Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117363 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
There were two cars in the driveway and a third parked at the curb. It was the latter Nathaniel went for. He got the locks undone with a click of his fob and opened the passenger door for Jean. Getting in hurt, but he held tight to the top of the door and the headrest as he eased himself in. Nathaniel waited until his long limbs were out of the way before pushing the door closed and going around to the driver’s side. Jean hadn’t seen anyone else in the car when he got in, but he flipped down the sunshade and checked the backseat in its mirror anyway.
Jean thought maybe they’d make it to campus without a word, but of course Nathaniel had to open his mouth as soon as they were on the road: “I never thanked you for watching out for me at Evermore.”
“I did no such thing,” Jean said.
“Kevin knew you would. I just didn’t see his message in time.”
“You are only here now because you are an abominable cockroach,” Jean said, because he couldn’t, wouldn’t dwell on that. He closed his eyes against the memory of Nathaniel’s skin peeling off, thin as gauze beneath Riko’s knives. Jean had been equal parts horrified and relieved bearing witness to it all: destroyed by how easy it was to fall into Kevin’s bystander role but grateful to have Riko’s considerable energy and imagination focused on someone else for once.
It wasn’t his place to stay Riko’s hand; all he could do was put Nathaniel back together afterward. Stitch by stitch, tape and gauze, Jean had done his best to keep the wayward child moving. The helpless anger—why the fuck did he get caught—had been mitigated by a more foolish what-if—what if he stays, what if Jean finally had his permanent partner and someone to suffer alongside.
Of course Nathaniel had left, but he’d still taken a number on his way out. Jean was left with the horrific fallout of shattered promises. For a blinding moment Jean felt hands in his hair and rough sheets on his face; for a moment he heard Zane’s bedsprings creak as he turned his back on the violence he’d invited to their room. Jean dug his nails into his arms and forced his eyes open, needing to see the morning campus instead of his shadowed room at the Nest. Zane had paid dearly for that betrayal, but Jean took no satisfaction in Riko’s cruel games.
“Jean,” Nathaniel said. “Andrew taught me the importance of give and take and of repaying one’s debts, so I’m going to give you something in exchange for keeping me alive long enough to come home. We’re going to beat Riko tonight.”
“Lying helps no one,” Jean said. “You have no chance.”
“Promise me you’ll watch the match.”
“I have to watch, but I know what I’ll see.”
Nathaniel accepted that without argument. A few minutes later he took a curving road up a hill. Jean studied Fox Tower out of his window as Nathaniel drove around to the crowded parking lot situated out back. The only free spots were in the last rows, so Nathaniel let Jean out at the curb before parking. Jean got out the same way he got in, but getting up hurt more than getting down did, and his knee creaked as he hauled himself up. Jean kept his face turned away from the car so Nathaniel wouldn’t see the face he made.
Nathaniel rejoined him as soon as he parked and got them inside with the tap of his wallet against a sensor on the door. Another set of doors let them into the dorm’s main lobby. The elevator was quick to arrive and dumped a half-dozen students out as soon as the doors slid open. Most rushed past, on their way to their early morning classes, but one stopped to pump his fist at Nathaniel in enthusiastic support.
“Kick their asses!” he said.
“That’s the plan,” Nathaniel said, letting Jean into the elevator ahead of him.
The third floor was empty when they got out. Jean’s knee was starting to fight him every step of the way, but Nathaniel didn’t take him very far. He let them into a sparsely decorated dorm room. Two people were waiting for them, but Jean barely had time to register it as Andrew and Kevin before he threw himself back out of the room faster than his body wanted him to go. Nathaniel came after him immediately, grabbing hold of him before he could book it back to the elevators.
“No,” Jean said. He tried to wrench free and nearly lost his footing when his ribs screamed at him. “No.”
He dug his feet in when Nathaniel pulled, and his knee almost gave out on him. Nathaniel saw his leg start to buckle and changed tactics, pushing him at the wall instead so he had something to lean against. That hurt, too, but not as badly as falling might. As soon as Nathaniel was sure he had his balance back, he fitted himself against Jean like a crutch and forced him into the dorm room.