Page 75 of Glutton for Punishment

Arwen.

The way she looked at me that day. Like I stabbed her heart and broke her spirit. The memory never goes far.

I make it outside when my phone buzzes and Holly’s name flashes.

She hasn’t reached out at all this summer. My chest tightens as I swipe it open.

“Brix—” her voice comes fast, breathless. “Don’t freak out, okay? She’s—she’s okay. Arwen’s okay.”

Everything in me goes still. “What? Have you found her? How do you know?”

“She’s alive,” Holly cuts in over my questions. “I just got a call from Tabby and Cleo. They’re both with her. In Gluttony. She’s safe now. "

“What does safe now mean? What happened? Was she in the Wastes?” I rasp out.

“She’s been through… a lot,” Holly says. “I don’t have all the details yet; they couldn’t speak long. But she found Maddox in Feastwell. She’s alive, Brix. I swear.”

“Thank the universe,” I say. “And Maddox? The bond rumors must be true then. Good. That’s… good.”

Maddox… the mention of him makes something sharp twist low in my chest. I push it down hard.

I stare at the ground, at the thin line of blood dripping off my knuckle and darkening the packed desert dirt.

“They said she asked about you,” Holly adds hesitantly.

“Umm… What’d you tell her?”

“That you’re worried. That you’ve been trying to reach her... that you’d want to know she’s okay.”

I swallow as the silence stretches.

It hits me again. Popping into my mind like it always does. Her face as she begged me for help, overlay with my sister’s voice admitting she’s scared.

“You okay?” Holly asks.

“Uh yeah. Sorry.”

She doesn’t respond right away.

“I’ll call again when I can,” Holly says. “This is a good thing, Brix. A chance to make amends.”

“Yeah,” I agree, but Ryker’s threats still hang in the back of my mind when the line clicks dead.

She’s alive and safe. Breathing out in relief, I look up at the stars in the clear sky. All I want to do is run to her right this second and wrap my arms around her. Protect her from ever being afraid again.

My hand curls into a fist, causing the fresh splits on my knuckles to reopen, pain flaring sharp and immediate.

Good.

I shove the phone into my pocket and start moving. Someone else deserves to know that she’s okay.

***

Sadie opens the door of her family's small dirt hut, and her hand flies to her mouth in horror.

Yeah… I probably should have stopped to shower.

“Brix?” Her eyes widen, taking in the injuries and dirt. “What happened—”