Page 27 of Panther's Magpie
I wonder if she knew that she had this the whole time. Did she hide this from me?
I love the girl to death, but she can be very possessive over the things she views as hers. I believe that she would have kept this whole family from me. It hurts to think of it, but I understand why.
I didn’t lead her life. I might have been emotionally abandoned by my family, but I’ve never had to fight to survive like her.
Not liking my thoughts, I head out to find someone to hang out with. For the first time, I see a woman here.
“Uh. Hello?” I call out.
She turns and smiles at me. “Hey. Are you the refugee?”
I frown. “Is that what they call me?”
Maybe these guys don’t like having me around as much as I like being around.
“No, but you kind of are one. You had to flee to safety. I don’t know, it sounded good to me.”
She’s not wrong.
I sigh. “Yes, I’m the refugee stuck in a prison that’s not really a prison.”
She laughs. “I’m Rain. My dad is a member.”
“Oh, are you today’s warden?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Nah. Meek is around here somewhere. I didn’t feel like being at home, so I ended up here.”
“Is it bad there?” I ask her.
“Not the way you think. My dad has cancer. He’s still fighting it, but some days are harder than others. Today is a hard one.” She looks down at her hands.
“I’m sorry. I don’t understand because I’ve never been through it, but I am still sorry you have to experience that.”
“Thank you.” She is quiet a moment before she pats the barstool next to her. “So you are Aspen’s best friend? Hooker was holding out on me. You are gorgeous.”
“Uh, you know Aspen?”
The thoughts from before filter in. Aspen really did hide this world from me. That fucking hurts.
“Yeah. She didn’t tell you? I guess she liked to keep secrets, huh? I didn’t know you existed either. I came and visited last summer. I remember seeing pictures of you at the apartment, but she said you were a roommate.”
I nod. “Roommate. Best friend. Same thing, right?”
“No. Not the same thing. Don’t take this personally. I learned the first time I met Aspen that she holds her cards close to her heart. If she didn’t tell me about you, it’s because she thought she was protecting you.”
“Or herself,” I mutter.
“Or that. She is a possessive one, isn’t she?” She laughs.
“You know she never wanted me to hang out at her house when we were younger. She would say it wasn’t nice there, but I think it was because she didn’t want the attention on me. Same reason I never really got to know Calloway. She keeps all of the parts of her life separate,” I tell her, realizing the truth now.
Aspen is damaged, but not beyond repair. I wonder if she invited me on this trip to try and bridge that gap. She did say this was important to her.
“Calloway, huh?” Rain wiggles her eyebrows at me.
I wince. I have been calling him Panther, even in my head, since Eagle warned me, but I slipped up.
“That is his name. Unless she lied about that too,” I joke.
