Laney ripped her head away from me, pulling herself up sharp and staring down at me. “I’m not Caroline,” she said firmly, her eyes full of pain and anger. She stood up, her breathing heavy.
“What the hell are you two doing?” Ratchet said from the doorway.
“Nothing,” Laney exclaimed. “Absolutely nothing.” She rushed toward the door and left the room.
“Maybe I should ask what the hell were you doing.” Ratchet glared at me.
My heart was racing as I stared at him, my skin flushed. “I made a mistake.”
“You’re damn right, you did,” Ratchet said. “Haven’t you put her through enough lately? You and your brother. Both using her for her your own advantages.”
“It wasn’t like that,” I retorted. “I told you I made a mistake.”
“No, I made a mistake when I had you almost killed when we were down in Perú,” Ratchet said. “You didn’t make a mistake just now. You knew exactly what you were doing.”
“She was wearing her perfume,” I explained.
“You can’t control yourself based on a smell?” Ratchet asked. “Sounds a lot like a monster to me.”
“Maybe it’s time you step out of the room,” I said. I was trying to be kind and I was trying to be generous. The reality was, I hadn’t been able to control myself with Laney, but that was different than the problem Ratchet was going through. There was something in those flowers he was addicted to, and it was causing him to make poor decisions. My grief would pass, but would his addiction?
“I’ll go and check on Laney,” Ratchet muttered he turned and walked out the door.
I watched him go, my heart aching to heal him.
Chapter 13
LANEY
I was in my room sobbing when I heard the door open. It was so quiet I almost didn’t hear it over the sound of my tears.
“Are you okay?” Ratchet’s voice came to me.
“No, I’m not okay,” I said. “Why would you even think I was okay.”
“I guess it’s just the way I like to pretend things are all the time,” Ratchet murmured.
He entered my room and sat down in the chair, facing the bed, his legs out in front of him, his hands curled around the armrests. He just sat there, staring at me to the point where I became a bit self-conscious.
“I just miss her,” I said hopelessly.
“I know what you mean,” Ratchet said.
“Your best friend is in the next room over,” I grumbled. “You hardly have to experience what I’m going through.”
“We all miss some things in different ways,” Ratchet said.
“When are you going to get your addiction under control?” I asked.
“I thought it was,” he said. “Until recently. Now I don’t know what to think.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Just seeing how you’re doing,” Ratchet said kindly. “You’ve been through a lot in the last few days.”
“You’re telling me?” I wanted to lash out at someone but I stopped myself from taking it out on Ratchet. He had enough issues as it was. “I found out I was a witch of all things. My best friend died. Her true love tried to kiss me.”
“It didn’t look like he was trying. It looked like he was doing.”
