Wings of the Wicked
Page 45

“The reaper we met at Zane’s?” Her mouth twitched into a brief grimace before all emotion washed from her expression. “Why not Marcus?”
“I don’t trust Marcus with something like this,” Will admitted. “He’s a great fighter and I’d feel confident that he’s got my back, but on a mission for something like this, he would get … distracted.”
Ava’s lips tightened. “All right. Sabina would be a wise choice for a partner.”
I pulled out my phone to check the time, but it was dead. I’d completely forgotten to charge it when I got home from the party. I searched the walls in the office for a clock and spotted it behind me. It was almost ten. My eyes bulged. I would be able to conceal myself within the Grim, but hiding my car in broad daylight would prove impossible. “I really have to go. I have to sleep and somehow get back into my house without my parents noticing.”
Will laid a hand on my arm. “I’ll walk you out.”
I smiled to the others as I rose from my chair. “See you later. Thank you, Ava.”
She gave me a shallow nod of solidarity.
Will followed close behind me as we left the library and headed out to my car. The sun was bright, but there was a bitter chill in the air. The snow last night had left a light dusting on the parking lot pavement. I dug my keys out of my bag, and they slipped right through my fingers and hit the ground. I groaned as I reached for them, but Will had already swept low and picked them up for me.
“Are you too tired to drive?” he asked gently, watching me carefully as I unlocked my car and opened the door.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Really. It’s not a far drive and it’s Sunday, so there won’t be too much traffic.”
He studied my face for a few moments and lifted a hand to stroke my cheek. “I meant it when I said you were amazing last night.”
“Thanks. So were you.”
His eyes fell to my lips briefly. Then he stepped back and pulled the car door open wider. “Get some rest.”
I sat down, threw my bag in the passenger seat, and slid my seat belt over me. I looked up at him. “You too. I mean it.”
He grinned. “I’m invincible.”
I rolled my eyes. “That kind of thinking gets you killed.”
He gave a soft laugh. “Have a good day, Ellie.”
When I drove away, I was smiling.
I sneaked back into the house and crept up the stairs to my room, shocked not to have run into my parents. I set my things down on my bed and let out a sigh. It was in that moment that I heard shuffling, and then footsteps darting up the stairs. Before I could even think, the door burst open and my mom appeared, her expression wild and her hands covering her mouth in surprise.
Oh, no.
“Richard!” she called out breathlessly. “She’s back!”
My heart stopped and my throat squeezed so tightly I couldn’t breathe. “Mom, I—”
She ran to me, pulling me into her arms and hugging me. When she let go, she took hold of both my shoulders and stared into my face. “Ellie! Where have you been? I came up to check on you after you went to bed and you were gone. You didn’t come back all night! You have no idea how worried your father and—”
“You worthless little bitch,” my father hissed as he stomped into my room and right toward me.
My mom and I stared at him in shock. I couldn’t believe what had just come out of his mouth.
“Richard!” Mom’s voice shook me back to the real world.
“Dad, I can explain—”
“Obviously you know where she’s been, Diane,” he said. “It’s time you opened your eyes to this.”
For a moment, I thought he really knew where I’d been. But that wasn’t possible. “What are you talking about?”
He moved fast. His hand was suddenly around my jaw, and he jerked my head side to side. “I’m shocked there are no hickeys.”
I wanted to throw up. I jerked away from him, rubbing my face where he’d held me so viciously, staring at him in disgust. “What is wrong with you?”
“That is out of line, Richard!” my mom growled, and put herself between us. She pushed his chest, forcing him to take a step back.
“Where else would she have been all night?” he shouted, inches from her face. “Obviously she was with that boy!”
While that wasn’t exactly untrue, I wasn’t with a boy for the reasons he was accusing me of.
My mom looked at me. “Is that true? Were you with Will? I thought you were done with that boy.”
That boy. It was so wrong, so demeaning, the taste of the words like the shock of rancid milk on my tongue. If she only knew, if either of them only knew what that boy had done for me last night, a thousand nights before. I was so tired of lying. So tired of keeping all these secrets. They were killing me. I took a deep breath. “Yes, I was with Will.”
My mom’s mouth tightened, but her gaze was sympathetic. Behind her, my dad was laughing.
“You little slut!”
Before I could react, my mom wheeled around and open-palm slapped him so hard his head snapped to the side. He wasn’t laughing anymore.
“How dare you?” she screeched. “Never, ever, ever do you talk to your child that way. Ever!”
I knew I needed to say something, but I couldn’t speak. First I needed to inhale, but I still couldn’t breathe. I needed to defend myself, to stand up to my father, but I was afraid of him because he was my father. At last I found my voice.