Chapter 36 #2
“And vicious,” Lark hisses, emphasizing the word.
She rubs her side, right on her ribs where her own tattoo sits.
“I hated seeing her go after you in that dress shop. I’m sorry that she did.
I’ve been putting myself in her line of sight for months, taking the beating whenever she wants someone to yell at, but I should have done more that day. ”
My eyes widen. “What do you mean? I haven’t seen Cleo yell at you once.”
“At clubs. I normally do my best to stop her from getting high, and she doesn’t like that.
And obviously, she can’t go to you to complain about it because then you would know that she’s using again, and for some reason she hides it from you.
I think she’s started hiding it from me, too, after I started giving her shit about it. ”
My mind can’t seem to handle this information. I had no idea this was happening all those nights that I decided to stay home while they went out. Lark always gave me a look of reassurance that she would look after Cleo, but I never thought it was as far as intercepting her drug habits.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I ask, curious.
“Because, Josie,” Lark says, her tone full of soft indignation. “Your uncle… I felt like this would hurt you. And I didn’t want to be the one to do that.”
My uncle’s smiling face comes to mind then, how happy and playful he was with me.
With all the detachment from adults in my house, from my parents and the servants, my uncle stood out like a sore thumb.
He was intentional with every moment we spent together.
He would play me songs, ask me questions about my lessons and interests, show me his favorite childhood cartoons.
But soon, that smiling face turned to one of desperation in my memories.
His limbs gradually got smaller, his teeth more dirty and brittle.
His arguments with my father became more hasty and serious as he would demand the inheritance money that my grandfather had cut him off from.
Staff learned to escort me from the room whenever he was around, especially in the last few years of his life.
I like to remember him at his happiest, when he cared about me in a way no other adult did, but then drugs took him from me, way before it put him in the ground.
And now the same thing is happening with Cleo.
I don’t realize I’m squeezing Lark’s hand tighter until she rearranges them so I can continue. I gasp, going to pull my hand away but she stops me, her eyes the softest I’ve ever seen them. “I’m sorry, Josie.”
I shake my head. “It’s not your fault. You’ve done everything you can. It’s… She’s sick, Lark. Just like my uncle, she is sick and it’s taking over her life.”
She pulls me into her then as a sob finally wracks me wide open. I didn’t realize I had tears in my eyes or that they were threatening to spill over until it was too late. She clutches me tight against her, and I let go, crying out everything I’ve been holding in onto her shoulder.
I must black out because when I come to, Lark’s head is resting on my own, our bodies way more relaxed as we lounge on the cream-colored sofa. She plays with my hair near my ear, self-soothing as she comforts me.
Things are quiet besides my sniffling that comes every few seconds. When the silence starts to drag on, Lark sighs. “There’s something else I have to say.”
I look up at her through wet lashes. “Please tell me it’s something good because I can’t handle much more.”
She cracks a tiny smile. “I know about your relationship with the guys.”
I blanch and pull out of her arms. “What? How?”
“I saw you leaving their hotel room a few weeks ago with one of them. You two were holding hands, laughing. It was the happiest I’ve seen you in weeks.”
I think back, trying to figure out when that was. “Who was I with?”
“The one with the blue mullet,” she laughs. “Sorry, you know I’m bad with names.”
“Fuck,” I whisper, putting my head in my hands.
“Hey, it’s okay.” Lark grips my shoulder and forces me to look at her. “I know why things have been secretive, but I just wanted you to know that I knew. And that I’m okay with it. I’m happy for you.”
I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear someone say it until this moment. I turn my body, more tears pooling in my eyes. “You mean it?”
“Of course. I mean, I see the way they all look at you. I’m surprised there haven’t been rumors in the tabloids yet. They’re all so bent out of shape over the fake romance that they can’t see the real one that’s right in front of their faces.”
A wet laugh escapes me. “It’s true. I don’t think we’ve been that discreet. And to be honest, keeping it a secret has been more for Cleo’s benefit than anything.”
She nods. “Yeah, she doesn’t even know about the romance and she isn’t taking it well. She really knows how to hold a grudge.”
“I don’t even know why they hated each other,” I confess to her. “Cyrus is so understanding and honest.”
“Maybe it’s the honesty that made them clash.”
I ponder that, wondering if it really is just as simple as that. I look at her, feeling so relieved that I have someone I can confide in once more.
“They’re my scent matches, Lark.”
“I figured that too.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I confess.
“You own it,” she tells me. “You own it and you keep your scent matches close. There’s nothing in this world that should matter more than the people you are fated to be with.”
I agree, wholeheartedly, but my stomach still twists at the thought. “But what about Cleo and Cyrus’s history? What is the label going to do? They can’t take back the entire relationship they did for the press. What are people going to say?”
“Screw what anyone thinks, Josie,” Lark says, her eyes full of steel.
“This is your life, your mates. It’s a glorious thing that not a lot of people get to experience.
It shouldn’t be tainted by someone else’s issues, or by our label’s expectations.
Enjoy it, and then tell everyone when you’re ready.
” She squeezes my hand once more, filling me with strength.
“And when you do, I’ll be right there to back you up. ”