Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“Yes. I’m happier. Or at least we both will be now,” Samuel muttered. He crossed the room and dropped into an open seat next to his brother while still facing his parents. He just knew this wasn’t done yet.
Salem flashed him a sympathetic smile, which helped to loosen the tension tightening Samuel’s jaw and relax his shoulders. It had been like this since…well, it felt like always. Salem saw it. Samuel had tried to point it out to his parents, but they both said it was utter nonsense. They thought they treated their twins exactly the same.
Bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.
“Well, I’m sorry it didn’t work out. I’m sure you’ll find someone new very quickly,” Norman said. He moved away from the sink as his wife approached with a steaming pot.
“I’m just sorry you’re going to need to cancel your trip to Brazil,” Janice said.
“Cancel? Why would you think I’m canceling it?”
The kitchen was silent except for some soft bubbles popping from the stove. Three sets of eyes were locked on Samuel as if he’d suddenly sprouted a second head, or maybe horns.
“You can’t possibly be serious! You know nothing about Brazil! You don’t speak the language!”
“I speak some and I’ve still got three months to learn more,” Samuel countered. He’d been expecting this fight.
“Samuel, it’s not safe for you to go alone.” His father’s voice was calm.
“I was never doing this alone. I’ve hired a guide to take me into the mountains. This trip was never dependent on Kevin going with me. He was only going to help me manage while we were in the city. I can do that.”
“Your sense of direction has never been that good,” Norman needlessly pointed out.
“You have gotten lost in the airport before,” even Salem chimed in.
Samuel slammed his hand on the table and glared at his sibling. “The Atlanta airport is huge and it was my first time there. Anyone could get lost!”
“There! Take your brother with you,” Janice declared.
“What?” both Hunter children cried out in unison.
“Take Salem with you,” Janice repeated, sounding more sure of herself the second time around. “He’s good at navigating new places, and he can watch out for you.”
Samuel balled his hands into fists on the table while his shoulders tensed painfully. He could read between the lines, knew exactly what his mother was thinking without her spelling it out, because no one in his family actually talked about it. No one ever faced how broken he really was. Even his twin struggled at times, preferring to never put it into words.
But just because they refused to talk about it didn’t mean the issue disappeared. It didn’t mean that Samuel wasn’t fighting to fix himself every fucking day.
All the more reason why he couldn’t cancel or even postpone this trip. The answer to so many of his problems could finally be within reach in Brazil.
Before Samuel could explode, Salem’s hand clamped on his wrist and squeezed, reminding him like he had for almost their entire lifetime that he wasn’t alone and that their parents really didn’t mean to be as hurtful as they were. The pain tightening his throat eased enough that he could swallow and drag in a calming breath.
“Mom, Samuel travels all the time,” Salem offered. “He’ll be fine. Besides, I don’t speak Portuguese, I don’t know Brazil, and I really don’t want to go trekking up a mountain in the middle of winter with him.”
“Summer,” Samuel corrected in a clipped tone.
Salem’s head whipped around and his brow furrowed. “What?”
“It will be winter here when I go but the height of summer in Brazil.”
Salem snorted. “All the more reason not to go. Who the hell wants to schlep up a mountain in the freaking summer?”
“You just don’t want to schlep up a mountain, period.”
“Damn straight.”
A reluctant smile twitched the corners of Samuel’s mouth when his mother snapped, “Samuel James Hunter, I forbid you to go on this trip alone. It is not safe. You won’t be able to protect yourself properly.”
Samuel glared at his mother and her very favorite word when it came to protecting her broken son: forbid. He’d heard it all his life and was fairly numb to it, though it still managed to rankle the darker parts of his brain. It was on the tip of his tongue to correct her.
With magic. You think I won’t be able to protect myself because I can’t use magic.
But he swallowed back those bitter words, nearly choking on them. It would only start a different fight, and he didn’t have the time or the energy to fight two wars at the moment.
“Listen to your mother, Samuel. She’s right. Postpone the trip for now. Give yourself more time to prepare,” Norman added, sounding so very reasonable, but it was all nonsense.
Gritting his teeth, Samuel fought to keep his voice calm and even. “I’m not postponing or canceling. I have hired an experienced guide who knows the area I’m going to be exploring. I’ve been training for months for this trip. I’ll be ready when it’s time to fly in January.”