But that was the Crisis everyone saw. After texting with him for months, I knew that there was far more to him. I knew he was really proud of a song he wrote for the band and he wanted to do more of that. I knew he had a list of things he wanted to do before he died. I hadn’t seen it, but he told me two of them: learn to make his mom’s spaghetti meat sauce and that led into another one which was ‘so he could teach his kid one day.’
And maybe that was when I truly knew that Crisis was way more than he let on, and as he looked at me, I saw the concern in his eyes. I heard it in his voice. I felt it in his arms.
Crisis had parts of him that the media never saw. But I did and that was why I said what I did to Kevin. It was just hard to trust when that piece of me was damaged. I lowered my head and for the first time, I reached out to him and placed my hand on his arm. “I know you care.”
And this was the Crisis I was getting to know. He didn’t take my words, my slight give in my armor, and push for more; instead, he nodded and opened the car door for me.
He waited for me to slide in, then shut the door and walked around the car to the other side. My stomach whirled as I watched him and it was a good whirl.
Kite chatted with Dana about the band that was on the radio and how they’d partied with them a number of months ago. Crisis and I remained quiet in the back, our hands next to one another on the seat. Close but not touching.
When we arrived at the farm, Kite helped Dana to the house as she stumbled and laughed, obviously having had one too many beers.
Crisis walked beside me up the path, the only sound that of our feet along the gravel and the slight rustle of the trees in the breeze. Normally, I’d shiver at the sound of the wind, but not now. Not with him next to me. He opened the screen door for me, but caught my arm before I entered.
I stopped.
“Tomorrow, nine o’clock.” My eyes narrowed with confusion and he smiled, the first time since we left the party. “First driving lesson. Be ready, Ice, and if you fail to show up, I’m coming for you.”
“Driving?” My heart raced and it wasn’t in fear, it was with excitement. The freedom that would come with being able to drive . . . more control over my life.
He let me go. “Yep. But when you’re with me, no gun.” He smirked. “I don’t need you shooting me when you get tired of me telling you what to do.” He was trying to make light of the gun scenario, so I gave him that and nodded. Then he went inside and disappeared upstairs. I heard his bedroom door shut then his music turned on.
I was going to learn how to drive. Crisis was going to teach me. I didn’t think he’d remember. I bit my lower lip to stop from smiling. There was a certain amount of exhilaration with getting my license because I’d been antagonized about it for years by Alexa, especially after the siphoning incident.
The shackles were releasing, slowly, but with each day, I came closer to having complete control over my life. I’d never belong to anyone again. I rubbed my finger over the branding on my wrist which read ‘Owned.’
Never.
“Haven, get in here,” Dana shouted. “Your phone’s ringing.”
I answered to Katy Perry after it rang through the chorus twice. That had been Crisis’ doing before he went on tour and I hadn’t figured out how to change it. I was technically unsavvy since Olaf never allowed me a phone or access to the internet and everything in the house had passwords.
I glanced at the screen—Ream. “Hello?”
“Where’ve you been? I’ve been calling for an hour.”
I hadn’t talked to him today. I talked to him every day. Saying my brother was over-protective was an understatement, but I couldn’t fault him for it. He’d thought I was dead for the last twelve years. He sacrificed his innocence for me. He killed a man for me.
“I went out with friends.” And this was exactly what he needed to hear.
Silence, but I could hear his footsteps and the slight jostle of the phone as he paced. “Why didn’t you take your phone with you? I was about to call Luke.”
“I didn’t need it. Dana had hers and Crisis and Kite were with—”
“What?” I pulled the phone away from my ear. “What the hell? Where are you? Why are Crisis and Kite with you? I thought Luke was.”
I’d known this was coming, and it was better he heard it from me now than walk in here tomorrow and find out.
Ream was saying something to someone and I guessed it was Kat who, I’d discovered in the few months before they left on tour, was pretty good at calming Ream down. Stubborn and determined, just like him.
“They’re at the farm?”
“Yeah.” And as I said the next words, I realized it was true. “Ream, it’s good. It’s . . . nice to have them here.”
“I don’t want him near you.” He made a rough growl noise. “If he lays his hands on you . . .”
“Ream.” Ever since Crisis jumped off the cliff with me, my brother had this idea that Crisis was interested in me. “He’d never do that and I think you know that.”
Silence. Then, “I still don’t like it. He has some chick he fucked following him around. I don’t want that near you.”
“I’m fine.” And I certainly wasn’t worried about some chick. “I have to go. Dana is here and we’re about to start a movie.”
“Shit, Haven. I’m sorry. I know it’s been hard on you with us around and I didn’t want them coming back to the farm. I wanted it just to be us and Kat.”