Page 105 of The Blood we Crave: Part Two

“Is the shop set up yet?” Silas asks from his car, his head poking out of the driver’s-side window.

“Almost. B and I fly out next week to settle in, and then I’ll finish before the launch.” Alistair’s lips curve into a smile as he looks at me. “Should I RSVP you as my first client?”

“One was enough,” I deadpan.

We all carry scars from this place, just as we carry the tattoos that promise us an eternity together in the afterlife.

“Ponderosa Springs Tribunecame out today.” Rook pulls the paper from his car, tossing it in my direction.

I catch the thin papers in my hand, shaking them so I can read the cover.

Hollow Heights Dean Arrested!

A smirk hits my lips as I read all about Stephen Sinclair’s dirty laundry on page one of the local paper. It had been on the news weeks ago when he was initially arrested, but it’s bittersweet seeing it in writing.

If I knew what would happen when this first started, all the turmoil, all the dredged-up skeletons and death, I wouldn’t change it. I’d do everything exactly the same.

I meant what I told Odette. I don’t want to be a hero.

But I do want the girl, and all of this led me straight back to her.

I’m a window shopper.

I’ve watched other people through a thin wall of glass my entire life. Just outside, studying their routines, reading their reactions. What makes certain people tick and others laugh.

All of them drift so freely through their emotions as if it’s the easiest thing in the world. It’s impossible to understand for someone like me, but studying them made it easy to blend in.

I can look at someone, analyze the way they move, how they reply, and tell you what they might be feeling. If they are happy or angry. But when I look at myself, all I ever see is a blank wall.

Maybe that’s what I find so interesting about Lyra.

That she shares this dark urge with me but stillfeels.

She smiles, she cries, she laughs.

Lyra shows me every day how different my life would have been had I been born to a different father.

“Are you sure you wanna stay?” Briar’s question pulls my attention back to Lyra.

I watch her nod. “This is my home. Beneath it all, I’ve always loved this place.”

My long arm curls around her shoulder, tugging her back into my side.

“Our home,” I correct, feeling her snuggle into me.

I tilt my head down, dropping a kiss to the top of her head.

Lyra and I, we don’t wanna leave Ponderosa Springs. Her mother was from here, it’s where her grave remains, and it’s the only home Lyra has ever known. Not to mention she gave me a huge list on why the bug population in this area is perfect for her future in entomology.

I was planning on saying yes before that list, but it had been entertaining watching her explain it.

Realistically, it wouldn’t be possible for me to leave. My family’s estate and company need to be taken care of. I want to do right by May and Edmond. It’s the very least I can do for them.

“Have you decided on where you’re headed?” I ask Silas, who is watching all of us from a distance.

Even though I hate that he’s the only one leaving alone, I know that’s what’s best for him right now. He needs time to learn how to live with his schizophrenia after having his break. Silas needs to heal, and he can’t do that with someone else.

The only one who will be able to fix him is himself, and he knows that.