Volumes of the Vemreaux Complete Collection: A Dystopian Adventure Trilogy, page 96
“Hey, I’ve been in your shoes. I’m on your team, here. I want you two to work out. She had to give your world a try today, and now you have to learn to survive in hers. Not so easy, is it?” Elle patted Sam’s shoulder. “Take it from someone who’s loved all three of them and lived to tell the tale. Either get all the way in or get out now.”
“Hard to do when she won’t actually let me in the room.”
Elle glanced at the door. “She’s worth the learning curve.”
“What about Baird?” Sam looked at Elle for the first time since they got up there.
Elle gave him a tight smile. “Blue’s worth it, but I lost the bet on Baird a long time ago.”
So Sam waited. He picked at the sandwich Elle brought him and tried to return her encouraging smile. Hours passed without a sound from the room. Sam stared at the door and thought over all the things he said that could have set her off. Though he felt justified in his rant about Killian, he knew that was the crux of it. Sharon’s rudeness, the newness of normal Vemreaux life, Frederick’s new role – all of it was a lot for one person to handle in half a day, but Blue had been managing. It was not until that phone call that he lost her.
He tried to regret his words, but the remorse was insincere. He hated Killian. No, he did not wish him dead – anymore – but he did not want the prince living near someone that was so precious to him. Killian took away Sam’s father, exploited his mother and stole Celilia.
If he were to be honest, Sam would have to admit that the prince did seem changed. Sam grumbled to himself that that’s when Killian struck hardest – when your guard was down. Sam remained vigilant in his anger towards the prince. He would not allow Blue to be ruined by Killian. She was everything to him, and Killian could see it. Each time the two went out into the barn to have their makeshift therapy sessions, it was all Sam could do to not barge in and beat Killian senseless.
The sun had long since set when Liam and Alec made their way up the stairs. “Hey, Sam-I-Am. Do you like green eggs and ham?” Liam laughed at his recycled joke, and then slapped his forehead. “No, Sam only likes Blue eggs and ham.” He clapped his knee, grinning at his own cleverness. “Get it? Because her name’s a color!” Liam chortled good-naturedly. “She changing? Ran into Parker at Souffle. She told me you guys were going to Amante’s tonight. Think I’ll swing by, too.”
Sam gave a half-hearted nod of acknowledgment, and then went back to staring at his door. “I used your name to banish Sharon from Amante’s and cut her off from Mike. Just so you know.”
Liam raised his eyebrow. “What for?”
“She called Blue a whore and tried to feed her food that’d make her sick.”
“Seriously? We can do worse than banish her. I’ll see what else I can do. No one talks to my sister like that.” Liam knocked on Blue’s door. “You okay in there?”
“Leave me alone!” Blue yelled.
“But, it’s me!” Liam protested, frowning. When she did not answer, he shook his head at her door and went to his room.
Alec stayed in the hallway, allowing Liam the privacy to change from his business suit to more comfortable clothes for the club. He gave Sam an appreciative nod. “Nice uniform. How’d her first day out of the house go?”
Sam fiddled with the cloth napkin from the sandwich Elle brought him hours ago, not bothering to look up at Alec. “Well, she’s been in there for like, five hours, so I’d say not so good.”
Alec glanced at the door curiously. “She actually locked you out of your own room?”
“Yep. Look at me. Taking it like a champ.”
Alec scratched his cheek as he sized up his friend. “Anything happen besides Sharon?”
Sam sighed, folding the napkin in half, then in half again. “Sharon was a bitch to her. Found out she’s Wayward and I’m sure is spreading that around as we speak. Saw Griffin for the half hour it took to get him to The Way East. That was big. Then Ever called, trying to get a hold of Liam. Apparently this stuff he has is too good to pass up, and he’s got to show it to me. He sounded off. Still. Not as deranged as before, but secretive. I don’t know what he’s up to, but he’s planning something.”
“Oh, great. Everest Sinclair in mastermind mode. Heaven help us all. Does anyone ever know what he’s up to?” Alec shook his head. “That set her off?”
“I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure it was when I called Killian to warn him. It got a little heated. Said a few things I shouldn’t. Not that he didn’t deserve them, but still. Smug bastard. Bet he enjoyed driving a wedge between us.” Sam ran his hand over his mouth and rubbed his jaw. “Then she started screaming for me to take her home. Tried to jump out of the car when we were on the freeway. Got home, and she’s been locked in the room ever since.”
Alec let out a low whistle. “Well, we warned you it would be hard to date a Wayward.”
“She’s not Wayward, Alec. She’s Vemreaux. Why doesn’t anyone get that? She belongs with us.”
“No, she doesn’t. And she doesn’t belong in The Way, either. Really, she doesn’t belong anywhere, yet.” Alec cast around for a chair, and then lowered himself to the floor next to Sam. “Look, she’s just trying to figure things out. Like it or not, she and Killian went through something together over on the island. He won’t talk to anyone about it except for her. Not even to Frederick or his shrink. He’s helping her, too. Haven’t you noticed how much better she’s been doing?”
“It’s not because of him,” Sam protested arrogantly. “Well, not just him, anyway.”
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but Killian’s not up to anything. He really has changed.”
Sam guffawed, but kept his objection to that.
Alec looked over at his friend with pity in his eyes. “Funny thing is that Killian doesn’t have to lift a finger. You just thinking that he’s going to is pushing her away more than any scheme he could cook up.” He motioned to the locked door to demonstrate his point. “You can’t blame this one on Killy. It’s all you.”
Alec rose when Liam came out of his room in gray slacks and an undershirt. “Hey, men in black. Have you seen my green shirt? Or my Blue friend?”
Alec called Elle, who scrambled up the stairs with a basketful of laundry. “Sorry about that. Hard to tell whose shirt is whose.”
Liam gave her a garish grin. “Mine are the ones fit for a stallion.”
“Well, obviously,” Elle tossed back, enjoying the ease of Liam’s banter. “But you asked for a shirt, not pants.”
Liam paused, and then laughed at her bawdy humor that matched his own. “Oh, man. You are not like Blue. Where’d you learn to talk like that?”
“Charm lessons. This the one you wanted?” Elle pulled out a light green dress shirt, holding it up to him to see how it looked.
“Yeah. Thanks. What do you think?”
“I think it’d be hard to make those blue eyes of yours look bad. I like it. Should dazzle the Fems.”
He lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’m not interested in dazzling the Fems. I’m interested in you.”
Elle gave him a look of warning and lowered her voice. “Liam, not here. We can talk about it later.” She moved away from him to stop the taboo conversation.
“What’s the point of later when I’m here right now?”
Alec groaned and mumbled to Sam under his breath. “This should be interesting.”
Elle glanced at Liam’s pants appreciatively and sauntered over to the prince, distracting him with her smile. Liam sucked in his breath as Elle’s hand dove into his front pocket and fished around.
“Holy!” Liam exclaimed, eyes lidded.
Elle drew her hand back out, holding his keys. “Good thing you’ve got a guard. You’re an easy one to pickpocket.” She tossed the keys into the air and caught them in front of Liam’s dumbfounded face. She smirked at the guards who stared at her, looking like fishes with their mouths open.
Elle winked at Sam. “You’ve waited long enough. I’ll be right back with your favorite color.”
Sam stood, rubbing his butt where it had fallen asleep. The guys watched as Elle disappeared into Liam’s room, unlocking the door and letting herself into Sam and Blue’s space.
“Blue?” She looked around the empty room, needing only to verify that the bathroom was empty to know her friend was hiding under the bed. She sat down on the plush white carpet and rested her back against the bed frame, fingering the dust ruffle. “So, I hear you had a great first day out in the real world. Grettel would be proud she’s having such a lasting effect.”
“I’m not hiding from the real world,” Blue argued, speaking into the carpet. “I needed a break from Sam.”
“Well, this is a very mature way to ask for it, I must say.”
“Don’t be mean to me. You don’t know the horrible things he said. How can he be so nice to me and so nasty to other people? He turns so quick; I can’t tell when it’s coming.”
Liam let himself inside, quirking his eyebrow to Elle, who appeared to be conversing with an empty bed. She pointed underneath, and then motioned for him to keep his mouth shut. “What could he have possibly said to upset you this much?”
Blue’s voice was filled with hurt. “He said it would’ve been better if Killian died on the island. Doesn’t he know how much it hurts me when he talks like that? I could have died trying to save his life, and that’s how he thanks me? And Brody did die! He gave up his life to save Killian. Killian’s gone through enough. It haunts him more than he lets on. Sam doesn’t know what he went through over there. No one does! He doesn’t need Sam poking him when he’s fragile.”
Liam knelt down and peered under the bed. “Killy’s not fragile, Blue.” He watched her tuck herself further into her gray coat to hide from him. “He’s had a rough go of it, but he can take what Sam hands him. He deserves a lot of it, too.”
“He deserves all of it and more,” Sam grumbled as he padded into the room, unable to keep himself separate from his girlfriend any longer.
Liam whipped his head around and shot Sam a look of pure disgust. “You did your fair share, so don’t act the martyr.”
“I didn’t do a thing he didn’t have coming!”
“You set his car on fire! You slept with Kya when you knew how much he liked her. You gave his dog to the pound. I liked Maximus, too, Sam! You leaked those photos of him and Ever. I know it was you. Do you want me to keep going?”
“A drop in the bucket of what I owe him.”
“Get him away from me!” Blue shouted into the carpet, the fibers muffling some of her renewed fury.
“Out,” Elle ordered. “You clearly haven’t had enough time to think.” She hopped to her feet, turned Sam around and gave him a light push to the door. When he began to protest, Elle yanked him down by the collar to whisper angrily in his ear. “Do you understand that there’s an atomic bomb in this room that your bickering could set off at any moment? You’ve never seen her slaughter a roomful of people, but I have. Do you have any idea how hard it is for her to control the blackouts? She’s murdered dozens of guys for getting too aggressive with me. Like it or not, she’s attached to Killian, so don’t push her by threatening him! Is your little fight with Killian really so important? Look at what you’re doing to her!” Elle pointed to the bed incredulously. “You can’t love her and this fight. You have to choose. All day long, you’ve been putting a moldy argument with Killian over her. Not sexy, and not smart. Go back outside and think. Do not come back in here until you can move past this thing with Killian. And I mean, past it.”
When Sam had the nerve to scoff, Elle glowered. “He’s going to be her brother soon. You’ve never seen how far she’ll go to protect what’s hers, but I have. Stop tearing her in half. You’ve already got Baird to try to get along with for her sake. You really want to have another problem with yet another one of her brothers? I told you, either be with her all the way, or get out now.” She released Sam into Liam’s room and shut the door.
Liam whistled appreciatively. “That was impressive.”
She turned on the prince, all of their earlier flirtation gone. “What’s not impressive is how long their little feud’s been going on. You should have put a stop to this a long time ago.”
“It’s not my fight, Elle. It’s up to them to fix it, and neither of them can seem to sort it out.”
“Then figure it out for them and put it back together,” she ordered. “You can’t bring Blue into a family that doesn’t work. She deserves better than that.”
“It works. You just have to tiptoe sometimes.”
Liam’s joke fell flat as she stared at him. Elle joined him on the floor, peeking under the dust ruffle at her friend. “Well, I hate to say you’re right about this, but you are. Good for you for controlling yourself and not losing it. Really, Blue. The bed was a good choice to the alternative. Sam’s going to do some thinking. He’ll try to work it out with Killian.”
Blue huffed in disbelief.
“Well, maybe not perfectly, but enough to where it’s not so tense. He shouldn’t have said that about Killian and made Brody’s sacrifice seem like nothing. He didn’t mean it, but he still shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry you had to hear it.”
Blue nodded into the carpet, though she knew Elle could not see her response.
Elle sat up and folded her arms across her chest. “I’m going to sit right here until you come out of there, Blue.” She turned to the prince. “Prince Liam, I know you need all that laundry done, but I can’t do it until I know Blue’s okay. It’s alright if you have to fire me. I understand. But family comes first.”
Liam cottoned on and forced his voice to be stern. “Oh, well if that’s how it’s going to play out, then you probably shouldn’t work here. Family should come second when you’re on the clock. I need that laundry folded. Like, really need it now. I care deeply about the state of my laundry. If you can’t get to it, I’ll just have to pay someone who can.”
Elle clasped her hands together as the pleading oozed from her. She grinned as Liam’s large mitts covered her folded fingers. “Please don’t let me go, sir. I’m so sorry. We desperately need the money. Please give her another minute. I’m sure she’ll come out, and then I can get back to work. Don’t turn me out on the streets because of Blue!”
“Worst fake fight ever, guys,” Blue murmured. She obliged, however, and unlocked her muscles that had moved very little in five hours. She crawled out from under the bed, grimacing when Liam scooped her up in his arms. “Easy, Liam. I don’t want to ruin your pants.”
“What are you…jeez!” he exclaimed, taking in the bloody marks on her arms.
Elle groaned. “Suzette’s gonna be mad. She finally settled on you wearing a short sleeve gown on your big day.” She lifted Blue’s arm, which had four bloody scratches down the length of it. “I wish you’d stop this.”
A dark cloud settled over the prince’s head. “You did this?”
Blue shrugged. “Don’t worry. I didn’t get any blood on the carpet. A little on the inside of my coat, but no one’ll see it.”
“Like I care about the carpet. Why are you hurting yourself?”
“It doesn’t hurt,” Blue admitted. “I keep hoping it will, but it never does. Baird says my pain threshold’s too high. That’s why I can take a beating without it being too big a deal.”
Liam shook his head, looking like he might be sick. “This is a big deal, bambina. This is a very big deal.”
6
Mirrors
Liam stood, lifting Blue along with him. Blue struggled out of his grip to stand on her own. “I’m okay, Liam. I told you, it doesn’t hurt.”
“Well, it hurts me.” Liam led her into the bathroom and turned on the lights. Blue cringed instantly, grateful when Elle switched them off again. “I need the light to wash these, Elle.”
Elle shook her head. “She can’t handle all the mirrors. I’m trying to not make her hide under the bed all over again.”
“Sam never mentioned that you don’t like mirrors.” Liam took a washcloth from the drawer and wetted it in the sink.
Blue shrugged, making sure to hide her face. “I don’t think he knows. There was only one in The Way. In the infirmary. But out in the world, they’re everywhere. It’s terrifying.”
Liam wrung out the rag and motioned for her to sit on the lid of the toilet. “What’s a pretty girl like you got to be afraid of her reflection for? You’re related to me, remember? Mirrors love us.” He gave Blue a cheesy grin, in hopes of evoking a smile.
“Not me. It’s like it knows all my secrets, all the bad things I’ve done. Besides, I know what I look like. I don’t need the reminder.” Blue shuddered at the thought.
“I hate it when you talk like that. I like the way you look. You look like me.” Examining the piece of work before him, Liam started with her right arm. He lifted it, observing the gouges that went from the back of her wrist to her elbow. “When you do this to yourself, you’re doing it to me, Blue.” He dabbed at the dried blood.
“I would never cut you, Liam.”
He held up her arm for her to see. “This hurts me.” He pounded his chest. “This cuts me.”
“I told you that it doesn’t bother me.”
“Then why do you do it?”
Blue did not answer. She did not think she could utter the words and still have him look at her in such a loving way.
“Why, Blue?” Liam’s soft tone hardened as he cleaned off her arm.
“Because!” Blue retorted. “Because it keeps me from doing worse things to other people. When I’m upset, I’m afraid I’ll go dark and wake to find I’ve killed everyone around me.”
“This is not the way.” Liam grimaced as he gingerly swept the rag over her wounds. He was silent as he tended to her, deep in thought. He sent Elle for some salve to cover over the broken skin, and she returned with a whole mess of ointments and bandages from the first aid kit Josephine pointed her to.
Having collected a fair amount of scrapes himself, Liam was an expert at knowing which creams were for what injuries. The prince rubbed a white cream that prickled as it disinfected Blue’s arm. The cloud that grew over his head now threatened a storm. “I want you to do something for me.”
