Page 13 of You Were Warned: Part One

As much as I love talking to my dad, I hate when he says stuff like this. How worried was he after what happened to me? I was exiled, and how hard did he fight for me? I push those thoughts down since I know he is stuck in that life; besides, he still has Whit to protect, and my brother is too soft.

“You don’t need to worry about me. It would be better directed at those around me.”

He laughs under his breath. I wander back to the kitchen, satisfied Cinnamon is safe for today.

“How is everything there?” I ask.

He sighs. “It’s Whit’s birthday next week, so your mother is, well . . .”

“A bitch,” I reply.

“I wouldn’t say that exactly.”

“I would,” I say, taking my seat by the window again, hoping the Jester doesn’t choose this moment to walk past and see me sitting there.

“He asked about you—Whit, that is.”

“What did you say?”

“That you’re doing well.”

I snort. “That’s it?”

“What would you have liked me to tell him?”

“That I’m dead.”

“Lavina,” he snaps.

“Fine—missing, presumed dead.”

“You’re not funny,” he says, but I wasn’t trying to be. It would be easier on my brother if he thought that since I’ll never go back. “He misses you.”

“Don’t,” I warn. The only people who made me try in that life were my father and brother. My older sister is a clone of my mother, and I can’t stand either of them.

“I worry about him.”

“So do I.”

Dad doesn’t say anything straight away, I hear him stop, and then the sound of people chattering in the background.

“There’s nothing I can do while he’s still there. If he wants to turn into one of them, there is nothing I can do to stop it,” I finally say.

“Just promise me if he needs you, he will be able to come to you,” Dad replies.

“I promise, but Mom would never allow it.”

“I know that, but that never stopped you.”

I can imagine his grin as he says those words. There must be more going on than he is willing to tell me, and I can’t hold back my sigh.

“He’s smart. If he wants to find me, he will, but don’t give him my number. Odessa will ruin any relationship he tries to have with me, so it’s best there is none.”

Dad is quiet for a minute. “Is this the part of the conversation we talk about something else?”

“Please.”

“Estelle is pregnant again.”