it worked.
“Okay!” She glanced down. “Wearing this?”
It didn’t matter.
“Who cares what other people think?” I walked past her, leading the way to the main staircase. “I’ll just beat them up if they bother you.”
“You can’t beat up everyone.” She fell into step beside me. “You’re going to lose one day.”
One day, maybe. But not to anyone here.
“Finn?” She rushed to keep up with me, and peered up, catching my eye. “What’s wrong?”
One day we wouldn’t be alone anymore.
My heart lightened at the trust in her face, and suddenly, even these hard moments were worth it.
I just had to keep my eye on the bigger picture and believe that, when this was all said and done, everything would work out.
“Nothing,” I answered. “Let’s go.”
