Page 158 of Saint Céline
Anya gave a short laugh that held no humour. “None of us believe that, Mr I-broke-into-your-ex’s-apartment.”
“Ah, so she did tell you about that,” Vincent answered with a smirk.
I touched Anya’s arm before she could keep going.
“I made terms with him.”
“Terms don’t make a prison any less of a prison.” Anya’s eyes flashed.
“No,” I said. “But they make it harder to pretend I walked into it blind.”
I had walked into rooms before and pretended not to see the exits. I had stood on a terrace with Katherine and acted surprised when the wind turned dangerous. I had held her hand over the ledge and told myself the choice had not already formed inside me. I had stopped walking into anything blind a long time ago.
Sophia reached for my free hand and turned it over gently. The palm was still red and beginning to swell from the slap.
“You hit him,” she said.
“Yes.”
“Good,” Anya said.
I smiled a little.
Sophia ran her thumb lightly over the sore spot. “Does it hurt?”
“A little.”
“Good,” Anya repeated. “Means you made some solid contact.”
Vincent made a soft sound in his throat.
I looked at him. “Don’t laugh.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
“You absolutely would.”
The easy back-and-forth made Sophia’s eyes sharpen. She noticed almost everything, but not quite everything. If she had, she would not still be standing here trying to protect me. She would know there were things protection could not reach. She would know Katherine had begged me not to let go. She would know I had looked at my best friend’s face and chosen the version of my life that would survive over the hand I held.
Sophia released my hand. “We are packing with you.”
“I know.”
“And we are coming with you to see where you will be staying.”
Vincent’s gaze shifted. “That is not necessary.”
Anya smiled at him with every tooth showing.
“Unfortunately, I was not asking you.”
Sophia did not smile. “We are checking the room. We are checking the lock. We are writing down the address, the floor, the building security, and the nearest exit.”
Vincent looked almost amused.
“That sounds reasonable.”
“I have not finished yet,” Sophia said.
