Page 9 of What's Left of Me

It was Angel who answered, “The whole point of this is for Phoenix and you to be safe while the FBI and police find this guy. That won’t happen unless they know everything they can. We’ve all agreed that we were fine with them coming and talking with you, but it’s more about your comfort. If you’re both fine with that, yes, that’s fine. Do you know what time?”

“I wanted to talk with all of you first to see what would work.”

Gabe shrugged. “You decide and let us know. We have rooms you can use for privacy.”

She looked at Phoenix, who was simply finishing up his lunch and letting his sister call the shots.

“I guess around ten maybe, after breakfast. Is that okay, Nix?”

He peered up from his bowl, locked eyes with his sister, and panned over each of us. “Yeah.”

His voice was a whisper, but it was nice to know he’d spoken.

“It’s settled, then.” Shep grinned. “Ten o’clock, you can let him know.”

We finished lunch with idle chitchat. Phoenix never uttered another word, and afterward he left quietly.

I could see the pain for Hazel’s brother in her eyes. “He sleeps a lot,” she offered once he’d left.

“He’s coping.” JJ gave her a smile.

She nodded and asked if she could help clean up. As much as her brother was dealing, so was she. Hazel wasn’t sure what had happened to him; she hadn’t been able to tell us a whole lot in the shop, but it had to have been a nightmare. Looked like tomorrow we’d all find out.

CHAPTER SIX

Phoenix

I choseto eat dinner up in the bedroom. Lunch was a lot to take in. Everyone had been so happy and boisterous, and the whole time it had felt as if eyes were constantly on me waiting for me to either break or speak or who knew. Hazel had offered to eat with me, but I’d told her I kind of needed to be alone. That had surprised her, and I understood why. I hadn’t been alone once since they’d taken me from him, and she likely wondered if me being by myself was what I wanted. To be honest, I didn’t really know what I wanted.

I turned the television on and found the background noise nice. I ate my food, which was amazing. Seriously, did they have a professional cook or something? Afterward, I took a shower and when I entered my bedroom, Noel was walking out with my tray in hand.

“Sorry,” he said once he’d seen me. “I knocked, and Hazel informed me she could hear that you were in the shower and told me I could pop in. I was just grabbing your dishes.”

I swallowed. I didn’t want to talk to him, or anyone really, so I nodded and stepped away. He cocked his head at me; I could feel his assessment.

“No one will bother you here if you don’t want them to, Phoenix. I apologize for coming in. This is your safe place. I hope you can find some comfort in that.” Without another word, he walked out and as soon as the door shut, I released a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

I didn’t sleep well,but I never did. Hazel was beside me, having come in at some point—who knew why? I had a feeling I had nightmares, but the second I opened my eyes I never remembered what they were.

I slipped out of bed, used the toilet, brushed my teeth, and got dressed. Hazel had brought clothes with us; they were all comfortable but there was a pair of jeans and with the agent coming by, I thought it best to wear something other than sweats. After I’d dressed, my stomach growled. I didn’t know what to do. Should I go to the kitchen?

“Hey.” Hazel stretched, her face all rumpled with sleep.

“Hi.”

“Hungry?”

I nodded and tilted my chin toward the door. “Should I go feed myself?”

She smiled like she did whenever I spoke. “Gimme five, and I’ll go down with you.”

Relief washed over me. “Thank you.”

By the time we made it to the kitchen it was filled with people, and I halted at the door. Shep was loading up a platterwith pancakes while JJ was finishing up a batch of eggs. I guessed they didn’t have a chef; they were just really good cooks.

Hazel noticed that I didn’t enter the kitchen fully and stayed with me. “Too many people?”

“Just loud.”

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