Page 174 of Top Shelf

Nobody argues. He’s right, after all.

Each of us lost in our own thoughts, we make our way through the BSU arena, leaving through a side exit to avoid the crowds still pouring out after the game. We start toward the hotel where the team is staying. It’s the same hotel the guys stayed in on that fateful night when they found me.

That thought has me stopping in my tracks.

Three heads immediately turn toward me.

“Wren?”

I look toward the dark stretch of road disappearing beyond campus.

A different date…

A different night…

“Where did you find me?”

I don’t need to be more specific. Their postures stiffen, understanding exactly what I’m asking.

“Why do you wanna know?” Lucian hedges warily.

I give it a final moment of consideration before making my decision. “I want you to take me there.”

“I don’t know…” Ronan starts, looking unsure. “Tonight doesn’t feel like the night. Maybe in the morning, when everything isn’t so raw and?—”

“No.” I cut him off. Not forcefully, but my tone is sharp enough to make it clear that this is what I want. It’s what Ineed. “I want you to show me now.”

Lucian’s jaw flexes.

Silas watches me, head slightly tilted. Unlike Lucian, who I can tell wants to flat-out say no, and Ronan, who is worried about what seeing that place will do to me, Silas can see the truth. He understands.

“I need to see it,” I explain. “I don’t remember enough to know where it was or what it looks like, so I’ve never been.”

“Why?” Lucian growls. He’s angry, but looking into his eyes, I can tell it comes from a place of fear. “Why would you want to go there? What can possibly be gained from that?”

The reassuring smile I give him is soft…hesitant, because I don’t know if I’m making the right call. Maybe it will be too much for me. Maybe it’ll send me over the edge. Either way, while we’re here and they know where to take me, I feel like it’s something I have to do. A final confrontation, perhaps? Closure?

“I honestly don’t know,” I tell him. Stepping forward, Iplace my hand on his chest, right over his heart. “But please, just show me.”

Looking down at me, his face is ravaged. Tonight has taken its toll on him.

I can tell he wants to argue, but I don’t think he’s got any more fight left in him. His shoulders drop in defeat, and he blows out a weary breath. “Fine. If it’s what you feel you need to do.”

I nod. “It is.”

Ronan leads the way as they direct me down residential streets until we come to one on the outskirts of town. It’s far enough away from campus that very few students live out this way. It’s mostly locals, and even then, more than a few houses appear to be abandoned altogether.

“It’s this one here,” Ronan eventually says, pointing toward the next house up. It’s smaller than I imagined, and even more rundown. The boarded windows are half-rotten, and paint peels from the siding. Grass pushes through cracked concrete. There’s an air of sadness around it. Of neglect. Like the place has been abandoned for so long that its existence has been entirely forgotten.

The guys stop on the stretch of sidewalk at the edge of the property, the three of them surrounding me as we stare at the rundown house. Nothing looks familiar. Nothingfeelsfamiliar.

Forcing the words past my dry throat, I croak, “Where?”

Lucian sighs like I’m testing his last limit.

Silas points toward the side of the house, overgrown with bushes and tall grass.

“Over here,” Ronan says, almost reluctant as he moves toward the spot. I follow, the others behind me. The grass brushes my ankles, and the night air stirs my hair. Goosebumps pebble my skin.