Page 8 of The Hate We Breathe
What now? Was Morpheus responsible for my mother’s disappearance?Isshe actually missing? What about my father? Is he innocent? Is he going to stay in jail or is there a way to find out if Morpheus was really behind the embezzlement? Do I stay at Lex’s house? Am I going back to school? How much have I missed? Is it impossible to expect to go back to any sort of normal anytime soon?
“—ules? Juliet?” I blink and snap my attention to Nolan to find him frowning at me with a furrow between his brows.
“Sorry, what?”
“What do you think?” he asks.
“Uh…” I’d been so caught up in my head that I hadn’t even heard his earlier statement or question. I shake my head, but thankfully, Lex saves me from asking him to repeat everything over again.
“Baby?” He sets his coffee mug down and turns me in his lap, squeezing me close. “What do you think about staying here with me while we get things figured out to get you back to Silverwood Public?” he asks.
“Oh.”Right.“Yeah, I’m fine with it.”
Nolan nods. “Good,” he says. “I’ve already contacted Principal Long. She’s got the paperwork underway. You weren’t gone for long and, technically, weren’t ever officially withdrawnfrom school. Everything should be good for you to go back with us on Monday.”
“Monday?” I repeat, and then glance around the room, but there’s no calendar on the walls and I don’t have a phone anymore to check. “What day is it now?”
“It’s Sunday morning,” Gio answers.
“Sunday…” I repeat with shock. The party had been on Friday evening. Had I slept through the entire Saturday?
“You were tired,” Nolan murmurs as if answering my unspoken question. “I had my mom stop by and we gave you something to keep you under for a bit longer so you could recover from the sleep you probably haven’t been getting.”
Right, Nolan’s mom is a nurse. I’d forgotten. “Wait, issheokay?” I ask. “Didn’t she have a broken arm? How could she?—”
“She’s fine,” Nolan assures me. “A broken arm makes some of her job a bit harder, but she’d be the first to tell anyone she’s not an invalid. She’s on leave, though, for a bit longer, so she was able to come by.”
“Oh…”
“I didn’t tell her what happened. I just said that I had a friend who was ill and couldn’t afford to go to the hospital.” He shares an amused grin with Lex before returning his attention to me. “She thought it was Lex since I asked her to come here, and was surprised to see you, but she was still able to check you over and get your vitals. You’re dehydrated and probably need more rest, but overall, she said you’re fine.”
I arch a brow. “And she was okay with you drugging me?” Not that I mind, I had needed the sleep, but didn’t nurses have to agree to the same things as doctors? Drugging an already unconscious patient might toe that line.
Nolan scratches the side of his jaw. “Yeah, about that…”
Lex snuggles closer to my back and side. “I had some stuff to keep you under,” he admits. “She didn’t do anything, she just checked you out.”
I swivel my head to stare at the man currently bent over me and pressing his nose against my skin. “You have drugs here? Lex, you?—”
“We have a supplier for Darrio’s shit,” Nolan says, cutting me off before I can lay into him. “We don’t touch the shit, Jules, but you did need the sleep. It wasn’t anything dangerous. A mild sedative—hospital grade.”
Lex raises his head and gunmetal gray eyes meet mine, wide and loving. Fuck, it’s like looking into a puppy’s face. “We’d never give you anything dangerous, baby,” Lex assures me.
I sigh and look back to Nolan, deciding a change in subject is better than considering the implications of the last few days. “How did you get ahold of Principal Long so quickly?”
Nolan presses his lips together, his expression lightening as if he’s resisting the urge to smirk. “I… called someone close to her,” he says.
“You did?” I frown. “Who?”
Nolan reaches up and scratches the side of his face, but I see the smirk now—almost full-blown. “Cory,” he says.
“Cory and Principal Long…” I murmur. Honestly, I suppose it doesn’t surprise me. Cory had said something about Long being a fair woman and the two are around the same age. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that they’ve known each other since their own time as students at Silverwood Public.
“I’m still running some background searches and have roped in a few people from the dark web,” Lex announces. “They’re helping in searching for anything that might prove Allen Donovan wasn’t the one behind the embezzlement as well as in the search for Mrs. Donovan.”
My hand fists against my thigh and I direct my gaze to Nolan, ignoring the mention of my mother as I do. “Do you think people might find it odd that I showed up with Morpheus and left without him and now he’s dead?” I ask.
Nolan grimaces, but nods. “Yes, and that’s…” He casts a look at the front door of the house as a knock sounds against it.
