Page 67 of Chasing Shelter (Sparrow Falls #5)

“Well, well, well. What do we have here? I knew there was something more goin’ on than studying.”

At the sound of the voice, Kyler and I jerked apart. He instantly moved me behind him and glared at his friend.

Oren snorted. “Please. Like I’m interested in the little mouse.”

Kyler’s hands fisted, and the already bruised knuckles cracked. “ It’s a good thing you’re not. Because if you lay a finger on her, you know I’d snap your neck like a twig.”

Oren held up his hands, but I saw a flare of anger in his brown depths. “Touchy, touchy. Save it for your fight this weekend.”

That had anger washing through me, hot and fast. “He’s not fighting this weekend. Look at his face. He probably has a concussion.”

Oren sent a glare in my direction. “You’re a real buzzkill, mouse. You know that? He’ll be fine by Saturday.”

I stepped to Kyler’s side, letting my anger burn out any fear.

“If I find out you pressured Kyler into fighting, I’ll have my brother put you on every sheriff’s department watch list imaginable.

I’ll let the air out of your crotch rocket’s tires every day.

And I will find a way to sneak pink hair dye into your shampoo. ”

“She’s got a vengeful streak,” Jericho said, stepping out of the trees. “I like it.”

I wasn’t crazy about either of Kyler’s so-called friends, but Jericho seemed to have a soul, at least.

Oren’s jaw worked back and forth, his gaze flicking to Kyler. “You’d better keep your bitch on a shorter leash and stop telling her our business.”

Kyler moved forward lightning-quick. The only thing saving Oren from a knockout punch was Jericho grabbing his jacket and pulling him back.

“All right, all right,” Jericho said, getting between them. “Let’s just take a breath. Ore, you know Fallon’s a no-go zone for you and anyone else. Kye will break you in two. Kye, no hitting the home team, remember?”

“He earned it,” Kyler growled.

“Maybe. But Oren’s never not gonna be an asshole. So, we just gotta deal.”

“You’re both pricks,” Oren muttered.

The school bell rang in the distance, and it felt a lot like a clock striking midnight. I was about to turn into a pumpkin. Kyler turned, his gaze roaming my face like he was trying to memorize it. “You’d better go. You don’t want to be late. ”

I moved in, not caring that his friends were there. I linked my pinky with his. “You gonna be okay?”

One corner of his mouth quirked up. “Always am, aren’t I?”

“Be careful,” I whispered.

Kyler stared down at me for a long moment. Then he dipped his head and pressed a kiss to my forehead. It was like he was trying to memorize that, too. My insides churned because it felt a hell of a lot like a goodbye.

“Kyler—”

I swung my backpack around and pulled out the extra lunch I’d made, shoving it into his hands.

“Go,” he said quietly. “Not letting you be late because of me.”

So, I went. But I regretted it for the rest of the day.

A ringing sounded from down the hall and the kitchen below as I stared at the ceiling in the dark like it held all the answers to my problems. Two rings later, it cut off.

My bedroom was two doors down from my mom’s, but I could still hear her muffled voice as she answered the phone—not the words but her familiar, sleepy tone. Then I listened to the floorboards creak as she made her way down the hall and the stairs.

It likely meant one thing: a newcomer. And one coming in the middle of the night meant it was bad. An emergency placement.

I tossed off the covers and sat up, sliding my feet into my fluffy unicorn slippers that matched my PJs and padding down the hall. Mom already had the kettle on by the time I made it downstairs.

“Hey, sweetie. Did I wake you?” she asked as she tightened the sash of her flannel robe. It was the one Dad had gotten her a decade ago. She said putting it on felt like getting a hug from him. She’d patched holes and restitched seams, and I had a feeling she’d wear it for the rest of her days.

I shook my head. “Couldn’t sleep. ”

Mom brushed some hair out of my face. “Everything okay?”

No, everything was not okay. But I’d made a promise, and Kyler had given me his trust. I wouldn’t ever break that. “Just a lot going on at school.”

“I’m making some Sleepytime tea. Drink some of that.”

“Okay.” I watched as she expertly removed the kettle before it could make a sound and poured hot water into a teapot before pulling out three mugs. “Who’s coming?” I asked softly.

Mom’s face got that troubled look it often did when we were about to get a bad case. Like when Arden had arrived and couldn’t bear to sleep with the lights off. Or when Trace went to the cemetery to visit his mom on her birthday. “A boy’s coming to stay with us for a while.”

I watched her face for more clues. “What happened?”

She placed a hand-sewn tea cozy over the pot, then rested her hand there. “He was hurt, and he needs a safe place to stay.”

My stomach cramped. How were there so many people in the world who wanted to inflict pain? “Did they get who did it?”

Mom nodded. “Trace said the man’s in lockup.”

“Good.” The force behind the word had my mom raising her brows.

She reached out and cupped my face before tapping the arrow necklace Dad had given me. “Always my little warrior for justice.” A soft knock sounded on the door before she could continue. “That’s probably Trace.”

Mom was already on the move, and I followed behind, wanting to see if I could do anything to help.

But as the front door opened, my whole world dropped away.

It wasn’t the weary look on Trace’s face that did it, or the sad look on his partner, Gabriel’s.

It was the boy whose gaze was cast at the ground. The same one who’d given me everything.

I must’ve made a sound because Kyler’s head jerked up. The second it did, pain filled his expression. His dark brown hair looked black under the dim porch light, mirroring the shadowy circles under his amber eyes .

“Careful,” Trace said quietly. “The stitches will smart for a while.”

Stitches?

My gaze jumped around Kyler’s form, taking in new flashes of information: an arm in a sling, taped gauze peeking out from under scrubs, a bandage across his brow, and the side of his face even more swollen.

“Hi, Kye,” my mom said gently. “I’m Nora Colson. You’re most welcome here. I’ve got a room ready and some tea brewing in the kitchen. Fallon can show you the way. You might know her from school.”

My heart hammered in my ears. A tingling sensation erupted in my fingers, and it felt like the whole world might drop away. Kyler. My Kyler was the one who’d been hurt. The one who needed shelter.

“No,” Kyler rasped. “I don’t think we’ve met.”

It felt like the most brutal blow—worse than waking up in the hospital after the car accident with broken ribs and a concussion.

“Fal?” Mom asked.

“Sorry,” I squeaked. “I can show you.” I scurried like the little mouse Oren always accused me of being, but Kyler wasn’t nearly as quick. Every step he took looked like it cost him, and I couldn’t stop the tears that gathered in my eyes.

Mom spoke to Trace and Gabriel in hushed tones as I led Kyler to the kitchen without saying a word. When we finally reached it and had some privacy, I focused on the tea. I couldn’t look at him. It hurt too much. In every way.

“Tell me,” I croaked.

Kyler didn’t say anything for a long moment. “He caught me packing a bag to leave.” Kyler’s words were rough like sandpaper and full of pain. “Grabbed a knife. Never seen him so mad.” His voice caught. “I think he was going to kill me.”

I had to look at him then. The shock and fear were too much. “Kyler,” I breathed.

His tears came then, running down his face in streaks of agony. “My dad tried to kill me. And my mom didn’t do a damn thing to stop him. She just watched like I was nothing to her. ”

I wanted to touch him, but I didn’t know where. Every place I looked seemed like it would cause him pain. Still, like always, I moved for his pinky and hooked it with mine. “You’re safe now. We’ve got you.”

A new sort of fear and pain slid into his expression like they were wrapped in panic. He gripped my pinky harder. “You can’t tell them we know each other. That I kissed you.”

I frowned, trying to understand.

“They’ll never let me stay here if they know. Your brother pulled strings to get me in here. They wanted to put me in a group home in Roxbury. If they boot me from here, that’s where I’ll go.”

Pain ripped through me. Kyler didn’t deserve that.

He deserved to be somewhere he wouldn’t have to watch his back.

A place he could heal. And he would be. Even if I had to erase the fact that he knew me better than anyone.

Even if I had to hide that I’d fallen in love with him the moment he found me screaming in the woods.

Kyler let go of my pinky, and it felt like someone was ripping my still-beating heart from my chest. But he didn’t look away when he spoke again, saying the words that broke me. “Sparrow,” he croaked, “you were always too good for me anyway. It’s better this way.”