“No. It’s better if you don’t come by the house for a bit. There’s some crazy shit going on that has ties to my past and involves the girl living in your old room. Like I said, I’ll fill you in when I see you.”
I sensed Fisher wasn’t satisfied with that answer, but he let Huck end the call with minimal argument.
Huck tossed his towel on the floor and ruffled his dark hair with obvious aggravation. “Well, fuck. It never even occurred to me that Fisher could be the one who came in when we were gone.”
He looked at me with a frown as I squeezed my unruly curls with the towel and asked, “I guess it’s a good thing there wasn’t a stranger lurking around when we weren’t here. But I didn’t see a note anywhere, did you?”
Huck shook his head and stretched his arms over his head as he yawned. “I didn’t. And my guess is that Vernon and Harlen would’ve said something if one of them picked it up. It’s all so damn weird. I asked Vernon to see if he could track down some personal info on Sawyer so we can have a clearer picture of what exactly it is we’re dealing with, but he’s run into a few roadblocks. It ended up being a more difficult task than we originally thought.”
Huck yawned again, and I hopped off the bed, still covered by the comforter.
“Let me change the wet sheets. You need to go to bed. We aren’t going to solve all our problems right now anyway.” It seemed like every time we had a handle on what might be going on, the situation veered in a direction no one could predict.
I yelped when Huck caught the edge of the blanket and pulled me back to the bed, rolling me until I was underneath him. He dropped his forehead until it was touching mine, and I could see he was struggling to keep his golden eyes open.
“I don’t mind that the bed is damp. It’s just a little bit bigger wet spot than normal.” He chuckled at his own joke and flipped us over so that I was sprawled across him. “For the record, that was a really good moment, followed by a really weird one. We’re going to collect all kinds of moments together, Ollie. I promise.”
I wanted to make sure he was comfortable and that I wasn’t crushing him, but he fell asleep before I could get the words out.
I wrestled a hand free of the soft confinement of the comforter and lightly ran my fingers across the furrow that was still marring his brow. I hated that he had worries so big they followed him into his dreams.
Sighing heavily, I settled down on top of him and tried to believe we would have more good moments than bad, but with our combined luck, that seemed highly unlikely. He told me I had to stop thinking he would always get everything right, but I needed to get out of the habit of thinking everything I did was wrong. Those thoughts were a holdover from dealing with Sawyer throughout my entire childhood. All I wanted was to get to a place where things felt simple, not like a fight for survival every minute of every single day.
It took me a lot longer to fall asleep than it normally did when I was cuddled up next to him. No matter how right it felt to be pressed up against him surrounded by his warmth and security, there was always still that dark presence lingering outside of my consciousness, just waiting for a chance to sneak back in and take over.
Huck
I grunted and tried to stay on my feet as Vernon plowed into me. He was a lot lighter than I was, so the fact he almost took me down to the ground with the impact was a testament to how fast he was moving.
I caught his slender arms in my hands and pulled him upright as he flailed about. His eyes were huge in his pretty face, and he looked pale under his naturally bronze skin.
“What are you doing on this side of campus?” The Computer Science building was a solid fifteen-minute walk across the campus, so I rarely saw Vernon when we were at school. “Did you forget your phone or something?”
It was weird that he sought me out in person instead of just shooting me a text message. But maybe he was trying to make amends.
After filling him and Harlen in on Fisher’s ill-timed visit, and the fact that he was the one behind the fixed stairs, Vernon sheepishly admitted that there was something on the counter a few weeks ago, but he spilled something all over it before he looked at what it was. He tossed the note in the trash, figuring it was from one of the roommates and wasn’t anything super important. Just like me, it never occurred to him that Fisher might be the one wandering around the house unannounced.
Vernon shook his head violently, which sent his white hair flying in a million directions. He sucked in a breath and looked up at me with huge eyes. “I finally found someone who could get into your brother’s files and we figured out why everything was so hush-hush and encrypted. His medical records after the accident were just the tip of the iceberg.”
I immediately went cold all over. Using the grip I already had on his arm, I dragged Vernon away from the entrance of the building and found a quiet spot away from foot traffic and other milling students.
“What did you find out?”
Vernon shifted his weight and wrenched his arm free. He scowled at me as he rubbed the spot where I’d clamped my hand. It was already red and angry. He was probably going to have a bruise tomorrow. I forgot how delicate he could be on the outside because inside, he was pure iron and steel.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’ve just been on edge since we decided to dig into Sawyer’s past. It feels like we’re summoning a demon.”
Vernon pouted, but I knew he couldn’t stay mad at me for too long. “Everyone is anxious, so I get it. That’s why I rushed over when I got the news.” He lifted a hand and pushed his hair out of his wild eyes. “I’m not sure if it’s good or bad news, but Sawyer Richman really couldn’t walk after the accident. He has a T-10 fracture for real. His mother did try and keep his condition quiet like you guessed, and it looks like she had him participate in a whole bunch of experimental therapies. Until recently, they were exploring some really outrageous treatment options to try and help him gain mobility. It seems like she was the one trying to keeping the severity of his condition quiet, like you thought. But not for the reasons you thought.”
I made a strangled noise low in my throat and crossed my arms over my chest as I considered what this news meant for my theory that my half brother was the one personally terrorizing Ollie. “She probably told my old man that Sawyer would be able to walk again. She more than likely didn’t want to take any chances that my father would write him out of the will. She’s obsessed with perfection, and probably believes my father would see Sawyer as irreparably damaged and unworthy of his inheritance if he couldn’t walk again. Savage doesn’t even start to cover it when it comes to those people.”
Vernon waved a hand in the air between us and spoke quickly, in a low tone. “Well, it seems like Sawyer went along with all her weird treatments willingly, right up until Ollie vanished. As soon as she disappeared, all his normal medical records stopped.” Vernon blinked and gave me an intense look. “But, that’s exactly when his criminal records start. The reason I couldn’t find anything was because everything that happened with him after Ollie ran away was locked behind sealed legal documents and court cases.”
I rocked back on my heels as if a strong gust of wind had hit me. I was stunned. Sawyer was crazy, but I never thought he would break the law and get caught. There was no way his mother would let him suffer those kinds of consequences. People of their stature were supposed to be above the law.