Page 38 of The Broken Aztec Princesses

You too,Nenetl reminded me and my mouth hung open.

“What’s wrong, Violet?” Bells asked.

“I-I think Nenetl just spoke to me.”

“Really? That’s amazing!”

“I—Maybe I imagined it,” I said, seeing Nenetl back in her usual curled-up position.

“I’m sure you didn’t. She just needs time. Coyo has started speaking up more, too. This is good, Violet,” she insisted, grabbing my hand and squeezing it hard. We stared at each other for a moment, and I realized we were just two broken sisters trying to dig ourselves out of similar holes.

“I’m going to go find Adam. I left him in the shower.”

“Make sure you apologize!” I called out after her.

‘You can come back,’I mind-linked Chris, and he was in the room a few moments later with a different shirt on.

“You didn’t actually have to change you know?”

“What if she called me back in?” he countered, and I swallowed the smile knowing he was looking very uncomfortable at the thought of being caught in a lie by Bells.

I passed him his plate, and we ate in silence for a while before I prodded, “Why do you like doing crossword puzzles?”

“I don’t,” he answered.

“But you spent all day doing them?” I asked incredulously.

“It’s supposed to keep your mind sharp.”

His answer left me speechless.

“Do you do anything for fun?” I asked.

Why was he always so serious?

“Of course, I do.”

“What?” I challenged.

“I work out.”

“That’s barely for fun. It’s work-related. What else?”

“I read.”

“The newspaper?” I asked, narrowing my eyes when he turned away.

“I have books, too.”

“What genre.”

“That’s rude to ask.”

“How so? I read a lot, too, maybe we read the same stuff and we can swap books?”

“Ehh... crime novels, fantasy, ro—mystery novels,” he answered.

“What else?”

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