Page 380 of Dark Love

“That’s not enough. You need protein too.” Hope plops herself down on a barstool like she lives here.

Protein? I pull the fridge open and stare at the empty shelves. “Um…”

“You’ve got to have something in there.” Hope walks over to stare inside. “What happened to your fridge?”

I shrug. “Food shopping isn’t one of my priorities.”

“You should come over for dinner.”

It’s tempting, so tempting, to just disappear for a few hours into her family. To pretend that the world is perfect. To let the events of this weekend become fuzzy.

Can I really believe that there’s any way the memory of Vex’s face will ever get fuzzy? “It’s been a really long day. I’m not up to a big family dinner.”

Hope reaches past me and pulls out the egg carton. “Hard-boiled eggs taste good in ramen.”

“Thanks.”

“What happened this weekend?”

“Hope.”

“People think because I’m a kid that I can’t see when things are wrong. Where were you?”

Hope lives a sheltered life. She’s smart and loved by a gaggle of people who never seem to leave her side. “Where’s Fire?”

“Climbing something with Daire. The two of them can’t make it a week without dangling off some rock.” Hope flops back on the stool with the drama only a teenage girl can pull off.

“And you don’t enjoy climbing.” I know I wouldn’t.

“Not really. It’s okay once in a while, but I prefer to keep my feet on the ground. Why won’t you tell me?”

Because that would make it real. Hope wouldn’t understand what it felt like to… “Did your father teach you how to avoid being drugged when you’re out alone?”

Hope’s mouth drops open.

“He needs to teach you. Just because it’s not likely to happen, that doesn’t mean it won’t ever. You need to know how to protect yourself.”

“Were you raped this weekend?”

What!?! “No. It’s just something you need to know.”

“That’s it!” Hope jumps up. “Be right back.” She dashes out of the kitchen.

That’s odd. But then, that girl is always odd. I set to making my bowl of ramen.

“I’m back!” Hope shouts a few minutes later from the front of the house.

“I’m still in the kitchen.” The ramen is finally done. I pour half of the soup into a massive bowl. Just in case Hope changes her mind, I made enough for two. If she doesn’t, I’ll have a midnight snack while I obsess about why Vex hasn’t called or messaged.

Hope walks in, followed by her father and grandparents.

“Um… Hope, what’s going on?” Because I really don’t need to be throwing a family party right now. Or them convincing me to come over to dinner.

“My dad doesn’t give me many rules.”

Okay? What does this have to do with her family standing behind her like angry sentinels?

“But one of them is I always tell him if someone I know is drugged or hurt. There are no exceptions to this rule. And I’m not allowed to wait for a convenient time.”

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