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Matthias: Oh fuck.
Matthias: Give me a few hours.
I take several deep breaths, pushing down my anger until it’s a quiet simmer, and place my phone on the dresser. Grabbing one of my gray gym hoodies from the bag, I head back into the living room.
My heart stills at the sight of her. She’s tucked herself into the corner of the sofa, pink hair wild around her temples, and her knees are pulled into her chest. Her vulnerability has me wanting to drop to my knees in front of her and beg her to let me erase it. Instead, I approach her and hold up the sweater between us.
“Arms up.”
It’s a testament to how unsettled she is that she lifts her arms and allows me to lower the hoodie over her head without a word of protest. It falls around her, engulfing her entire body, and I rock back on my heels, taking her in. She looks good in my clothes.
Before I can do anything idiotic, I go to the kitchen and grab her a glass of water, hauling her over my lap with one hand. “Drink this.”
Apparently, I’ve been reduced to monosyllabic grunts.
She takes a small sip. “I’m okay, really.”
I raise a brow at her lie.
“I just…I’m okay, now.”
I search her face for any lingering fear and drop my forehead to hers when I don’t find any. “You can tell me.”
“I know,” she answers but doesn’t elaborate.
Finally, I pull back and grab the remote, and a sewing show appears on the screen. It’s some kind of competition to see who can make the best dress. I reverse our positions so I’m pressed against the sofa and she’s tucked into my side.
“We don’t have to watch this.” She hesitates.
“You like it, right?” I murmur.
She looks at me sideways, an adorable line pinched between her brows. “Uh…yeah.”
“Then it’s what we’re watching.”
She looks like she’s going to argue again, but I give her a quick shake of my head.
“Okay, but it’s not my fault if you hate it,” she says, blowing out a breath, and I’m pleased to see her shoulders relax.
I hold her close to me and watch her as she watches the show. It takes less than fifteen minutes for her eyes to close and her breathing to slow as sleep takes her under.
My phone beeps, and I answer Matthias’s call.
“What did you find?” I’m careful to speak low enough not to wake her.
“Someone’s wiped her blueprint. The most I can find is that she went to the hospital and stayed there for twenty-four hours when she was in high school.”
“Why?”
“That’s the thing. It doesn’t say why. Her files are blank, no notes from nurses, no reason for her going in. It takes power to make this shit go away.”
I stroke my thumb along the back of her neck, reminding myself that I have her forever. There’s an unease crawling under my skin, knowing there are only a select few families who are connected enough to hide something from my brother.
“Keep digging,” I command.
“You know I will, but…you should ask her.”
I hang up the phone, having nothing left to say to my brother. I will not push her on this. She’ll tell me when she trusts me. My teeth grind together at the memory of the fear that flashed through her eyes, and my blood grows cold.
