Adapt (I)
Chapter Twenty Six

TJR Garcia © 2020

SCARLET

“Scarlet.” Something shakes me.

“Go away, Boe.” I mumble.

“Not even close.” The voice grumbles. “For one, you can’t sleep with me.” S~ᴇaʀᴄh the FindNøvᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

My eyes fling open, met with Caron’s soft blue eyes. She gives me a cheeky look. “I mean, you could, but there would have to be a lot more alcohol involved.”

I sit up; fighting through the pain that is now a whole lot less than what it was when I was last awake. I am sure that the wound is all but healed now, just a touch of bruising.

“What are you doing here?” I ask wearily, trying to un-fog my brain.

“I’m looking after your ass. Boe said he had something to do, and that you got yourself pretty banged up. What happened? Crazy, out of control sex?”

“What?! No! It’s not-”

She holds up a hand, halting my words. “Give it a rest. I get it. You’re tied up in some crazy shit, and you don’t want me to be involved.” She licks her lips. “I want to ask what sort of trouble you have gotten yourself into, but Boe seemed pretty adamant that you wouldn’t tell me. So, here’s the deal. You can have your secrets but don’t lie to me. Just say, ‘I can’t tell you.’ That way I don’t have to pick and choose when you’re lying to me.”

I tighten my jaw. “Okay.” Tears spring to my eyes.

She gives me a sympathetic smile. “Just remember that I am here, and that you don’t have to keep this from me. I am pretty good at keeping a secret.” She winks.

A lump forms in my throat, but I swallow it away. “It’s not whether you can keep it, Caron. It’s if you believe me.” I shuffle to the side of the bed and swing my legs of the side.

“Whoa, get back in bed.”

“Caron, I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.”

I hold out an arm to block her. “Caron,” I repeat. “I am fine.”

“You’re not fine, you have been stabbed!”

I stand, a little shaky on my feet. I lift my shirt and I begin to unravel the bandage.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Caron panics.

“Showing you that you have nothing to worry about.” I am down to the last layer of bandage, and I can already see that my wound is nothing but a fine pink line.

“Lay down, and I will change the band - wait, when did you get stabbed?”

“Not important. What is important is that you don’t need to worry about me.”

Caron’s eyes narrow.

I roll my eyes. “I can’t tell you, okay?”

Her jaw tightens and she folds her arms. “I haven’t seen you for more than a week, but that wound looks over three weeks old.”

I stretch my shirt back down over my abdomen. “It wasn’t deep. I got it a week ago.”

“My mother’s a nurse, Scarlet. I know what the wound should look-”

“Just let it go.” I say in a low, patient tone. I don’t want to be angry with her, but I can’t have her pushing the subject.

She purses her lips, badly wanting to press the issue. Caron is like that. She doesn’t like being lied to. She hates not finding out the truth even more. She probably prefers being lied to just so she can shove it back in the persons face when she finally finds out the truth.

It isn’t going to happen this time though. If she finds out it is going to be on my terms. Yes, she might be angry or think that I am completely crazy, but it is going to be when I want her to find out.

Because if there is anything that hunters are actually good at, it is keeping secrets.

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