Page 92 of Resolve
“How did you—” she starts, but cuts herself off when the door swings open to a just-as-shocked Silas.
His dark eyes freeze on mine. “Well, that’s terrifying.”
“Oh my god. Does that work on all our rooms?” Cassandra whispers not-so-quietly.
Raegan enters the room, and I follow. Silas closes the door behind us.
“It does,” I confirm coolly.
“Wowee!” Gabe laughs from the floor around the coffee table since the seats are filled. “But my guess is it’s just for Reggie’s benefit and not ours,” he concludes cheekily.
“Oh. Right.” Cassandra shakes her head, her red curls bouncing with the motion. “Thanks for coming. We think Evie’s finger twitched earlier when a few of us were getting loud in there. Hopefully, she’ll be so mad at missing out on a game that she’ll come running in here,” she says with a chuckle.
“We should be playing on the bed,” Fabian remarks, nonchalant.
“We’re not playing on top of her,” Silas snaps. He’s not usually so short-tempered, but I’m not surprised. He cares a lot about Evie.
“Says the guy who practically sleeps in her bed,” Cassandra counters conspiratorially, and he recoils.
Fabian gently nudges his foot. “Relax. We know you’ve been talking to her a lot and fell asleep once. Evie likes it. I’m sure of it. Don’t let what Sondra says bother you.”
“Zeddy, can you move please? My Reggie needs a place to sit.” Gabriel pats Zedd’s leg on one side of him. He’s sitting behind him on the couch with his head back and eyes closed. But his breathing changed when tensions rose with the conversation.
“It’s okay. I can join you on the floor. It looks like he’s sleeping.” Raegan moves to sit across from him on the floor.
“He’s not,” I calmly snitch, staring Zedd down. He pops one annoyed eye open at me. I smile back.
“I’m fine here, Jack.” Raegan gives me a look over her shoulder. I maintain my smile. “Oh, Cassandra. Would you mind healing his arm? He has some cuts on it. They aren’t bad, they’re just... there’s a lot. Jack.” She motions for me to move closer to her. And them.
I do. Reluctantly.
“Sure.” She stands and moves around everyone as Raegan twists and reaches for me.
I squat by her side. She pulls the sleeve back to reveal the wounds and slips her hand in mine at the same time. It helps settle the instinct to stab Cassandra when she touches me. I grip Raegan’s hand back, needing her to keep me grounded and focused on her as Cassandra assesses the injuries.
She places her palms over my arm and closes her eyes. Warmth spreads from her touch through my skin, encouraging it to heal and put itself back together. It tingles and heats, and then her hands are gone.
“There.”
Raegan smiles. “Thank you.”
Gabe smacks his hands together. “Now that that’s done. Let’s play!”
It’s hours later when my cell phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and read the text on it. It’s Briar. And Mallory.
She wants to see Raegan.
It’s not the first time she’s asked. She wasn’t ready then. She was still scared of the idea of seeing her. Initially, it was the fear of Raegan herself and her gift. Then it turned to a mixture of fear and shame of what Raegan might think of her for what she’d been forced to do because of her.
But now, she might be ready.
The time shows it’s just after seven in the evening.
Tossing my latest slice of pizza to the cardboard box, I stand.
Raegan smacks her hand down on the pile and drags it in front of her. “Yes! I got it!”
The others laugh or playfully boo her victory.
