Page 102 of Rescued
Raising her shoulder in a shrug, she steps into the hallway. “Okay. Are Luca and Austin nice?”
“Super nice. You’ll really like them.”
She sighs. “I hope I can make friends at my new school like you have.”
Before I even have a chance to say anything, Salem grabs her arm. I’m expecting a confrontation, given how at each other’s throats they were earlier, but Salem just kneels on the ground in front of her. “You’ll make tons of friends, Nora bug. I promise.”
My heart thumps, and my throat tightens.
I wish I had known that my leaving would put Salem in the same position I was in all those years. He’s had to be the protector. The grown-up. The defender. And that’s on me.
“He’s right, you know? You’ll make tons of friends. Both of you will.”
We all make our way into the living room, and Luca’s eyes nearly disappear with his smile. He’s changed so much in the year I’ve known him. From sobbing in my arms after his abuser died to being so vibrant and full of life. It’s been amazing to see his journey, and I’m so proud to call him my best friend.
“Kids. This is Luca.” I gesture toward him. “And Austin.”
Austin waves, a smile lighting up his face. “Nice to meet you both.”
Salem digs his toe into the floor but makes eye contact and nods. “I’m Salem.”
“And I’m Nora.” Nora bounds across the living room. “What are we gonna play?”
“Well, I brought Monopoly, but that might be hard.” He leans in closer to Nora. “Plus, Jasper is a sore loser.”
“I heard that, Luca.”
“Wasn’t trying to keep it a secret,” Luca sing-songs.
“They like to pick on each other, huh?” Salem asks, taking it in with assessing eyes.
“They do. It’s all in good fun, though, I promise. There’s no anger here, Salem. No yelling or fighting. No outbursts. And no drugs. Ever. I don’t even drink.”
He nods. “I believe you.”
Salem steps fully into the living room, keeping a close eye on Nora as she sits on the floor and talks Luca and Austin’s ears off about the trip home and her new bedroom, even going so far as to tell them that Jasper is gonna get her a new phone.
I shoot Jasper a glare. We’re really gonna have to put up a united front, or this kid is gonna get away with murder.
He’s too busy smiling at her to even notice the death glare I’m giving him, which is a real shame.
I sit down on the floor beside her. “We’ll see about the phone, okay? No promises.”
She’s gonna be getting that damn phone. I just know it already. I wonder if Jasper would compromise with an iPad. There’s no reason for her to have a phone that she can talk to everyone and their mother on. Maybe an iPad is a happy medium.
When she asks Luca what he wants to play, he holds up a box. “I got this just for this occasion.”
“What is it?” Nora asks, eyes widening.
“It’s fun,” Austin says. “We got this.” He places a bottle of spray whipped cream on the coffee table. “And basically, you put it on this little hand, and then each person gets a chance to spin.You put your face in the straps, and you click this here,” he says, pointing to the lever on the side of the game. “And youhopethat your click isn’t the click that gets you a face full of whipped cream.”
“How do you win?” she asks.
Luca shrugs. “I guess the last person who doesn’t get whipped cream on their face is the winner.”
She claps, eyes darting around. “Can we play?”
“Definitely,” Jasper says. “Do you wanna play too, Salem?”
