Page 81 of Dark Night Golden Dawn
Enzo’s face lit up with a beautiful smile that warmed Harlow to her toes. “So good. They’re the best.”
Harlow couldn’t help but echo that gorgeous grin. “And it’sallgood?”
Enzo covered his mouth and waggled his eyebrows as he nodded. “Yes. It’s allsogood. The best ever.”
They dissolved into laughter, collapsing on the floor with Axel sprawling between them. Enzo’s fingers laced with hers. “Call Finn. I think he really misses you.”
“I can’t,” she whispered, her voice suddenly hoarse. “Not until I know what’s going on with me. Where all that anger came from. What if I lost my temper like that again?”
Enzo grimaced. “You are going to lose your temper again, Harlow. That boy is infuriating. People lose their tempers, get in fights, get mad. Then they apologize, make up… You get this, right?”
She almost lied and said that she understood. “Not really. There’s a lot I haven’t told anyone about me and Mark.”
Enzo nodded. “I figured. But can I tell you that when I was looking for your anger, I saw a lot of new healing. You’re doing the work, babe. You’ll get there. I promise.”
The floor was hard under her as she rolled onto her back. As she stared at her ceiling the hole in her memory about the night Mark kicked her out pressed against her conscious mind. “There’s something I can’t remember. Can you help me?”
Enzo sat up, looking down at her. “I know—I saw it. I can’t help with that, Harlow. I’m sorry. Riley could, maybe, but I’m not sure they would.”
Harlow swallowed as a tear spilled onto her cheek. “Why not?”
Enzo’s thumb swept the tear away. “Because sometimes stuff like that gets locked away for a reason. It’s tricky business to undo it. But I can loosen some of the thorns around it, if you’d like. That way, when you work out the tangles, it should release safely.”
“Okay,” Harlow said, sitting. “I’d like that.”
They took hands again, and Enzo set to work.
ChapterThirty-Two
Harlow spent the next few days at home, but she answered her texts, and called her sisters and the maters, one by one. Enzo had said he’d get back to her when he heard from the Quinns about the strange remnant of alien emotion inside her. She tried not to dwell on what might have caused such a thing to happen, as the idea of something influencing her in ways she couldn’t detect was so terrifying it sent her into a dissociative spiral each time she thought about it too hard. She was taking things hour by hour, but sometimes it felt like she might be stuck in this spot forever, unable to trust herself even more than she had before.
There were still no texts from Finn. And why would there be? She asked for space and he was giving it to her. When the intercom buzzed, she jumped, her heart leaping into her throat.
She pressed the button, her heart pounding. “Who is it?”
“Petra… Velarius. Can I come up?”
As if anyone else in Nuva Troi would dare be named Petra, Harlow thought with a smirk. “Sure, press your hand to the metal plate by the door, then come on up. Penthouse 2.”
The light on the intercom went on as Petra pressed her hand to the plate downstairs. Harlow pressed the green button next to it to approve Petra’s presence, then ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth, changing into a clean sweatshirt as she went. When she opened the door she was surprised by Petra’s appearance. Her dark hair was pulled into its usual ponytail, but instead of being flat-ironed into a satin sheet, her hair curved in natural waves, and she wore only a touch of makeup. And her clothes…
“I’d forgotten you went to UNT too,” Harlow said, glancing down at their matching sweatshirts.
“It’s the weekend,” Petra said, cheeks flushing. “I’m trying out being…”
“Relaxed?” Harlow suggested.
“Casual,” Petra corrected, laughing. “My parents actually kept most of my clothes when they ejected me from their lives and kicked me out of my home.”
Harlow shook her head. “Petty.”
Petra nodded. “That’s my mom and dad. But believe it or not, this feels better. They hate me, but I canbeme now.”
Harlow was tempted to hug her, but she wasn’t sure what Petra would do if she did. “I’d offer you something to eat or drink, but I don’t really have anything.”
Petra’s gaze lit on Axel. “You have a kitty!”
Harlow watched in amazement as Petra Velarius dropped to the floor making little clicking noises at Axel, who looked at Harlow as if to ask,What is this immortal fool up to?
