“Oh my gosh, December. It’s so good to see you!”
Birdie and I embraced outside the gates of Windsor House the next day, pretty early as I wasn’t trying to run into any Court boys. I also didn’t know if she was actually allowed inside Windsor House, so instead of potentially opening up that can of worms and further risking the wrath of Royal and Knight, I met her there. We took a walk under icicle-covered trees, circulating the property, and since I still had Knight’s puffer coat on loan, I took full advantage.
“I still can’t believe you were in Arizona this whole time. I mean, what the fuck?” The basketball player joined me on a park bench, breath in small puffs and her cheeks rosy. She shook her head. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
My hands deep in Knight’s coat, I shook my own head. “I wasn’t in a good place.” Still wasn’t and possibly would never be. I’d been on overdrive since my sister’s death, one thing and then the other. I’d never really gotten to mourn her even, all these things crashing down on me. “It’s been rough. I was homeless for a little while.”
Her eyes bugged out. “Homeless?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. “I think what happened to my sister just really messed with my dad. I thought I’d go to live with my aunt in LA, but overhead them both talking about what a burden I was the day of my sister’s memorial.”
“Shit.”
“Mmhmm. It’s just been one thing after another.”
“So how did you come to be here?” she asked, lifting her head of big dark curls. She had them loose today, flurries from the trees sprinkling down on them. It wasn’t snowing, but the snow falling off the trees gave the illusion.
I swallowed. “Knight Reed. I guess Royal sent him down to check on me. They have this… thing where they feel like they need to take care of me. Because of Paige, you know? Anyway, whatever about it.”
She looked like she understood that, gazing back at Windsor House in the distance. “Well, that’s good, I guess. Freaky but good. How was it in there?”
An honest question, but seeing as how I didn’t want to answer it, I shrugged. “I just want out. It’s too much.”
She clasped gloves, staring at me. “Well, of course I’ll ask if you can stay with me,” she said, the reason I called her. Only a few words of that came out over the phone before she said she wanted to meet me, the reason we were here now. She put a hand on my arm. “And it shouldn’t be a problem. Shakira stayed with me for over a month last year when her parents had been fighting. My dad should be cool with it.”
I knew she came from a single-parent household, something she’d mentioned in passing. Things were just her and her dad, and that sounded a far cry better than another day spent at Windsor House. Scared to even move, I basically stayed put in the tower Knight had put me in. I hadn’t even needed food, all that brought to me and left outside my door. It’d been vegan and everything.
Trying
to forget the only person in that place who could have known to do that, I dug my arms deeper in the puffer coat. “And please don’t tell anyone I’m here. I really don’t want to talk to my dad.” He wouldn’t be able to do anything. I was eighteen, but I didn’t want to deal with him.
She frowned. “Are you not coming back to school? Things really have blown over with…” She didn’t say it, but she didn’t have to.
“I’m not ashamed about my past, Birdie,” I admitted. “There’s a reason I did what I did. I was young, but I don’t regret it. There was this guy. Took advantage of me my freshman year. I thought I was in love, and when it all went south, well, I did what I had to do, but don’t regret it.”
She smiled at me. “You’re so brave. Stronger than me.”
The words chilled, all that said to me before. Paige had said the same thing to me once upon a time.
My heart hurt, dying inside, and though Birdie squeezing my hand helped, the feeling didn’t alleviate.
“And of course I won’t tell anyone,” she said. “I’ll see what I can do about you staying with me. I can’t imagine living under the Court eye would be fun.”
She definitely knew my plight, and if she could help me, I’d take it. I kept myself away during my time at the House for the most part, but didn’t like not being able to come and go as I pleased. I gave her one more hug, and then she walked me back to the gates, a promise to call me as soon as she could, and I knew I’d hold my breath every moment of that wait.
Hours later, I still had no call but did get a text from Ramses. He’d sent a few, but this was the latest.
Ramses: So you went home. Where would that be exactly?
Why he was asking I didn’t know, and his other texts had been asking me to call him. He didn’t call himself, but he really wanted me to call for some reason.
Me: Home is far away from Arizona. I’m not coming back. I’m sorry about how things ended. I know you were just trying to help that night.
My phone buzzed, but not with a text. Ramses’ name flashed on my screen, and I thought about answering just because I had felt bad about how I’d been so shitty to him.
Ultimately letting the phone go to voicemail, I sent another text.
Me: Please don’t call. I’m not going to answer. Goodbye, Ramses, and thank you again for what you did for me.