Page 23 of The Souls We Claim

“Say, ‘My soon-to-be ex-husband, Patrick, is a cunt.’”

Arianne gestures to my plate with her fork. “Eat your breakfast. It’s going to get cold.”

“You want me to eat my breakfast? Say it.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t need to?—”

“Say it, Arianne. It’ll feel good. And unless I’m wrong, I think all this polite ‘oh no, I can’t’ is fear.”

“Fine. My soon-to-be ex-husband, Patrick, is a”—she glances over to Lola and whispers—“cunt.”

I grin at that. “He sure is. I think you should say that, even if only to yourself, at least three times a day.”

“That sounds very prescriptive.”

I nod. “When you get medicine to heal from the doctor, they usually say to take it three times a day with food, right? Calling your husband a cunt three times a day with food is going to make you feel a hell of a lot better. I promise.”

At this, Arianne shocks the hell out of me by laughing. She winces a little when the gesture hurts the side of her face, but she places her hand to her cheek and continues to chuckle. “My soon-to-be ex-husband, Patrick, is a cunt,” she repeats, then bites down on her lip. “Shockingly better. Thank you, Dr. Halo.”

See? Brat.

My phone vibrates next to me, and I give it a cursory glance before snatching it up off the table.

Unknown:You need to tell your man to stop trying to find me. I’ll come for you when I’m fucking ready.

It’s the same number as before.

I dial it immediately.

It rings, but there is no answer and no voicemail.

I dial it again. Letting it ring and ring and ring.

“Come on, motherfucker. Face me,” I grumble as I try again.

“Is everything okay?”

I remember Arianne and Lola. “Listen. I gotta go. Something urgent has come up. Stay here, help me out with Lola. We’ll figure out a place and job and shit. But I need to go.” I kiss the top of Lola’s head, then glance at the table. And for reasons I don’t comprehend, I kiss the top of Arianne’s head too.

“Thanks again for breakfast.”

And with that, I head to the club. Because somehow, Collins knows Vex has been trying to find him. And I need to know how.

8

ARIANNE

Ididn’t want to walk to the store without my phone, so I can’t ignore the slew of messages from Patrick. One after the other, since he realized I’d left. All filled with rage.

Patrick:Where are you?

Patrick:You need to get your ass home right now.

Patrick:Benny said you didn’t show. You went to your goddamn sister’s fucking funeral.

Patrick:You better show your face before lunch.

Patrick:Cunt.