Stay(105)

“Yes,” he said.

“As much as I want to leave I’m scared,” I confessed. When the chains finally came off, we would be naked.

“It’ll work out,” he promised and lay back against the pillows. I yawned. “Get some sleep, Addie. I’ll listen for the car.”

“Okay,” I said, not needing much convincing. I rolled onto my side, getting comfortable. Jackson’s body curved around mine. Somehow, his presence kept the bad thoughts away, and I drifted to sleep in a matter of minutes.#p#分页标题#e#





CHAPTER FORTY





ROUGHLY HALF AN hour later, Jackson woke me up. “I think you’re having a nightmare,” he said quietly.

I sat up, blinking. “I was. I dreamed that Zane cut off my feet so I couldn’t run away.”

Jackson put his hand on my waist. “I won’t let that happen.”

“I know,” I said and flopped back against the pillows. I was tired, so tired. As soon as my eyes closed, Jackson shot up, staring at the window.

“They’re home.”

My pulse instantly quickened. Jackson crept into the hall, making sure Lou was still stowed away in Zane’s room. He waved for me to come out. I slinked after him, holding my breath when I passed Zane’s door. I put my hand on the railing and dashed down the old, dark staircase. I was in the middle when the door opened.

“Hey,” Lou called. “White boy. Come here.”

“Go!” Jackson mouthed. “Run!”

I took off, tripping on the gold and scarlet rug at the bottom of the stairs. I caught myself before falling and scrambled through the living room and into the kitchen. I threw open the basement door, silently closed it, and ran to my cot, shaking.

Then I realized that the door wasn’t locked. Rochelle would be brought down, probably straight away. Nate and Zane would see that someone had been down there with me, and it wouldn’t be hard to figure out it was Jackson.

“Fuck,” I muttered and grabbed my elbows. My teeth chattered with nerves. I got up and paced in front of the stairs. The floorboards in the kitchen groaned under foot. I paused, biting my lip. They moved closer. I ducked behind the dry wall. The sharp click of the deadbolt being shot into place was like a choir of freaking angels. My body relaxed. Jackson had gotten to the door in time.

I retreated back to my cot. The sudden, intense fear had caused a headache. I sat on the edge, waiting for the girls to come down. Lily came down first, looking more annoyed than anything. Rochelle followed. Her silver eye shadow was smeared, and eyeliner dripped down her cheeks.

“I fucked up, I fucked up,” she muttered over and over.

“It’s not your fault,” Lily said in a tone that conveyed it wasn’t the first time she had said that. “You had no idea.”

“I should have known,” Rochelle said. “I should have known!” Her legs threatened to buckle. Lily helped her to her cot.

“Hun,” she soothed and brushed back Rochelle’s tangled hair. “He was undercover. None of us would have known.” Lily looked up at me. “Hey, Addie,”

“Hi,” I said back.

“Interesting night.” She rolled her eyes.

I pressed a smile and nodded, still listening to Rochelle crying about fucking up. Finally, Lily got her to take some sort of pill that took effect in just a few minutes. Lily tucked Rochelle under the covers and removed her own clothing, redressing in yoga pants and a tight tank top.

I looked at Phoebe’s empty cot. The sting of grief washed over me, and I buried my face into my pillow. I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, so I replayed the fantasy dinner scene over in my head until I passed out.

***

A full day passed before I was able to see Jackson again. Lily and Rochelle were in the basement with me that night when he brought down our food. His right eye was bruised and swollen shut, and he was limping. I got up from my cot and rushed over, taking the tray from him.

“What happened?” I asked.

He just shook his head, glancing at the girls. “Don’t worry about me. Go back to your cot, Addie. Don’t act like you care.”#p#分页标题#e#

I set the tray down and took his hand in mine. “You look awful.” I felt like crying or throwing up. Maybe I’d throw up, then cry.

“Nah, I’ve had worse.” He nervously cast his eyes at Rochelle and Lily, his fingers tightening around mine.

“I know. You have.” I stepped in toward him.

“Any day now,” he reminded me and squeezed my fingers again. His eyes flicked behind me to the girls. “I should go,” he whispered.

I let his hand fall from mine and nodded. I watched him go up the stairs, a hole forming in my heart as he left. I swallowed hard and turned around, blinking away any tears. He was right. I had to act like I didn’t care. It was incredibly hard to do. I ran my hands over my face, trying to shake the feeling of heartache, and sat at the card table, picking apart a cereal bar.