Page 62 of Serpent In White

He doesn’t strike me as a master grower.

So you think someone sent him?Darian sounds worried. I hate it, and it makes me want to mash this asshole’s face with my fist some more until he stops breathing from his thieving lungs.

That’s what I’m trying to find out…

“Drake,” he sighs, his crystal eyes sparkling at me, lighting up the darkness. “You don’t have to.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong, brother,” I say with conviction. “I’m the one.”

Darian swallows, the sight of his Adam’s apple bobbing giving me some thoughts I immediately push away.

He was with someone tonight… And I don’t know how that makes me feel.

“Hey… please… let me out,” the prisoner gurgles, crawling up to the bars that separate us. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, please.”

“I know you will,” I growl at him, then turn back to Darian. “I’m sorry I interrupted your night.”

He gives me a guilty look that cuts me so deep, I immediately storm away from him, leaving the dark, dreary place I created, the piece of shit I’m going to kill later, and my brother… The only person I would stop at absolutely nothing to protect.

Even if it means damning myself in the process.

“Darian,” I whisper in the dark, my breathing ragged and my movements jittery as I shake him where he sleeps. “Get up. We have to go.”

“Huh?” His sleepy voice croaks at me as he rolls over in my bed, rubbing his eyes open. They’re still red-rimmed from crying himself to sleep.

I stayed in my bed next to him for a while, just watching over him, my protective gaze never once leaving my brother while he sniffled and shuddered. He tried for a while to act hard; unaffected, like a man thinks he should. But we’re still only teenagers. He’s fifteen… He can only be so sturdy while he’s bent and crippled and warped before he eventually cracks.

That’s what happened earlier, and I convinced him to sleep in my bed, so I could make sure he was alright and keep him safe. Fromhim, sure, but also from himself. I’m not sure if Darian would ever harm himself, but tonight I saw something in his eyes I’d definitely never seen before.

He looked broken. Guilty when he shouldn’t be, torn up when he’s the last person on Earth who deserves to hurt this way.

It created a hatred in me so strong, there was no way it could be avoided. So I waited for him to fall asleep. And then I did what I had to do.

And now we have to go.

“You gotta get up.” I keep shaking him because he’s still half asleep. “I packed a bag for you. We have to go. Now.”

“Go where?” He asks, eyes widening more, now appearing beyond worried. He sits up, his shirtless chest catching my attention for a moment.

I blink it away and grab his hoodie off the floor, tossing it at him. “Get dressed. We need to leave. We can’t stay here anymore. I won’t let you stay here for one more second, Darian.”

He gapes at me for a beat in stunned silence before slipping his long arms into the hoodie and zipping it up. “We can’t just leave, Drake. What about school? What about—”

“I don’t give a fuck about any of that,” I bark, keeping my voice down, mainly because it’s shaking and I don’t want him to know that. “We can’t stay, Dar. Let’s go. I’m getting you out of here.”

“Where would we even go?” Trepidation still lines his tone, though he’s getting up now, crawling off the bed to step into his sweatpants.

“I have a few ideas,” I tell him, stuffing some remaining items into my backpack before moving the desk aside to locate my cash stash. “But first thing’s first… We need to bounce.”

Pulling out the little pouch, I open it up and count the bills quickly, doing math in my head.

“Jesus, Drake,” Darian huffs. “How much money is that? Where did you get it?”

“It’s about eight grand,” I grumble in frustration. We definitely need more, but there’s nothing I can do about that now. “I’ve been saving since I was little. Squirreling away.” Stealing from the foster dipshits. And others.

“That’s awesome!” Darian gasps. “Let’s get a hotel! Ooh, maybe one with a pool and a Jacuzzi!”

My face pivots in his direction and the sheer look of excitement on his formerly devastated face is enough to bring all the warmth to my chest.