Page 51 of Myla: The Hawthornes

I’d seen Aisling before she was cleaned up. Her appearance wasn’t shocking to me anymore—infuriating, yes, but not shocking. I hadn’t thought about how she’d look to Will and Myla.

I glanced over to see Myla staring at Aisling, her eyes glossy with tears.

“Aisling,” Myla said, walking forward a few steps. “Who—”

“Don’t look at me like that,” Aisling snapped. “Don’t.”

Myla froze. I opened my mouth to tell Aisling to knock it off, but stopped myself when Myla’s entire expression changed. It reminded me eerily of Tommy. One second, her face was full of emotion, tears in her eyes. The next second, it was a blank slate.

“Who’s driving by your house?” Myla asked with a little nod.

“Julian,” Aisling replied, glancing toward the windows. “It’s Julian.”

“Think about it,” I said gently. “Julian’s not drivin’ anywhere tonight.”

“I saw him,” she argued.

“Your mind’s probably playin’ tricks.” It was definitely playing tricks.

“I saw him,” she insisted. “He did this.”

Curling her hand into a fist, she left her thumb straight and ran it across her neck.

“This guy think he’s a goddamn cartoon?” Will mumbled.

“She didn’t see him,” I replied, keeping my eyes on Aisling.

“Yes, I did.” Aisling threaded her fingers into her hair and fisted it. “Jesus, why doesn’t anyone believe me?”

“You’ve had a tough couple of days,” Myla said, her voice still polite but distant. “You need sleep. You look like you’re about to fall over.”

“I don’t want to sleep.”

“You don’t want to?” Myla asked. “Or you’re afraid to?”

“I’m not afraid,” Aisling replied quickly.

“It’s late, Ash,” I murmured.

“I need to get out of here.”

“Where are you going to go?”

“Anywhere,” she threw her arm out and winced, pulling it back in close to her chest.

“Let’s talk about it in the morning.”

“I don’t—”

“You think anyone’s gettin’ past Cian tonight?” Will asked. Aisling’s gaze shot to him. “You think anyone’s gettin’ past me?”

Aisling looked him up and down. “No.”

“Right,” Will said. “Who cares if that fucker’s outside? He’s not gettin’ in here, sweetheart.”

“Come on, honey,” Aunt Ashley said. She’d been standing quietly in the corner of the kitchen, but moved forward to gently wrap her arm around Aisling’s back. “I’ll lay with you for a while.”

“I don’t need you to lay with me like a child,” Aisling argued, but she let Aunt Ashley lead her forward.

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