Page 62 of You Were Warned: Part One

“That’s a terrible answer.”

“It’s still technically an answer,” he says, and now I want to punch his smug face. All I’m after is a yes or no.

“I swear to fucking god.”

“Not today,” he repeats, and I hate how those words actually make me feel a little better.

“He has been through enough.”

The Jester nods. “I know.”

That catches me off-guard. Since when did he even care? His entire persona since Jensen arrived has been to make it known that he is a dead man walking.

“You know?”

“Yes,” is all he says.

Something happened while he was gone, something involving Jensen, and he isn’t telling me. A week ago, I wouldn’t have cared enough to keep digging, but today I do.

“You’re an asshole.”

“I missed you too,” he says, and I glare at him.

“Fuck you.”

“Whenever you’re ready.” He laughs softly, and I walk the rest of the way up the stairs. “Vesper.”

I turn with the door handle twisting in my hand. “What now?”

“I really am sorry for not telling you I was leaving.”

My anger loses some of its steam. “You should be.”

“I didn’t know you wanted me to.”

I give him a small smile. “Neither did I.”

The words are out before I can stop them; apparently that’s the theme for the day. We both go quiet, and he looks at me like I hung the stars and the moon just for him.

“Fuck my life.”

He smiles. “I can help with that.”

I shake my head. “Not now.”

“Worth a try. I need to sleep like the dead for a while.”

“I don’t need to know everything you do. In fact I probably don’t want to know most of it, so I don’t need you to check in every five minutes.”

Jester nods. “Got it. Check in every hour. Only tell you the important things, like how tall my tomatoes are today.”

“How about only if you’re going to vanish for days.”

He nods with a grin.

I hate this—I hate feelings. And Rue for being so understanding, the Jester for just being him, and Jensen for having abs. “Just fucking tell me next time.”

“I can do that, my love.”