Page 59 of Sacrifice
“He said he loved you, Crew. And that you’d always had his back and that you’d have mine too.”
A pinch in the back of my neck pierces me and I grab it, rubbing it down.
Julia makes a face. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” I roll my shoulders, trying to loosen the pull.
“Are you hurt?”
I laugh. There’s no fucking way I’m telling her that. “No,” I lie.
She cocks her head to the side. “Maybe you should stop doing push-ups all the time and lifting weights and stuff. I bet that would help.”
“Not likely,” I say, twisting side to side. I figure I may as well test the waters. “I might be fighting again.”
“What?” she shrieks. “Oh my God. You aren’t. You can’t, Crew.”
I shrug. “Maybe. It might be fun.”
“If you fight again, I’ll send you to meet your brother,” she says, only half joking. She rises from the couch and yawns. “I think I’ll head to bed. We have a long week coming up.” She starts to leave the room but stops. “Crew? Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“I need to tell Ever this weekend what’s going to happen to her. I . . . um . . . I don’t know how to do that. Will you help me?”
“Of course.”
“Thank you.” She heads down the hallway again, the back of her tattered blue shirt hanging behind her.
“Hey, Jules?”
“Yeah?”
“You can sleep in my bed, if ya want. I’ll take the couch.”
“You don’t have to do that, Crew.”
“I know. But you’re gonna need a good night’s rest while you can get it.”
She smiles softly. “I can’t. I’ve taken so much from you already.”
“You’ve given me more than you’ve ever taken, Jules,” I whisper. “And, by the way, I didn’t answer you earlier.”
“About what?”
“I’ll never leave you again.”
Her cheeks flush. She dips her head, a small grin gracing her lips, and slides through the door to the guest room.
TWENTY-TWO
JULIA
Darkness envelops me as I step inside the bedroom. It’s cool and calm. Ever’s sweet, rhythmic breathing is the only sound besides the wild thumping of my heart.
I close the door and lean against it, my back flat to the wood. I take a few controlled breaths and try to make sense of what just happened. My mind is spinning, already replaying the conversation with Crew.
What was that?
