Page 159 of Dark Tangled Truths
“If you could be any animal in the world, what animal would you be?” Cam asks it slowly, like it’s the most important question he’s ever asked me.
I push off his chest to meet his eyes. He’s serious.
“Youknowthe answer to this?” I arch an eyebrow.
He chuckles. “Of course. Besides, it’s not so much what animal but why, so this could take at least an hour of discussion time.”
I sigh. “A cat.”
“You’re too busy to be a cat, goody.”
“Okay, what am I then?” I’m expecting to be impressed.
“How about I draw it for you?” He grabs my coloring book and the colored pencils.
I turn so my back is against his front and watch him begin to sketch. Shapes form the outline for his drawing. The scratching of the pencil against the paper is soothing.
“Have you thought about going to college for art?” I ask softly.
“Maybe. I haven’t really thought about what I want to do in college. Figured I’d take a couple years to decide.” The drawing emerges out of the paper, stroke by stroke.
“I think you should try some art classes to see how you like it.” I breathe out as he works and shake my head when I realize what he’s doing. “That’s not an animal.”
“Are you saying humans aren’t animals, goody?”
“It kind of defeats the purpose of the question.”
“How so? I’m the one who asked it. Why would you want to be anything other than who you are?” He chuckles. “I like you.”
“Cheater,” I mumble. “But I like you too.”
He turns the page and starts drawing the image slightly shifted. Flipping back and forth between pages as he works. I watch as he fills the corners of the pages with images of me. It’s relaxing watching him draw. When he finishes, he riffles through the pages and the image comes to life, turning and winking.
“What arewe going to do about Brandt?” I ask.
Damon and Hawk joined us after hockey practice. I now have a coloring book filled with moving doodles.
“What do you want to do, Evan? He fucked with you.” Damon runs his hand through his hair and sets down his chopsticks in the takeout they brought with them. “Whatever you want done, we’ll do it.”
It’s like having a perfectly honed weapon ready to use.
“He tried to take away my future to buy his own.” I lean back against Hawk, who insisted I sit with him for dinner. “I could just be better than him.”
“You already are, goody. It’s why he went after you in the first place.” Cam shakes his head and points his chopsticks at me. “Where’s the girl who carved her stalker withnot yours? That’s the devious little mind we need right now.”
I smirk and take a bite of noodles. “I’m not sure I was really thinking in that moment.”
“Whatever you want us to do, Annie?” Hawk kisses my shoulder. “I vote reign terror down on his ass, but I might be partial to a good revenge plot.”
“Do you really think anything I do to him in high school is going to stop him from still having a career or life in the industry?” I pick at my food. “This is exactly what Jackson’s point was. He’ll get punished and his future will be ruined. If Brandt did something wrong, Daddy will bail him out, and he’ll end up winning some stupid award. If I screw up, there’s no safety net.”
Damon tips my chin his way and levels his eyes on mine. “You have a safety net, Evan. You have three who will do anything to keep you safe and whole. Who want only the best for you and will make sure you have it.”
My breath catches.
“Jackson will get what he deserves because he tried to take you from us.” Damon shakes his head. “He thought he knew better and he didn’t. He was fucking bitter and even though he was amazing on the ice, it never would have been enough for him.”
I search Damon’s eyes.
