Page 97 of Shadow and Skulls

“Oh.” Lexi hugs her legs and rests her cheek on her knee while she stares at my dad.

I glance over at him. His gaze roams around the area, then stops on me for a brief moment before circling back. I’d swear he’d worked in the secret service if I didn’t know better.

“It’s hard to be mad at him about it,” I say quietly. “I’m lucky to have him.”

She lifts her eyes to mine. Lexi and I aren’t as different as I thought we were.

I know it was hard for the club to understand why I wanted to help her get even with Matt and Jason. I guess it was the way she took the heat off of me in class that day. I wanted to return the favor. Besides, I don’t think Lexi has too many people lookingafter her. She has two parents, but something tells me she’s alone.

“Maybe you could ask him to let you write him,” she offers.

Yeah. I really misjudged this girl.

“Like handwritten letters?” Ash asks.

She sits up, her cheeks turning pink. “Sometimes that’s the best way to get to know someone, you know?”

“Why not just text?” he asks, genuinely curious about her response.

“Because their fingers caress the page, their smell permeates the paper, and you can see their mood by each stroke of the pen.” She picks at the corner of her nail. “There’s something about seeing your thoughts come to life at your very hand. The page seduces you to reveal more. Or not.” She drops her face. “Never mind. Useless ramblings.”

Ash stares at the top of her head as if he’s hoping to see more of her thoughts.

“My dad will never go for it,” I say. “But I’d love to get letters from Tank. Before I came here, the club used to write to me. I lived for those letters.”

Her eyes dart to mine, and she smiles shyly. “Well, you said your dad was going with you to see Jason. Ask him when you leave there. Maybe he’ll be more inclined to say yes.”

“Emotional blackmail,” I chuckle lightly.

Ash shakes his head, jumping to his feet. “I don’t know why you even want to go see that asshole. The world would be better off without him.”

Lexi and I stare at each other as he storms away. “Whyareyou going?” she asks me.

“I don’t know,” I sigh, the wind blowing wisps of hair in my face. “Just a feeling I have.”

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Kelsie

Jason’s mom and mine step out of his room, whispering quietly to themselves. Jason’s mom must not know we’ve had issues. That or she’s just happy her son has a visitor, because she’s agreed to let me see him.

His gaze trails me as I sit down in the chair next to his bed. My dad stays by the door, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Hey,” I say quietly after a few seconds.

“Hey,” he rasps, closing his eyes as he swallows. “Why are you here, Kelsie?”

“Why does everyone keep asking me that?”

He laughs weakly.

I bite my lip and scoot forward, wrapping my hand around his arm. “You’re not like Matt, you know?”

His eyes open but remain focused on the ceiling. “I am just like him,” he argues, void of all emotion.

My dad grunts in agreement.

“You are not.” I squeeze his hand.

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