Page 26 of Seer

Pocus snorts loudly. “Bastard,” he mutters with a good-natured smile, shoving me gently on the shoulder. “I would have brought a drink to celebrate your resurrection, but your caregiver was very strict with her instructions to keep the bottles away from you.”

“You say caregiver like I’m a hundred and twenty,” I grin, trying not to give in to my amusement at the image of Tory lecturing a man who’s about three times her size.

Pocus’s laughter rings out heartily. It feels like it’s been an eternity since I heard him laugh, so genuinely carefree. Finally, Pocus lowers himself onto my bed and pats the space beside him. “Come sit, old man.”

I shake my head at him and join him on the bed, resting against the headboard with an exhale.

We sit for a while in comfortable silence, each reveling in the subtle feeling of gratification that comes with being able to sit side by side like this after everything that’s happened.

“I’m sorry, Nate,” Pocus says, finally breaking the silence. “I’m sorry for not seeing the pain you were going through. At the last meeting, I acted like an ass. I should have handled the situation better.”

Pocus is the kind of leader who admits to his wrongdoing and doesn’t hesitate to apologize. It’s an admirable quality, one of many, and it’s exactly why he will always have the respect of the men in the Club, mine included. I can never stay mad at him for a long time.

“All that is behind us now, mon ami,” I say to Pocus, flashing him a small smile. “I’m not without fault, either. When I experienced the pains and dizzy spells, I should have spoken to you. I chalked it up to stress and kept downing painkillers. Hex could have died because of my carelessness. I’d never have forgiven myself for that. Your verdict in church… You did that for me. It was the only thing that would have pacified Hex and the others at that moment. I should have known, but I guess I was too blinded by my anger to see that.”

Pocus nods, his lips curled slightly in the barest hint of a smile. He says nothing, and soon I’m drifting aimlessly in the deceptive quiet that’s found its way between us again.

I’m stalling…and I think Pocus knows that.

I look into Pocus’s deep green eyes, searching for something — anything to hint toward our impending discussion.Nothing.

I sigh softly. “Why won’t you say anything?”

“About what?” Pocus asks quietly.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was intentionally taunting me… But this is Pocus’s way of testing my readiness.

“England,” I reply simply.

Pocus’s eyes look into my eyes as if searching my soul for confirmation. “Do you really want to know? It can remain a closed chapter. It’s the past, after all.”

I shake my head. “No. Not when it’s too important in the present. Running isn’t an option anymore.” I bite down on my lower lip and lower my head shamefully. “I took the coward’s way out that day thirteen years ago. I don’t want to do that anymore.”

“I understand, mon ami,” Pocus replies. “But I was quite taken aback. You’ve got an impressive background.”

Impressive is an ironic way of putting it. “Not quite how I would put it,” I mumble. “Grandiosity can often hide something dark, and you know that better than anyone.”

“Right,”

“So, how is my family connected to the whole thing?”

Pocus’s expression turns grim. “I don’t know how to put this gently, so I won’t try. Your brother is on a mission to take the gift of sight away from you–and your father may or may not be involved.”

“Typical.”

I close my eyes, swallowing down the bitterness in my throat. I guess it’s my fault to think that leaving home would be the end. Father and Edward would never stop.

“How do you know?” I ask Pocus. “I’m sure as hell father would have done everything to make sure that you didn’t.”

“Your sister.”

“Dana?”

“Yeah, she was able to arrange an… unconventional meeting.”

I smile at the memories her name brings me. “She was just a doe-eyed little girl when I left home.”

“She sure has grown into a brave woman who’d do anything to protect her son.”

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