The Hidden Read Free Page A

reminder of destruction entirely. A burgundy wingback chair sat in the corner where my perfume cabinet had been. I recognized it as a remnant from the attic.
    The red roses that Vincent had placed around the room were cleaned up by Uri and Sophie, but all I had to do was close my eyes to see them again. And to see Vincent lying on my bed, dressed in a black funeral suit, his hair white-blond like Caspian’s, even down to the black streak …
    Mom put a hand on my shoulder. “Is everything okay?” she asked. “You don’t have to sleep in here if you don’t want to. I can make up the guest room.”
    “It’s okay, Mom. I’ll be fine.” I purposefully went over to my bed and sat down on it. I didn’t want the memory of Vincent to drive me away from here.
This is my room. Not his.
    Mom came over too, and moved the pillows around, stacking them one on top of the other. Then she turned back one edge of the covers, folding it and unfolding it again.
    I caught her hand and held it. “I’m
fine
, Mom.” I forced a brave smile. She had no idea what had really happened here, and I wasn’t going to let on.
    “Is there anything that I can get you?” she said. “Anything you need?”
    “Nope. But thanks for the offer.”
    She looked at me for a long time without saying anything, her eyes wide and kind of glassy. Then she leaned forward and kissed my forehead before standing up. “Try to get some sleep. I’ll wake you when dinner’s ready.”
    “Okay, Mom.” I kept the smile on my face until she left the room, then I slumped against the bed and let out a little sigh. My arm ached, and I lifted the sling with a sad little wave at Caspian. He sat down beside me.
    “Hurt myself,” I said.
    “I see. Looks like you’re going to need an extra hand.”
    “Know any takers?”
    “By your side like glue.” He grinned at me, but his eyes were sad.
    I wanted to take away the sadness that was there. Make it disappear and have it never return. “What I told Ben goes
double
for you, you know. It’s not your fault.”
    He ran a hand through his hair and looked away. “Yeah, but
unlike
Ben, it
is
my job to protect you. Or at least … to do the best that I can. I can’t believe I let that happen.” He smacked his fist against his open palm as he spoke. “Vincent attacked you, and now you’re here, like this, and I’m …”
    “Stuck like glue?”
    “That’s right,” he said softly, catching my eye. “Stuck like glue.”
    “Lucky for you I happen to like glue.” I kicked off my sandals and unzipped my hoodie. It was hard to pull my injured hand through the sleeve, but once it was out, I was able to shrug the shirt off the rest of the way and tossed it on the floor.
    Caspian reached down and picked it up. Then he walked over to the closet door and hung it on the knob. “Is this okay here?”
    “Yeah, it’s fine. You know, you’re going to be handy to have around. You can put away
all
of my laundry.”
    He made a short bow, then came back to the bed and stretched out beside me. “If laundry duty is what milady wants, then laundry duty is what she will get.”
    He turned to face me, and his black streak of hair covered one eye. My heart fluttered.
    “That’s the picture of domestic bliss,” I said. “Add in a big fan and an exotic drink, and you have every girl’s dream fantasy.”
    “Domestic bliss, huh? You wanna play house with me, Abbey?”
    I felt my cheeks heating up. “I, um … You know what I mean. Servant. Fantasy. That sort of thing.”
    “Right. Right. Every girl’s fantasy. But I’m only interested in one girl’s fantasy.” He leaned forward.
“Yours.”
    I thought back to our recent hotel stay in West Virginia. Where we’d shared a bed … and a towel. Then something else struck me. “Hey, who did the laundry at your house?” I asked softly.
    His face grew serious, and he looked away. “We went to the Laundromat. There was a lady there who washed it for us. Eventually she showed me