Page 57 of Hide From Me

“She’s fitting in well.”

“Hm?” I tilt my head toward the guys, trying to figure out who said it. I guess I was so lost in watching her that I zoned out.

Caspian sighs and rubs his hand over his jaw. “Yourfriend.”

I roll my eyes at the way he emphasizes the word and look back at the girls. Jasmine laughs, falling back into the sand as Sharkie yells, “You’re going to get sand in your hair!”

Raylen leans toward Laura, whispering something I can’t hear. I want to know what she’s saying. I want to know everything she’s thinking.

“I can get her transferred here if that’s something you’d like,” Caspian continues.

Sam dismisses himself, saying, “Alright, time to get mine back to base.”

He knows. I know Sam does. If he didn’t, he’d pick me apart at the seams, trying to figure it out. He’d sit here hovering and demanding answers.

Jasmine squeals as he lifts her over his shoulder like she weighs nothing, her legs kicking in protest. Cordelia runs after them, demanding he put her down like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

“Is that what you want?” Caspian presses.

No. What I want is answers. What I want is—

“I want you to help me find my father,” I say without thinking. I know it's the wrong moment—he's trying to be nice, but why is he willing to dothiswhen he won't help me with what I truly need?

“I’m—”

“Save it, Cas. I know. You’re trying to protect me.”Eventhoughyou’llwillinglysendmeintodanger without a second thought, but hey, I guess you’re not ready for that conversation.

“You don’t understand. Do you think it’s been easy for me? Just two years ago, you barely saw what the world was like, and now you’re gone all the time, doing God knows what with these bloody factions! I give an inch, and you want to take a mile!”

Of course, he had to bring that up. Why did I hardly know what our wars were like? Hmm, I don’t know—let’s see. Because he never let me! My teeth grind together, and my fists clench as I clasp them over my knees.

“Caspian…” Sharkie mutters as she stumbles through the sand, rubbing her eye, but obviously, he’s not done with his lecture.

“I’m trying to protect you, damn it! Yet all you want to do is look for someone who doesn’t even know you exist!”

“Doesn’t know I exist?” I snap as he stands and hastily wipes the sand off his pants. What is that supposed to mean? There’s some man out there who doesn’t even know he has a miniature version of himself causing chaos? You’d think that would make me feel better, but somehow, this makes things worse.

“I’m right here, Moe. I’ve been right here the whole time! This—” Caspian rips his mask from his head and gestures around the beach. “This isyourhome!”

God, I want to scoff. That couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s not ‘right here’; he’s hovering a thousand feet in the air, watching from a distance, playing some sort of god, and acting like he gets to pick and choose what I do with my life and where I end up. This isn’t my home; it’s just a cruel twist of fate where I wound up in the right place at the right time, giving no one a choice but to take me in.

He stares at me like he wants to say more, but all I want is for him to stop.

“Sorry,” I force out. I don’t mean it, but I need the noise to end before I start screaming.

“Damn it,” he breathes. “I didn’t mean to snap at you. I just—”

“You’re just stressed,” I cut in, standing up, but not meeting his eyes. Cordelia looks as if she just went from drunk to sober in a matter of minutes. It's as if a grenade is sitting between us and she's waiting to see who will kick it into the water.

But the pin’s already been pulled.

Fourteen

Moe

12-31-2025

Seaborn beach