Page 12 of Embracing Sky
He took me to what was obviously their guest bedroom. It had a dresser and a full-sized bed, already made with fresh bedding, and a 32-inch TV mounted on the wall opposite the bed. The remote sat on the bedside table, beside the lamp.
“This is yours,” Fletcher said, “For as long as you stay with us. Adam and I have already talked, and we’ve agreed that this is a safe space for you. We won’t enter without permission, and we’ll change the doorknob tomorrow so that you can lock it from the inside, for privacy, okay? So you feel safer.”
I nodded slowly, surprised that they’d thought that far ahead. I hadn’t. It was the kind of gesture that made my chest tighten with emotion.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
“Goodnight, Sky. If you need anything, we’ll be just down the hall.” Fletcher rubbed my elbow, then turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
I stood there for a moment, soaking it all in. I approached the window and latched the lock, then drew the blinds down, just in case.
Because maybe, deep down, a part of me feared the monster still out there, still experimenting on broken twins and doing the devil’s work. Scared that he would come back for me…
After a full night’srest in a warm bed—minus the nightmares, thank god—I was feeling better. Anxious about the long road ahead, but better.
After breakfast, Adam announced he was taking me over to Jem Murphy’s place so that we could collect my belongings and officially move me in.
My stomach jolted. Damn, that was fast.
I fidgeted in my seat on the ride over, nervous to face my friend. The other Omega had been so supportive of me, so kind and caring, and not only did Inotfollow his rules, but I stole from him.
Would he be mad at me? Glad I was leaving his life for good? The thoughts made little anxieties scatter through my soul like birds, flying from the treetops after a gunshot.
Adam parked in the drive and gestured for me to go get my stuff. “I’ll wait here,” he assured me.Great.I swallowed my fear and went up to the front door, but before I had the chance to knock, it swung open, startling me.
“Sky!” Jem exclaimed, his dark eyes bright and filled with relief. He threw his arms around me and wrapped me in a fierce hug, right there in the doorway. I allowed the big Omega to fold me into his embrace, breathing in his familiar scent.
“I was so worried about you,” he murmured, holding on for a few moments longer than usual before letting me go. “Come in, come in. Adam already told me what’s going on, so I went ahead and packed up your things for you.”
My things… My stomach knotted and sunk like an anchor. Nerves nipped at my skin. My notebooks. Did Jem read them? Those were my private thoughts and feelings, my stories.
He must’ve sensed my sudden shift in emotion, because he raised a hand. “Hey, don’t worry. I didn’t peek in your journals, you have my word. Scout’s honor.”
I flushed, flustered. “Thanks…”
“You’ll come and visit, right?” Jem asked.
“Yeah, of course,” I told him. “And you can always text or call, and I’ll be working at Bixby’s again soon. Stop in and get lunch sometime.”
“Aww, Sky. Come here, honey.” He wrapped me in another hug, this one even warmer than the last, and I hated the way my eyes pricked with heat.
He helped me haul the few boxes of things out to Adam’s car, and when we were all packed up, he took me by the shoulders and smiled down at me. “Good luck. I want you to be happy, wherever that road might lead. Take care of yourself.”
By the time we made it back home, I was emotionally exhausted. I hauled my stuff to my bedroom, box by box, and set them against the far wall.
And as Fletcher had promised, he’d changed the lock on the door.
I closed myself up in my room and began half-heartedly unpacking things. I put up a couple of posters, set up a few knickknacks.
Then I grabbed one of my notebooks and fished out a pen, and laid in bed. I started writing about what happened. About attacking Xan. About the broken bond between me and River, irreplaceable now. About the loss of my babies, babies who were better off dead, in River’s words.
I curled up in bed, tears slipping silent down my cheeks. My mind wandered back to that terrible place, to the very first timeI heard my baby’s cry. A little lamb bleat. That surge of hope and protectiveness, shattered as Dr. Thompson seized the infant from me, took it out of the room and left.
I never heard its cries again.
8
ADAM
