Page 88 of Beautiful Chaos
Me: No. Why? Did she call you?
Oakley: She wants us in Wimberley tomorrow. Our dads are going to be there.
Fuck.
Me: Did she sound mad?
Oakley: Not at us. She’s pretty steamed at my fathers though.
Me: They’re just afraid.
The three dots bounce and stop, then bounce again.
Oakley: I’m not. I never have been.
I rub my chest as I let his words land. Cupcake whines, nudging my ankle.
I sit on the couch, and she joins me, lying across my lap. That’s my signal to slow my heart rate and breathe.
“Good girl,” I whisper.
Before I can respond, my phone starts ringing. I recognize the number.
Me: Hedy’s calling. Guess that means I’ll be seeing you tomorrow.
Oakley: Good. Then maybe we can talk after.
I stare at the phone. Tomorrow, all of them in a room. Ronan’s face when he saw me. Oakley’s face when he left.
I send out a quick message before accepting the call.
Me: Okay.
21
ANT AND ERIK
Ant and Erikenter the main lobby of the Wimberley office. The last time they were here was over ten years ago, when the building was being dedicated.
The Wimberley crew had bent over backward to make sure they had every resource available to help them raise their difficult, lovable child.
Silas was the reason for the extra wrinkles around their eyes, along with a bit more salt and pepper in their hair than their contemporaries, but to Erik and Ant, it was worth it.Hewas worth it.
They had always been able to see his humanity, despite what he had been created to be. Despite how he had been raised before he met them. Despite how he had been found.
Even so, raising Silas had tested everything they thought they knew about parenting. Hell, it tested what they thought they knew about themselves. But they decided early on that it was the three of them against the problem, never them against their son.
Even though they weren’t as close as they once were to the Guardians, they’d always thought their friends had their backs.
But not now. Maybe not for a long time.
As the Wildlings embraced Silas, Ant and Erik watched their friendships fracture. Sides chosen.
Eventually, they realized they were on the outside. They just never realized how far outside of the circle they’d been thrown.
Silas, so sensitive to his parents’ situation, hadn’t even been the one to tell them what went down in his apartment. He never would have.
Even Oakley had stayed quiet.
