Part 24 (1/2)

Her words fade away when she notices me.

”Oh.” Her eyes dart from Solana to Vane. Then back to me.

”Oh.”

”Don't start, Mom,” Vane warns as he reaches for my hand. ”It's been a long day.”

Start what? I wonder as his mom steps closer to examine the bruise on his shoulder. It looks so much more painful in the bright light-though the one on his side is worse. I can't even look at the wide blue-black splotch without feeling my eyes burn.

”What happened?” she asks, her voice shaking as she reaches for the cut on his cheek. ”I thought Gus was taking you somewhere safe-where is he? And when did Audra-”

”Can we save the twenty questions for later?” Vane interrupts.

”I'm fine. Gus is waiting for the other Gales, and the rest is a really long story I don't have the energy to tell right now. But it involves Raiden. And a giant hab.o.o.b.”

”You saw Raiden?” Solana whispers.

He nods and she s.h.i.+vers and wraps her arms around herself- which makes her dress cut even lower on her chest.

I glance at Vane to see if he noticed, but he's not looking at her.

He's looking at me-at the wound on my side.

He leans down, lifting the hem of my s.h.i.+rt, and even I can't help gasping when I see the gash in the light. The Westerly is keeping it clean for me, but the cut is deep and the jagged skin is practically shredded.

I try to cover the ugly wound, but Vane grabs my hands to stop me. ”Do we still have a first aid kit, Mom?”

”She needs to go to the hospital. You both probably do. I'll go wake your dad-”

”We can't do that, Mom. The doctors would have all kinds of questions about how we got hurt. Plus human medicine makes us sick, remember?”

”Right,” she mumbles. ”Not human.”

She stares at the three of us, looking lost and helpless. ”I'll be fine,” I tell everyone, lifting Vane's hands and draping his arms around my shoulders, which I know he won't resist. He takes my cue, pulling me against him, and I can't help glancing at Solana. She glares at me before she looks away.

She still wants him.

”Please let my mom treat the cut,” Vane whispers, his breath grazing my cheek. ”I'd rather not have it turn into a giant, gangrenefilled hole in your side.”

I shudder, unable to stop myself from thinking of Aston. ”We have to do something,” his mom chimes in. ”Come on, I'll get you the gauze and ointment.”

I hate the idea of leaving Solana and Vane alone. But I feel better when I see Vane's sweet, worried eyes focused completely on me as I follow his mom out of the room.

She leads me to a cluttered bathroom that has to be Vane's.

Everything about it screams ”guy,” from the musty clothes and towels piled on the floor to the streaked mirror speckled with dried flecks of water.

”Sorry about the mess,” she says as she bends and removes a white box marked ”First Aid” from the cabinet under the sink. ”You know how Vane is.”

I don't realize she meant it as a question until she turns to face me, waiting for my response.

”I . . . do” is the best I can come up with.

Her face is impossible to read as she soaks a clean white towel with steaming water from the faucet. I reach to take it from her but she doesn't let go. ”Don't worry. I've treated plenty of sc.r.a.pes and cuts over the years. Vane was a very accident-p.r.o.ne kid.”

”Yes, I remember.”

”Oh. So . . . you knew him back then?”

I nod.

”What about before his parents were . . . ?”

”Vane didn't tell you?”

”He hasn't told me anything.”

I'm not sure how much I should say. But I can tell she's desperate for me to fill in some of the blanks. ”I've known Vane since he was six. My parents were in charge of protecting his family.” Her eyes widen as she processes that.

”Did your parents survive the storm?” she whispers. ”My mother did.”

I leave out why. It's safe to a.s.sume she wouldn't be looking at me with sad, sympathetic eyes if she knew I was the daughter of a murderer. And I can't say I'd blame her.

I clear my throat. ”Anyway, after that, I volunteered to be his guardian, and I've been watching him ever since. Trying to keep him safe.”

”I can't decide if that's sweet or kind of . . . weird,” she says after a second.

”Me either, honestly.”

She smiles. But it's a hesitant smile. A tired smile.

”Did Vane know you were watching him?”

”I think he wondered. There were a few times when he accidentally saw me-but they were too quick for him to tell if I was real. He didn't know for sure until a few weeks ago, when the Stormers found us and I had to show myself so I could protect him.”

She nods, wringing the towel in her hands. ”And now . . . you're back?”

This time I don't miss the question in her tone.

I wait for her to look at me before I tell her, ”As long as he wants me to be.”

I can't tell if she's happy with that answer. It shouldn't matter, but . . .

I want his mom to like me.

It's silly and childish and probably impossible. But seeing how fiercely she loves her son makes me ache for a small sliver of acceptance-something I could hold on to, to tell myself I deserve the beautiful boy I've stolen. Maybe it would ease a tiny bit of the guilt that swells inside me every time I think about the angry betrayal I saw in Solana's eyes.

”Can you lift up your s.h.i.+rt a little more?”Vane's mom asks, holding out the towel.

I do, leaning against the counter as she squats down and touches the skin around my wound.