Page 77 of Ever Dark

I roll my eyes at his back as he heads for the doorway Draven disappeared through.

Bones kisses me on the cheek. “You do what you have to do, baby girl.”

I pull him to me before he can walk away. “How did your brother die?”

His eyes darken. “Mia—”

“Does it have something to do with all of this?” I’ve had a nagging feeling about it since he first told me. The pieces of Ever Graves are like a puzzle I’m slowly putting together.

He sighs. “I was supposed to be watching him, but I was hopped up on poison. He wandered off into the forest and never came home. The search party found his bloody clothes. They figured he was mangled by an animal. My father has never forgiven me. My mother saysshe does, but I can see the pain in her eyes every time she looks at me.”

I squeeze his hands. “Fuck. I’m sorry, Bones. But it’s not your fault. You were just a kid yourself.”

He clenches his jaw. “My brother Felix and I both fell into depression. While Felix coped with poetry and meditation, I have been actively punishing myself ever since it happened.”

“Punishing yourself, how?” I think I know, but he needs to talk about it. He can’t keep bottling this pain inside.

He presses his forehead to mine and blows out a deep breath. “I’m reckless. I don’t care if I live or die. I do everything to the extreme, drinking, fighting, riding my bike at night with the headlights off. I tattooed my whole body, so I can’t cut myself anymore. Don’t want to fuck up the art. I will do anything that takes me to the edge. It reminds me that I’m still here, and Sonny is gone forever.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer. “You’re allowed to be upset, Bones. But you have to stop hurting yourself in his name. Do you think he would want that for you?”

He holds me tight and breathes heavily into my ear. “I know, baby girl. I’m working on it.”

We stay like this, holding each other for what seems like forever, until I spot Rodrick waiting at the door. He’s as still as a statue, with his hands behind his back, and his eyes averted from us.

I slide away from Bones. “I guess I should go home and let you get back to work. Come find me later if you want to talk.”

He nods at Rodrick before planting another soft kiss on my cheek. “You have a way of taming beasts. Thank you for pulling that out of me.”

“I know what it’s like to feel alone. It can be suffocating. But you’re not alone, Bones. Remember that.”

He gives me a wink. “I’ll find you later, little pyro. Stay away from anything flammable until I get back.”

I groan. “Ugh, not you too.” I shake my head as I follow Rodrick to the car.

“Thank you for putting out the fire. I have no excuse for what I did.”

The gray-haired man nods before shutting my door.

We ride in silence until we arrive at my gates.

“Draven told you his secret, didn’t he?” he says after he punches in my security code.

“Yes,” I murmur. Does everyone have the passcode to my front gates? Fucking hell.

He drives all the way up to the porch before letting me out. “Perhaps lighting a fire is exactly what he needed to wake up.”

A chill crawls up my back. “Maybe we all need to wake up.”

He nods. “I put my number in your phone. Call if you need anything.”

My heart skips. His light-blue eyes are kind and genuine. I’m not used to anyone caring about me. Even my long lost uncle, who freed me from Absentia Asylum, couldn’t wait to get as far away from me as possible. He paid my way out and dropped me off at a shelter. I cried for three nights straight until I checked my bank account and realized I had enough money to buy the whole town of Raven’s Gate.

And even then, I didn’t trust it. I bought myself a used truck and drove here to Ever Graves, half-expecting for it all to be some cruel joke. But I’m starting to believe it more and more. This is my life now. I don’t have to be alone. I can choose to let people in.

I surprise myself when I throw my arms around the man’s neck. “Thank you, Rodrick. That means more than you can ever know.”

He softens his stiff stance slightly to pat my back. “Well, um, it’s no bother.”

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