I’m not surprised Mrs. Decker’s eldest daughter left given how, like me, Brianna was never fond of Mayhem. But Faith? They must have had to haul her out kicking and screaming.
“I’ll tell you what, I have some business I have to sort, but as soon as it’s taken care of, I’ll come here for a weekly. Of course, I’ll probably be here more than that, but for sure, at least once a week. How does that sound?”
It’s the least I can do for the woman who tried like hell to get my father to stop beating me. The authorities did nothing, but she was the only person who tried to intervene.
“I’d love that, Jamie. I truly would.”
“Awesome.” I give her a tight hug. “I’ll come by once I’m settled, and we’ll work out a day.”
“And you.” Mrs. Decker shifts her attention to Wraith. “Are you behaving yourself, Eric?”
I blink up at Wraith and hide my laugh at his contrite expression. “Yes, ma’am.”
Color me shocked. I hadn’t realized he and Mrs. Decker knew each other.
“Liar,” she scolds as she scrapes a scowl over his appearance. She grabs his chin and turns his face right and left, examining his scars. “Looks to me like you got yourself in some trouble.”
I snap to Wraith’s defense. “It had nothing to do with him being an Unholy. Nor was it his fault.”
“Mmm,” she grumbles and releases his chin. “Your mother, rest her soul, must be spinning in her grave if she knew you had that word scrawled across your chest.”.
“No offense, ma’am, but she didn’t seem to have a problem marrying an Unholy,” Wraith counters, his voice cold but respectful.
Mrs. Decker’s snort echoes across the moldering library. “Abigale loved your father, but she never wanted this life for her boy. And was she wrong? Rusty was a good man. Loved you both to pieces but being an Unholy got him killed.”
A muscle tics in Wraith’s jaw. “At least he didn’t die a victim of society.”
“You still see the world without the gray?” She tsks. “It’s not about us against them anymore. It’s not about survival. It’s about trying to find some small bit of happiness while you can because nothing’s promised. That’s why I sent my daughters to Brighton to live with my sister. I didn’t want them touched by this life.”
Wraith glares down at the petite librarian. “No, instead, you sent them to go be part of a world that’s going to take everything from them without giving them a damn thing back.” He jerks his chin toward the door. “At least if they were here, Brianna and Faith would have the freedom to live the life they wanted.”
I put my hand on his arm. “It’s getting late.”
Mrs. Decker’s expression is one of motherly concern. “I didn’t mean to overstep. I worry is all. You live a dangerous life, Eric. Your mother was my friend, and I’ve always looked out for you.” She shifts her attention to me. “You as well, Jamie.”
“It meant everything to me when you tried to help.”
She looks on the verge of tears. “They wouldn’t listen.”
“It played out exactly as it had to, Mrs. Decker.” I give her a tight, reassuring smile. “I turned out fine.”
Lies.
“And Eric,” Mrs. Decker says, drawing his glare back to her. “For what it’s worth, you’re right. Brianna did well for herself. She married a good man. Faith, well, she’s Faith. And she’s coming home in a few months. She doesn’t want Luke to know. Not yet, anyway.”
Intriguing. Why wouldn’t Faith want Jester to know she’s coming home?
It takes at least a dozen more assurances that I will, indeed, become a regular face around the library, before Mrs. Decker lets us leave. When Wraith and I step out onto the wraparound porch of the old, converted Victorian mansion, I feel a little lighter. Like another weight has dropped off my shoulders.
“So, Jester and Faith Decker have history, huh?” I ask Wraith.
“Yeah, and it got messy,” he says, staring out over Main Street. “The show I put on last night? That’s a page out of his playbook. Thing is, though, he took it all the way, and got a blow job when he found out Faith was moving to Brighton. Made sure she saw Megan Thomson going down on him. She hasn’t talked to him since. And don’t bring it up, either, because anyone mentions Faith, and all his happy go lucky bullshit is gone instantly. You’ll see a side of him you don’t like.”
I nod. “Got it. Never mention Faith.” I make like I’m securing a lock on my lips. “Where to next?”
Wraith shrugs. “It’s your tour, Jamie. I’m just the driver.”
I exhale loudly and think for a second. Our first stop was Sunny Days Bakery, where I used to peer in the window and watch them bake the bread on Sunday mornings. Wraith bought us coffee and donuts there, which we ate in the gazebo in the town square. After that, we visited a store where I window-shopped as a kid, but when Wraith told me to pick something to buy, I felt weird spending his money. He insisted, and I ended that part of the tour after he pulled that nonsense in the second shop.
