Page 27 of Before the Bond
Maureen disappeared, and I could have sworn I heard her laughing.
Stella tapped my shoulder.
“How are you settling in?” she asked, dropping her voice to a register that suggested the question was genuine, not social.
“Genuinely fine,” I said. “Better than I expected.” I thought about Jake in the garden, about the hearth room, about the question I’d asked Caleb and the answer I didn’t get. “It’s a strange place. But it has good parts.”
“So why no visits to town, then?” she asked. “They’re not giving you a hard time, are they?”
Footsteps came from the opposite side. Donovan emerged from another room.
Stella jerked her thumb in his direction. “Is he giving you a hard time?” she asked.
I didn’t answer right away.
Stella rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry, I won’t tattle,” she said. “Donovan’s always been like this, you know. Pretty sure he thinks fun is a venereal disease.”
“I’m not doing anything,” Donovan called out. He made his way toward us.
Stella stiffened, but she didn’t let her smile fade. Donovan kept his eyes to the ground.
“Jake needs constant care,” Donovan added.
Stella’s grin hardened. “Funny. That's what you said the last time I tried to pry you out of here too."
I caught Donovan flinching. It was the first time I’d ever seen it.
Donovan exhaled sharply.
Stella returned her focus to me. "Anyway. If Olivia can't come down, I'll just have to keep turning up. You don't mind, do you, Donovan?"
Donovan, eyes finally met hers. He frowned. "Would it matter if I did?"
Stella crossed the foyer, and was already halfway out the front door. "Not even a little.”
Chapter 6
Olivia
The quiet didn’t last. I should’ve known better.
In this case, Jake’s condition was worsening.
It happened slowly, but obviously.
Pain meds weren’t working anymore. The cheerful energy he always put on in my presence wore thin. His walks became sparser, too. Most of the time, he lay in bed, wincing or turning, or too exhausted to do either.
The fever was the worst of it. Some nights, it just refused to go down. Our sessions stretched from morning to night to keep his fever manageable. I would constantly swap out ice packs and wet cloths because they warmed up as fast as I put them on.
If this kept up, his system was going to burn out.
I needed more information.
Donovan wasn’t letting up anymore.
“Jake will be alright,” Donovan said.
It was my turn to cross my arms. The two of us were in the hallway, once again having the same discussion we always had.
