A Want So Wicked (A Need So Beautiful #2)(47)
Author: Suzanne Young

“Cancer?” I ask. When Monroe nods, it’s like I’ve been punched in the gut. “Are you dying?”

“Yes.”

Tears sting my eyes, but I’m not sure if they’re for Monroe or for the grief I still have about my mother’s death. Either way, I’m heartbroken. I tell him so.

“I’ve been sick a long while now,” Monroe says gently. “Even finished all the stages of grief. But leading you to the light was my greatest gift. I’m so proud of you.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a gift,” Harlin says. “It was a goddamn tragedy.”

Monroe turns to him, compassion softening his features. “I know you see it that way,” he tells him as if they’ve had this conversation before. “But there was no other choice. You know that.”

Harlin shakes his head. “Well, the universe can find someone else, because I won’t lose her again.” His voice rises, drawing the stares of the other customers.

“Harlin,” I say, touching his arm to calm him, but his gaze is fixed on Monroe.

“I’m not ready to go anywhere,” I say to both of them. “I have a life. A family. Marceline said that I could control the Need, bring it on to get stronger. But I’m not going to let myself disappear. Not even for the light.”

Monroe furrows his brow. “What else did Marceline tell you?”

“That I’m here to restore balance, to stop Onika. And I think you might be the only person who knows how to help me.”

“I assure you I don’t. But, sweetheart”—he looks concerned—“Onika’s a very powerful Shadow. I’m not sure there is a way to stop her. Perhaps you should focus on your destiny, on being a Forgotten—”

“She is my destiny,” I say. “But I don’t even know where to start. I have to find a way.”

Monroe covers his mouth with his hand, lost in thought. I wonder about the guilt Monroe feels. He’s been helping the Forgotten, and yet the one person he obviously loved the most turned to the Shadows. It still haunts him after all of these years.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I slide it out cautiously, afraid it’s Abe again, but I’m relieved to see my father’s number. I stand and wander to the corner of the diner for privacy.

“Hey, old man,” I say. “Everything okay?”

“Hi, kid. Sorry to bug you, but it’s the strangest thing. I’m here filling out insurance paperwork for the upcoming school year, and I can’t for the life of me remember your sister’s middle name. Do you know it?”

“Dad.” I start to laugh, but then I stop cold. A sense of dread slips over me. “It’s Constance,” I whisper with a catch in my voice. “Dad, she’s named after Mom.”

“How did I ever forget that?” he asks, sounding bewildered.

“I guess you’re getting old,” I offer, but shoot a look back at Harlin. When I do, his shoulders tense as if he knows something’s wrong. He stands.

“I have to go, Dad,” I say quietly. “I’ll see you soon.” I hang up and push the phone back into my pocket. As I approach the table, a fresh fear pulls at my heart.

“My sister,” I say, glancing between Harlin and Monroe. “She hasn’t been feeling well. And just now, my father forgot her middle name. Lucy’s been sneaking out, wearing a lot of makeup. She . . . she told me she had a secret.” I stop then, not sure I can go on.

Harlin reaches to take my hand. “Lucy’s a Forgotten too,” he murmurs. “I’m sorry, Elise. I wanted to tell you, but—”

I yank my fingers from his. “You knew?” I shout, my voice echoing in the small diner. Harlin lowers his head.

“I’m her Seer.”

I stumble back a step, feeling completely betrayed. Harlin said he loved me, agreed that we’d tell each other everything. How could he keep something like this from me? “Take me home,” I say coldly. “Take me home now.”

“Elise,” Monroe says. “As a Seer, Harlin isn’t allowed to tell—”

“She’s my sister!” At the words, I break. Lucy is like me, and that means she has a terrible choice to make. I think then about the Shadows, wondering if they’ve been tempting her too. Oh no. What if they’ve gotten to Lucy?

I don’t wait any longer as I rush toward the exit, hearing the heavy sound of boots behind me. Just as I make it outside, Harlin is next to me, trying to take my arm.

“I’m so sorry,” he says again. “If you’d let me—”

I push him back. “Don’t,” I growl. “Just get me to Lucy.”

Harlin’s expression is absolute regret, but I can’t worry about him right now. I have to find my sister.

CHAPTER 25

I keep my head on Harlin’s back as he races through the streets toward my house. I can’t believe I didn’t see what was wrong with Lucy. How could I not know? Tears stream down my face, my heart pounding in my chest. I tried to call her before we took off, but there was no answer.

I need my sister. I need to find my sister.

The night has darkened around us as Harlin pulls into my driveway and cuts the engine. He scrambles to help me but I push him away and climb off by myself, nearly falling.

“Elise, wait,” he calls as I hurry toward the front door. I don’t respond, but then he speaks again in a quiet voice. “Lucy doesn’t want to go to the light.”

I take in a startled breath and then slowly turn, looking back over my shoulder. “Are you saying my sister is a Shadow now?”

“No, I’m just saying it’s possible.” He holds up his hands, as if offering a truce. “And if she is, you understand that she won’t be the same, right?”

“She’ll still be my sister,” I murmur. “She’ll always be my sister.” I turn and start toward the house once again.

The blinds are drawn, the interior dim as I push open the unlocked front door. The house is silent as I click on the lights, the living room empty. Worry starts to cloud my senses. It’s like I can feel that something is off. Harlin walks in just as I move down the hallway toward the bedrooms, moving boxes still piled there.

When I get to Lucy’s room, I’m startled by what I find. Her posters have been torn down, along with all the pictures of her friends in Colorado. I see them piled in the trash next to her vanity, her clothes ripped and strewn about.