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Chapter 14
There were dreams I had. Dark dreams of my life before my brothers. Dreams like fireflies stuck inside a jar when dawn comes, flicking between blinding brightness and the quiet dark of sleep. I remembered my mother laughing. I remember the taste of honey cookies when we were able to scrounge the goods from the forest and market. I remember my room, my small cot of straw and blankets but more than that I remember my mother's, the scrape of her homespun blankets and the smell of lavender on her pillows.
I remember the moment that I brought Minoru to my mother, her face so familiar that I can remember it even after years of missing it. Odd. It's odd to lose a face that you once cherished because even though you'll always remember it there's a brightness to memories that fades the features. Like trying to remember something in color when all you can see is black and white.
"I haven't given him a name yet," I proclaimed proudly, running a hand along the soft blue fur at his head. Frowning, I dragged him forward, wagging a finger at the doleful, black eyes. "I found him so he's mine now."
Memories like these are best left in the past. They hurt. They make my stomach turn. There's a dimness to them that makes me half-crazy. And more than that, something always felt wrong. Like a part of the picture was missing. Just gone from my memory.
Because I could never really see Minoru in these memories. Flashes like my hand clutching his or the glassy orbs of his eyes but never any words. I didn't get those until...after… after she- No.
"Panda-honey." My eyes snapped up to my mother's face, the crisp lines there tired and… wary. Like she wasn't sure how to respond to me. Briefly, her gaze slid to Minoru, cinching tight for a moment before she forced a stiff smile. "You know he's not yours-"
"He is," I pressed stubbornly. "I found him. You left him outside and I-"
Why did I always use that word? Found? Outside? Such a strange choice. What about his parents? Surely-
"Honey." There was that edge, something like agitation curling her lips further down. "We've gone over this before. That creature is not-"
And that's where it ends. Like running through a wooded area only to see a cliff's edge too late and sprint over it.
There was a sort of comfort to these long spans of blankness. Like my mind was pulling me away from something too painful for me to fully grasp. Cocooning me from- From what?
"What the hell happened to her hands?"
"What do you think? She never cares about her own safety."
The sound of yelping as someone hit another. "We knew those daggers were garbage. I told you we should have gotten her new ones and not those pathetic shoes."
"...But we match now…"
I blinked groggily, my mouth cottony from snoring. Against me, I could feel a stiffness that meant that Minoru was already awake.
"I like these shoes," I rasped out, rubbing my eyes as I forced myself into a sitting position.
My brothers, covered in dirt and cobwebs were kneeling just in front of me, their faces brutish per usual. They all still held that street in their features, strong jaws that could take a hit, corded arms that were used to scrounging through dumpsters and swinging when they got caught. And more than that, there was a raw hunger in their eyes. Even though we had long since found a way to keep our stomachs from keeping us up at night, their cheekbones and fingers still held the feral hunger that only real starvation could give a human.
"They make us look like we're part of a hardcore up and coming boy group," I sighed, smiling as Imori sat down beside me, his eyes shrewd as he handed me a wrap and water. They had been giving us food around the clock, a little cart stocked full at the far end of the tower. He was always the more observant, more studied one of my brothers.
That was probably why his eyes were darting over my bandaged hands. Who helped you, they seemed to say. I smiled into the next gulp of water. That seemed like a bad course of action.
Absently, my eyes roamed around the space, immediately falling on where Hisoka sat, his back against the wall as he made a pyramid from his cards. As if sensing my gaze, the deep cat-like gaze of his flicks up, a smirk curling his lips. A promise and a threat.
"We've never come this far," Amori mused, his voice suddenly soft with awe. Suddenly, looking at the way that he was looking around this dirty room with no windows, smelling of sweat and dirt and blood, I felt bad. I felt bad for being angry with them for wanting more than the shit-hole that we had grown up in. His eyes glittered as he looked back at us. "We're going to make it this year. One of us is, at least."
Imori's brutish face was drawn, his nod grim as he eyed the other contestants in the room.
"We're all going to make it," I pressed, giving them a stiff smile.
There was an almost sad tilt to his eyes as he stared down at me. An expression I didn't fully understand crossing his face. A stiff silence pressed between us, gaping and eating away at my nerves. Beside me, as if drawn by my emotions, Minoru perked up, the red glittering swirls along his fur sparking to life like an electrical shock being delivered.
Imori blinked, his face scrunching for a moment as if he were taking in something that he had forgotten was there. Some of the contestants around the room jerked, their eyes widening as they took in the delicate raising of Minoru's head, his eyes roving around the assembly.
You were out for a while, I murmured to him mentally, running a gentle hand along his side. He flinched, his ears flattening for a moment. Still in pain then.
Disgruntled, he glanced away. When you go through a tower of bullshit, you usually need a little breather afterward.
I didn't dignify this snarkiness with a response.
"So this is it," Imori mused, taking in the cluster of contestants. It was a sparse group. So much smaller than what we had started with. My guess would be in the high twenties maybe?
Sitting just across the room, Ichihiro still had his eyes closed. My mouth went dry as I saw a bubble of sickly yellow ooze from beneath his feet. Aura. As I watched it withered before sliding seamless backward and out of sight. How could he just do that? Unless he had been trained like my mother had trained me. My eyes flicked to Minoru, taking in the slight narrowing of his gaze as he watched the darker-haired boy.
Huh. That seems like a fun development, he murmured.
How? My teeth ground together, turning to where Hisoka had suddenly gone still like an animal sensing blood. He had sensed it as well. My mind spun. What did it mean? A small, knowing smile curved his lips as he eyed the sleeping boy. For a moment, I felt myself slipping into something closer to anxiety. It was maddening how little I knew.
Beside me, Minoru flinched, his claws extending and scraping along the tile floor as red in his fur brightened. I could almost feel my energy fueling him, making him closer to agitation as I grew more and more panicked.
Mori, he snapped.
I know, I hissed back, taking a deep breath and shutting my eyes. I needed to stay calm. This exam was bringing out bad things in me. I ground my teeth together. More than that, it kept bringing up memories - dreams from the past. I had lost most of my memory after my mother had died, huge patches of time. In Belcher, I had always been able to keep from worrying about it too much. But here with all the bloodshed and more than that - the challenge. Dammit.
"Hey, are you okay?" It was Imori. Sweet Imori. He had always worried about me a bit too much.
I gave him a smile. I wasn't sure about this next bit but so far the vast majority - while aimed to highlight individual strengths - could be played in a way that allowed for cooperation. Glancing around once more, I noticed the lack of groups. All alliances seemed to be abandoned in Trick Tower, leaving the room with a general unease that could easily boil over into bloodshed.
At the moment, my brothers and I were the most unified front - a mass of bonds that wouldn't be severed. There was safety in numbers… But also a danger. It made us a bigger target.
I hid my grimace, noticing how Amori eyed the surrounding contestants with the same tense recognition. Forcing a smile, I squeezed Imori's arm. "Yeah, it's just… a lot, you know? But when we get our licenses, we're going to be able to eat ramen every night."
Umori gave a low groan, his head thumping against the wall that he leaned on. "Octopus."
I smiled wryly, remembering when he had been so hungry he had launched himself off the pier and into the ocean, screeching about hunting down some octopus and crab. Amori and Imori had had to paddle in after him and drag him out while I had screamed from the docks. In the end, he had gotten a cold and been out of commission for two weeks and we had nearly starved because of it.
"I hear the big cities have tiny cakes that are so fluffy that you can inhale them," Amori murmured, his eyes glazed, no longer worrying about the threat of the other contestants.
"And clothes that feel like clouds," I whispered dreamily, imagining what it would be like to have more than two outfits and a pair of sneakers. A huge closet… I nearly died from jealousy.
Imori gave a sigh, the longing nearly eating us all alive at that moment. Hungry, little street urchins, that's what we were. In the beginning, I had scoffed at the idea but now… Being this close to the end was making me go mad. I could taste the money that came with this little contest.
And I would be a fool not to want it.
"One minute remaining!" the loudspeakers around the area squawked and I saw a few of the contestants get to their feet.
Amori gave a sigh, cracking his neck. "Well, that's that."
"No way is anyone going to slide-" Imori stopped at the slow rumble of one of the chambers doors opening.
"Aw, my butt hurts!" came a disgruntled cry. I watched, impressed as the green-haired boy and his blonde and silver-haired friends strode into view, covered in a thick layer of grime and sweat.
That was interesting, to say the least. Interest peaked, I watched closely as the lankier one and a pudgy contestant came bickering into the hall. Honestly, I wasn't sure whether I should feel intrigued or morbidly shocked that the five had gotten through to the next test at the last moment. Glancing around, I gathered that the welcome was less than warm.
Their arrival was five more people that hadn't been eliminated. Five more people that we needed to crawl over if we wanted to get through this exam.
At least we're not the only targets, Minoru whispered to me softly, nodding to deadly glint in a green-haired girl's eyes as she stared at Gon and his friends.
They helped us, I protested weakly, already knowing that that was an excuse in itself. This contest seemed to be based around severing any emotional ties in favor of personal gain.
Minoru's eyes were dark holes, the hall's sterile light glint off of their hard surface. Your brothers are already a heavy enough obligation to keep without adding new ones.
I forced my gaze away. He was right. Of course, he was right. Already I had had a taste of what it meant to trust a contestant with even the bare minimum. My teeth ground together as Ichihiro gave me a cold, mocking smile from across the hall. I wouldn't make that mistake again.
"The third phase of the Hunter Exam is over!" the loudspeaker crackled to life again, an annoying buzz making Minoru growl in annoyance. "Twenty-seven applicants have passed including one deceased!"
"Alright," Imori breathed as a slim door slid open revealing a blaze of light. I blinked into it, dazed. Had it been so long that I had seen the sun? My eyes watered, my skin warming at the prospect. Trapped in this horrid tower for how long? My heart leapt at the sight, my lunges burning as I caught the first whiff of summer air, sunshine, and flowers.
"We're not meant to be unground for too long," Amori muttered, grinning as the other contestants began to file quietly out.
There was an edge to the others that I couldn't completely adopt - the shore view of a tsunami, the cliff edge before the drop. Minoru huffed out a breath as I trotted forward, nearly knocking more than one person over as I ducked between arms and legs, craving the first hit of-
"FRESH AIR!" I screamed, glee making me nearly incoherent. Suddenly all of the fatigue washed away from me at the sight of the trees in the distance, the tower behind me spiraling further and further into the air until all I could see were clouds and a thin stone spear.
Behind me, Minoru gave a roar, charging past me and crashing to the ground in a happy roll as he huffed in the fresh smell of leaves and bark and wind. We were woodland creatures, more inclined to dirt and sky than roofs and darkness. In our small town with the meager living that we had scrounged by on, my brothers and I had found an abandoned warehouse at the edge, pushing in beds and knocking out walls until the space was liveable. My room was a hovel - or at least that was what my brother's told me, straw and blankets made up my bed, a whole wall knocked out so that there was nothing but open air and a sudden drop.
Launching myself at Minoru, I gave a laugh as he rolled, his tongue lulling out as I pounced down on him. No wonder his mood had been so awful. While I was able to control myself, Minoru was a beast and deserved more than a tomb to walk around in.
"And I thought that she was more than a child when she came in all covered in blood," a contestant scoffed somewhere behind me. Minoru's ears flattened, his eyes narrowing. "What a joke."
"Probably Kool-aide," another contestant muttered scornfully. Umori gave a snarl, his head whipping to the side. He looked like he was seriously contemplating the merits of creating a human-sized crater in the guy's head.
I wiggled from Minoru's belly, settling in the sun-dappled grass with a sigh. Seeing the outside again had calmed me, settled my nerves in a way that I hadn't known I needed. I smiled up at my brothers, waving them over.
"Don't mind them," I said as they slouched closer, looking murderous. It was too much energy wasted to allow the others to get under their skin. It meant that they wouldn't be thinking about the contest anymore - instead focusing on how best to fuck someone else over. I caught each of their eyes in turn. "We have another test to get through."
Imori tsked, glaring around. Protective and all-too-eager to get into a fight. My eyes caught unnecessarily on the lean figure of Hisoka, his smile firmly in place and infinitely amused as he kept to the back. Immediately, his aura withered, shivering like an animal anxious to attack, his golden gaze catching mine in recognition. His smile broke, teeth flashing as he gave me a wink.
Like we were conspirators.
The bandages on my hands cinched, tightening as I wiggled my fingers. Maybe we were.
"Congratulations on escaping Trick Tower, everyone," a slick, weasily voice crowed and I turned to see an equally weasily face to accompany it. It was a short, thinly built man, the sides of his head shaved to accommodate a purple mohawk. In the afternoon sun, the large glasses perched atop his sharp nose glistened, obscuring his eyes with shards of pure light. Immediately, I knew who he was. Apparently, Minoru did too by the grumbled string of insults he threw to me mentally. He was the man who had spoken to us in the Tower. "All that remain now are the Fourth Phase and the Final Phase."
A shiver of excitement went through the group. Beside me, I saw my brothers tense like hunting dogs catching a scent. They were starving for this. And I was surprised to feel the echo of that same impulse beat through me.
"The Fourth Phase will take place right over there on Zevil Island," the examiner continued, his thumbing jabbing toward the great expanse of water just to his back. Blue rolled nearly to the horizon, dotted by the overgrown mass of trees and hills that a small island formed. There would be no way to get off of it once we were there, I realized. My heart sank, uneasy dread tightening my stomach. "Now let's proceed."
A sharp click burst through the clearing and immediately a massive man with piercings in a disturbing color of yellow wheeled a small tray with a slim box sitting atop forward.
"Any chance you think that has cookies in it?" Umori whispered, earning a quick punch from Imori.
"Take this seriously," Amori snarled.
Which was exactly the sentiment that I had as Minoru continued to grumble at me about the purple-haired examiner. He has ridiculous-looking ears, don't you think?
I rolled my eyes, slapping him lightly on the side as he rolled into a sitting position, chubby legs sprawled before him, his face pulled into a disgruntled pout.
"To begin with, I will need each of you to draw lots now," the examiner was saying, his command punctuated by the uneasy murmur of the other contestants.
That sinking feeling only grew as I felt Hisoka's aura spike. There was only one reason that they would give us numbers. I got to my feet, keeping close enough for contact with Minoru. To divide us up. To-
The examiner's smile was sharp and gleeful. "Who you hunt and who hunts you."
I gulped, that pit growing. There were a lot of people here who I would be able to defeat. But there were also some that I wasn't too sure about. What if I got one of my brothers? What if Minoru was thrown into the mix once more and I was matched against him? Too many variables. Too much uncertainty to make me feel anything but anxious. Suddenly all of my earlier goodwill washed away.
One hand lifted to the box, the examiner's eyes cutting as he grinned around the clearing at each of us, his eyes lingering a bit too long on Minoru and I. "In this box are exactly 26 numbered cards. Which means that one of the numbered cards will correspond with your badge. Now each of you will draw a card in the order you exited the tower. All right. Which of you was first?"
No surprise.
Hisoka's face was decidedly impassive as he strode forward. His aura was a different story altogether. It rolled and withered around him, condensing and expanding until he drew a single card out and flipped it quickly. And just like that, it settled, wilting in dejection as he turned away. My eyes followed him, only sparing a second for the pinned man that had apparently passed the tower second.
Do you think he got one of us? Minoru asked me, his eyes following the red-haired man just the same.
I debated, catching the sly smile that Hisoka flashed me as he moved to the back of the group once more. No, I finally decided. I don't think he would have been able to control his excitement if he had.
A low laugh drew my eyes back to the card slot, my teeth grinding as Ichihiro flounced forward, a dark glint in his eyes. How had I not noticed it before? The slightly unhinged jerk in his walk, the cocky smile? The answer was infinitely annoying: because I didn't feel threatened by him. Even now, my observations were based around my own anger not any sense of survival instincts.
All 34 teeth flashed as he turned, that sickly yellow substance oozing out and shivering as he turned toward me. And then he did something that not even Hisoka had done. He turned his card, a sharp laugh breaking from him as he flashed the thin numbers at me. Even with my inability to read, it was hard to not know a number that had been sitting where right in front of you for the last couple of days: 127. Amori's number.
Beside me, my brother went still, real tension making his face go a shade lighter. I wanted to throw up.
"Hunting," he hummed excitedly, a sickly light sparking in his eyes as he danced from foot to foot in front of the slot box, the examiners eyeing him with wary interest. I wanted to yell and tear him apart. I wanted to wipe that stupid smile off of his face. He let out a crow, his eyes crinkling with joy "How does that make you feel, huh? I'm about to hunt him down and snap his neck so quick that no one will hear him scream."
My jaw ached, a burning heat swelling inside of me as I took in the gleeful look in his eyes. There was something about his gaze that made me think that every act was done with such malice that nothing would ever be anything but sloppy and rushed.
Amori's mouth turned down and then tightened into a straight line.
"What the fuck did you just say?" Umori hissed, his knuckles cracking as he took a menacing step forward. Rage tightened my brother's faces, the corded muscles in their shoulders bunching.
Amori's hand tightened on my shoulder, his eyes burning into mine. "Don't worry about me. I'm not going to let some asshole like him attack me."
"There's no way he'll even get near him," Imori whispered, his eyes smoldering. My brother's stuck together.
I still felt like hot garbage. Beside me, Minoru's breath was huffing in and out of him.
Across the clearing, I could feel the tense shift in Hisoka, his eyes burning into Ichihiro. A new target. If I said the word, I didn't doubt that he would kill him for me. Hisoka was barely leashed as it was and from his aura that was about to slip once he got onto that island.
"Thanks for the warning," I said tightly, baring my teeth in a smile that I was sure resembled the final rattle of a death grimace. At my back, I felt my brothers condense into a snarling, glaring pack of dogs, all biting at the bit to get a chunk of Ichihiro's skin. But that wasn't how this place worked. If any one of them could get disqualified for starting a fight. If we wanted to stay in then we needed to play it cool. And tear him apart later.
Beside me, Minoru's body vibrated, the red patches swirling and humming with the electrical force of a fuse ready to blow.
I wouldn't underestimate Ichihiro but I also wouldn't let him cow me. Especially in front of all these contestants watching the exchange, all with expressions that looked more inclined to back the psychopath in front of me. Sheep, I sneered.
"Hey, that's not cool to say that to a lady!" mister suit and tie yelled from somewhere near the tree-line. A general crow of agreement came from Gon and Kurapika.
Gon jumped up and down. "Yeah! Why don't you pick on someone your own size, you big bully?"
The smile on Ichihiro's face was sickening. "Should I tell them about how much of a threat you really are?"
My blood went cold, my insides hardening as I strode toward him, plastering a smile on my face. I played around with my aura, remembering the feeling of hardening and sharpening that card that Hisoka had given me. Like a new muscle that hadn't been used, a part of my brain throbbed.
When my shoulder slammed into Ichihiro's side it was with enough force to send him sprawling, a surprised smile frozen on his face. Hisoka's laugh was swift, sharp like the caw of a bird of prey, his aura leaping with glee and… pride?
The whisper of unease that went through the other contestants was enough to make my smile turn genuine. I stared into Ichihiro's eyes, making sure that my aura was just the right shade of rip-you-to-shreds. Leaning forward, I made sure that the next words were just for him. "If you so much as get near my brothers, I'll tear out your intestines and feed them to Minoru."
I could feel the barely leashed fury that my brothers were casting to the sprawled form of Ichihiro, that smile still in place even through whatever mental calculations were going through his mind. Slowly, I straightened, holding his gaze. I meant every word.
"Dude, you just let a little girl knock you down," a thin-set man whispered to Ichihiro as he slunk away and I felt a burst of joy at his grumbled acknowledgment.
The feeling was short-lived however as I neared the box, my brain aching along with a series of other muscles in my shoulder and arm that I didn't even know existed. Obviously, without practice, these abilities would be painful to use each time.
"Quite a racket," the examiner mused as my fingers tightened on the first card I felt.
I had to agree with him. Already I had made myself more of a target than I had ever intended. But with someone crowing about how they were going to hunt down your brother and snap their neck, there were barely any options in front of me. I could either appear to be prey or predator. There wasn't any in between.
"We're going to be fighting each other than," Amori said after my brother's had gotten their numbers, their backs turned to Ichihiro even though I knew that we all were keeping track of his movements.
"Has everyone drawn?" the examiner called after the last of Gon's group had gone forward. "Very well. Now if you would, please go ahead and remove the sticker. The number you see if your target."
The card slid smoothly into my hoodie pocket as I turned back, making sure to keep my eyes away from number 34. One of the major advantages of going into this island was the fact that no one knew who their hunter would be. Advanced knowledge was a valuable thing - one that Ichihiro had just squandered.
Still, I wasn't sure. As I watched him sulk out of the corner of my eye, I knew that that little trick from earlier wouldn't work again. He had stood still because he hadn't expected anything other than a girl half his size to try and shoulder bump him. I wouldn't get the same opportunity.
At the moment, very few had realized this, many eyes set solidly on the person's name tags. That was the issue, wasn't it? No one had paid attention to the numbers around them. Sure, personal appearance - the girl with the sniper, the man with the afro, the guy with the turban - those little things were easy to point out. But a number? No.
It was a good thing that I had already memorized all the tags in the clearing, going over each one after the examiner had hinted at the rules. Better was the fact that Minoru was here, murmuring them to me, his eyes the extra set that I needed to fully understand the scribbled mess of lines on each person's card.
Number 34 was a tall, dark-haired boy with spiky hair and a green tunic. He would have been handsome - just this side of charming to make all the girl's back home melt. Lean and angular, there was very little about him that yelled of a threat. Still, he had gotten to this phase and that was warning enough for me.
"This box has recorded the number that each of you drew. Each card was tallied and then stored in the memory," the examiner explained. "So if you like, you're free to dispose of the cards. It makes no difference at this point. The objective is to steal your target's I.D. badge."
Already, the others were tinkering with their badges, some of the older contestants already taking them off. Number 34 was no different. His handsome face tightened with anxiety. All of my energy in this next part needed to be focused on tracking Ichihiro - one thing that I wasn't particularly good at. This meant that I needed to get 34's badge quickly and easily.
"The method is up to you," the examiner was saying. But my attention was fully on 34. Watching him slip his badge into his back pocket before taking it out and putting it in his front. "Procure the badge however you see fit."
He doesn't look very smart, Minoru observed and I watched as he slid a step closer, pretending to roll onto his back. 34 was one of the people who had called me a child earlier. Hopefully that view hadn't changed in the last 15 minutes.
He also looks like he loses things easily, doesn't he? I asked, a second before I was scrambling forward, jumping up and down as waved my hand around a bit more emphatically than I needed to.
"EXCUSE ME!" I yelled, forcing petulant indignation into my voice as I bustled up beside number 34 so that I could meet the examiner's amused stare. "What happens if you have your own card? Can I trade mine out?"
A slow smile formed on the purple-haired man's lips, the contestants around me starting to grumble.
"What an idiot," someone with a deep voice grumbled to another.
I frowned, trying to look cowed by the attention. Number 34's eyes rolled, his gaze scornful as he watched me clutch at my card. I gave him a wobbly smile. "Just a question. Completely hypothetical."
"If you have your own number than that makes things infinitely easier for you… And also a bit harder, I suppose," the examiner grinned. "Collecting the ID badge of your specified target will earn you three points. Understand? Your own badge is also worth three points. And all the other badges are worth one point. In order to move on to the Final Phase you will have to collect six points." The examiner's glasses flashed as he eyed me. "So while it may seem like a blessing in disguise to have your own number, it's also a curse. In your… hypothetical scenario, the contestant would have only three point available to them and would need to gather three more badges to move on… Understand?"
I nodded, my eyes widening in mock horror as I took an unsteady step back and bumped right into number 34.
Clumsy, Minoru chortled. It was harder to whimper pathetically when he was throwing jabs out.
"Sorry," I hurried to say, stumbling back from the narrowed gaze of 34.
"Just don't let it happen again," he snarled and I nodded, acting cowed as I scuttled back to the safety of my brothers and away from the laughter of the other contestants.
Come back with any treats? Minoru joked as I quivered into his side, trying to look more dejected than I felt.
I turned my head into his side, smiling. It's too bad that everyone else won't start slitting each other's throats until later.
I think that the examiner knows what you did. The cool plastic of a fresh badge slid along my fingers.
Once people had the badges, it would be a game of waiting and hiding. Luckily for me, I had a bear with a pouch. Discreetly, I slid my stolen card into the compartment. There would be very little that 34 could do once I had it and from the self-assured tilt of his chin, he wouldn't figure out that something was missing until it was too late. And by that time, I would be too busy handling Ichihiro and he would be to panicked at the prospect of not only be 3 points down but 6.
I feel a bit bad for him, I admitted. This game is too easy for a thief with a bunch of people playing by the rules. Across the clearing, leaning against the stone walls of the tower, Hisoka's eyes tracked me. Slowly, a single brow rose, his smile all too knowing. I couldn't help the instinctive curl of my own lips.
And that's the end of this chapter. 16 pages btw which is crazy since I didn't even realize it until it was posted. It went by so quickly.
Anyway, if you're new to my story than I welcome you and ask you to send me a little favorite or follow or both. And if you're not then I love you and you're part of my family already and would appreciate it if you would send me a little love in the form of a review.