Page 5 of Inferno
‘Sweatpants are basically just pyjamas.’
I wagged my finger at her. ‘Socially acceptable pyjamas.Socially acceptable.’
She crinkled her nose in disgust, and I had to stifle the sudden urge to hug her. I was getting that a lot lately – thiscrazy appreciation for my best friend, who had been there for me more than ever since the warehouse. Plus, I was in a marginally good mood (all things considered) because I had just been discharged, my mother was waiting in the parking lot, Millie was helping me get dressed, and I was finally going home. Even if my life would never be the same again, at least I would be far away from IV drips and lurking Falcones. Especially the female variety.
I slipped out of my hospital gown and shimmied into a tank top and flip-flops. My hair was greasy so I wound it into a high ponytail, scraping the stray strands away from my face. I chose to minimize my general sense of bleakness by not looking in the mirror.
‘Here,’ said Millie, passing me a tub of strawberry Vaseline. ‘This might help.’
‘Thanks.’ It was like trying to fix a bullet wound with a Dora the Explorer bandage, but I smeared some on my lips anyway.
Millie grabbed my overnight bag from the bedside locker and smoothed the sheets one last time to make sure I hadn’t left anything behind. ‘You ready to go?’
I did a cursory once-over of my hospital room.Ah, the times we shared. ‘I amsoready.’
‘Soph?’ My name coincided with a knock, and my heart rate doubled as Nic came into the room.
‘Oh,’ said Nic, taking in Millie and me at once. He raked his hand through his hair, ruffling what was already ruffled. ‘Hi, Millie. I didn’t know you’d be here so early.’
‘Nic,’ she said, faux-smiling so I could see every transparent link of her braces. ‘What a displeasure.’
Up until then, I had somehow, miraculously, kept themapart since the warehouse. My feelings for Nic might have been a complete mess, but Millie’s attitude to him and the rest of his family was pretty clear-cut.
‘Right,’ he said, no longer sure of where to put himself. ‘It’s good of you to help Sophie like this.’
Millie’s laugh was cold. ‘Thanks for the positive reinforcement, Nic. I’m surprised you even recognize the act of helping others.’
Nic shoved his hands in his pockets and relaxed his shoulders with a sigh. He looked at me. ‘I just came to say goodbye.’
‘So, is your stupid, pathetic, arrogant brother here somewhere?’ Millie interjected. If her anger at Nic was a storm, then her attitude to Dom was a hurricane.
‘Which one?’ asked Nic.
Millie snorted. ‘I guess thereisquite a list. I’m talking about Dom, King of the Assholes and Overlord of the Douchebags.’
‘Oh—’
‘General of the Jackass Army,’ Millie cut in.
‘He’s—’
‘Admiral of the Idiot Navy. Captain of—’
‘I get it,’ said Nic, a hint of exasperation creeping into his voice.
‘Just making sure,’ said Millie. ‘I know you and I live oncompletelydifferent planets, with different rules about who gets to randomly kill and endanger people, so I figured I’d spell it out for you.’
Nic didn’t take the bait. ‘Dom’s down the hall in Luca’s room.’
‘Well, tell him not to come near us. I would hate to risk drowning in his surplus hair gel.’
‘OK.’
‘Also, tell him he’s an asshole for using me tospy on my best friend’s family.’
‘I’ll pass on the message.’
‘Mil,’ I interjected, ‘can I please have a second with Nic before we go?’ The last second we’d probably ever have.
