Page 33 of Silent Oaths
“Youidiot.Youforgot, didn’t you?”
Maxwellfrowns. “Forgotwhat?”
“Theanniversary of his mother’s death is coming up.”
Hisexpression falters, and for once, he looks genuinely guilty. “Shit,” he mutters, sitting up fully. “I—fuck.”
“That’swhatIthought.You’rea piece of shit,Maxwell.”
Hewinces, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, okay, maybe.I’llfix it.I’ll?—”
“Saveit,”Icut him off. “Justdon’t make it worse.”
Maxwellsighs. “Gotit.”
Iwatch him for a moment longer, waiting to see if he’s going to say anything else.Hedoesn’t.Hejust stares down at his hands, looking like he’s mulling over whatIsaid.
“Ineed to talk to you about something else.”
Maxraises an eyebrow, scooting to the edge of the bed. “Oh, great.Morebad news?”
Iignore his sarcasm. “Lastnight,IoverheardCallowayandGraytalking.There’sa family asking to adopt me.”
Maxblinks. “What?Really?”
Inod, crossing my arms. “Theydidn’t go into detail, butItoldCallowaywe’re a package deal.”
Maxsnorts. “Ofcourse you did.”
“I’mserious,Max,”Isnap. “Ifthey try to split us up?—”
“Theywon’t,”Maxinterrupts, standing up and stretching. “Youwouldn’t let them, and neither wouldI.”
“Weneed to findJulianand tell him,”Isay.
Maxdoesn’t argue, which is a small miracle.Instead, he grabs his vest from the back of his chair and tosses it on. “Let’sgo.”
* * *
Thebreakfast hallis loud and chaotic as usual.
Everyoneis crowded around the long tables, shoving food into their mouths and shouting over each other like it’s some kind of contest.
Julianis easy to spot.He’ssitting at the far end of the room, away from the noise, picking at a plate of scrambled eggs.Hisposture is hunched, his hair falling into his face as he pushes the food around with his fork.
“See?”Maxsays, nudging me as we weave through the tables. “He’salready in a mood.”
Ishoot him a look that shuts him up, and we make our way over toJulian.Hedoesn’t look up, just mumbles, “What?”
Isit down across from him,Maxsliding in next to me. “Weneed to talk.”
Julianfinally glances up, his dark eyes jumping between me andMax, and sets down his fork. “What’swrong?”
“There’sa family asking to adopt me.”
Julianblinks, his expression blank for a moment. “What?Whyyou?”
Ishrug, trying to mask the unease crawling under my skin. “I’mwondering that myself.”
