Page 3 of Harmony

I take it as he leads me back down the hall to the room across from the one Willow is supposed to be in.

Once inside, he pulls me toward the bed, pulling the blankets down before shuffling me into the bed. He slides in beside me as I turn to face him. For a couple of moments, neither one of us says anything.

Then I break the silence. “Tell Finley thank you for the clothes for me.”

A weird look passes over his face. “Those are my clothes.”

“What?”

“I brought a bag with me. Those are mine.”

“Oh.” I feel the blush cover my face. “Thank you then.”

“You’re welcome.”

After a beat, his hand comes up to caress my hair.

“You can’t swim?”

I shake my head. “I almost drowned when I was four. I’ve been afraid of the water ever since.”

“I’m sorry. Come here,” he says, pulling my head to his chest, still caressing my hair.

“Where’d you go? You kind of left me there for a moment.”

I give Willow a tight smile. “I might have accidentally fallen into the pool with Finley’s phone.”

She chuckles. “Damn, girl. They didn’t see that as a trap?”

“They were a little preoccupied with the fact that I can’t swim.”

Willow’s eyes widen as she sits up straight. “What? Hails, what the fuck? I didn’t tell you to put your life in danger.”

I frown. “I didn’t do it on purpose. Besides, you would have done the same for me.”

“Damn straight, but still.”

“Nate took care of me. That’s why they weren’t searching right away. The phone never went off because it was in the bottom of the pool and Nate was so focused on me he never thought to check on you. It wasn’t until Chase called to check in that they even realized you were gone. Then it was like all hell broke loose. I was left with Finley while Nate raced to you. I told him about your GPS, though. Sorry.”

I remember when Nate woke me. I had fallen asleep in his arms at some point. Sometime while I was sleeping, they figured it out. The anger and disappointment on his face said it all. The jig was up and I lost his trust.

“It’s okay. I’m here because of that. Never be sorry for caring about me.”

“Fine, but I remember you told me once I was too nice and not to be.”

She gives me a warm smile. “I still think you are. You should only show your vulnerable side to those you trust the most. That’s me, by the way.”

“No shit, Sherlock.”

“So tell me, what’s been going on at school? You didn’t come back with Nate the other day.”

“It’s weird. You’ll see when you come back. Everyone is acting odd right now because of Monday. They’ve even had grief counselors.”

She frowns. “Chase said he thinks it’s the Mitchell’s drugs.”

“Who?”

She laughs. “I keep forgetting we haven’t really talked much since I got out of the hospital. I’m not really supposed to tell you, but I’m trusting you.” She gives me a serious look before continuing. “Chase is in a territory dispute with this other family. The Mitchells. That’s who took me. Chase thinks because I escaped and lived that this is their way of getting back at us by flooding our school with drugs laced with something.”

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