Page 19 of The Last One
“And I thought you were dead!” She massages her temples as though she has a right to have a headache. “I thought that I could sell all of it for food, for iron, for something,anything.” When Jadon says nothing, she adds, sheepishly, “I would have come back to bury you.”
“We can solve this right now,” I snap. “Give me my stuff back and I’ll leave.”
Jadon heaves a resigned sigh. “I apologize. I’m sorry you’re in this position but…”
“Butwhat?” I prompt, impatient.
“We can’t.” His eyes soften. “You heard Johny. He threatened all of us.” And he thinks:“And that’s bullshit, too. I hate every second of this conversation.”
“And why are you in a rush anyway?” he asks aloud. “If you don’t know who you are, how do you know where you’re supposed to go?”
“Maybe having my possessions will open something up in my mind?” I say, pressing my forehead to staunch the ache emerging behind my eyes. “Like how certain smells make you remember things? The aroma of cakes baking reminding you of childhood? Or how hearing a certain song makes you cry? I don’t know. Just let me hold them so that I can see if that works.”
“We can’t,” he says. “I wish I could. And I wish I knew how you could’ve fallen from the sky, but I’ll help you figure it out as much as I can, which may not be much.” Jadon offers a miserable smile, then studies his sister. “You didn’t have to do this. We wouldn’t be here—she wouldn’t be here—if you’d just…”
“So what’s changed?” Olivia asks, truly perplexed. “You’ve never asked me before where I’ve found things. You’re just happy to have the money.”
“Oh, I worry about the way you acquire coin,” Jadon corrects, “but I also know convincing you to stop would take more breath than I can draw.”
I roll my eyes. “Young people these days.”
He folds his arms. “I blame the parents. Back in my day, we kept our hands to ourselves.”
“Very true,” I say.
“What?” Olivia spits. “Neither of you are that much older than me.”
I cock an eyebrow. “You don’t know how old I am.Idon’t know how old I am.” But after the day I’m having, feels like I’ve been alive since the beginning of time.
We’re saved from any more discussion when a dog with a mottled black coat and icy-blue eyes scampers into the barn.
“Milo!” Olivia stuffs the amulet back in her pocket, scoops up the dog, and waggles his paw at me. “Forest Girl, meet—”
The toothless dog growls, barks, and lunges at me.
I hop back. “You know what, Milo? You need to relax.”
“Milo!” Olivia says. “Bad dog!”
The dog whines, then nestles his face in the crook of Olivia’s arm.
My eyes narrow. “Don’t worry about feeding me. I’ll just eathim.”
Olivia chokes. “Huh?”
The dog whimpers.
I wave my hand dismissively. “Changed my mind. He’s probably full of worms anyway. Last thing I need right now is some weird disease that makes me grow a tail.” I look over my shoulder at my bottom. “Don’t wanna mess up perfection, know what I mean?”
Olivia looks at her own rear and snickers. “Not at all.”
“Let me take him back to Gery next door,” Jadon says, sneaking a peek at my perfection. Don’t even have to hear his thoughts to know he agrees.Perfection, indeed.For a hot second, he meets my gaze, and my pulse goesboom.
This time, Idothrow him a grin.Caught you looking.I’mthis closeto turning completely around so that he can fully appreciate me—because I’mthathelpful.
Before I can perform this charitable act, however, Jadon plucks the dog from his sister’s arms. Milo licks his face and then snarls at me one last time.
“Fine,” I say to him, “you don’t have worms.”
