Fire And Steel (The Merryweather Chronicles Book 2) by Lesley Woodral Page B

not to try and smile with the stitches in her lips, but her eyes were warm with welcome. Her voice was a whisper, but Claire had no trouble hearing. "Hey, Claire Bear."
          Claire eased onto the bed, placing her bag between them, and began taking out bundles of homework. Emily's books, as well as a big bouquet of flowers sat on the little roll around night stand. There were dozens of floral arrangements spread around the hospital room. Emily was a popular girl at school, more so than Claire, and she had lots of friends. That got her some perks from the nurses on her floor, including her private room and more flexible visiting hours.
          It also didn't hurt that Claire's dad worked at the hospital or that he was even more well liked than Emily.
          As a rule, Claire didn't condone nepotism, in any of its myriad forms, but she would make an exception for Emily. Claire said. "All your class work is here. At first, nobody was going to send anything."
          Emily gave her a questioning look.
          Claire placed a hand on Emily's and smiled. "I'm pretty sure every one of your teachers is ready to pass you with an A, no questions asked. But when I told them how bored you were getting, they completely understood. So they piled it on." She looked at the not inconsiderable stack of homework and chewed at her lower lip. "They might've overdone it a bit."
          Emily laughed. It was so soft a whisper that she might have been sighing, but Claire knew a laugh when she heard one. She pretended not to notice. It was the first time Emily had laughed since the night at the mill. She'd told the police that she didn't remember anything of what happened and that was partly true.
          But Claire knew better. She'd held her more than once as she sobbed and raged over what had happened. Not just what had happened to her at the hands of the boy she loved. But also over losing him. As bad as he was, she had still loved him. Sure, it was a twisted sort of love, a dependency that made her ashamed of herself, but it still felt like love. And nobody could fight love.
          Not for long. And not without tearing away pieces of their own soul in the process.
          Claire had visited Emily every day since the night at the mill. She couldn't forgive herself for not getting there in time to protect her friend. None of it should have happened. None of it should have been possible. Not in the real world.
          Her mind veered dangerously towards a dark place that she didn't dare travel along. A place full of teeth and the stink of wild things in the shadows.
          A place of monsters.
          Emily must've sensed something of her thoughts, because her expression became somber again. When she spoke, she nearly sounded like her old self. "How's Bran?" Though it hurt her to talk out loud, she did so. She loved Claire enough to ignore the pain.
          Claire gave Emily her brightest fake smile. She felt that her voice had never sounded so high and happy. So naturally exuberant! "Bran's great! He sends his love and promises to come see you soon."
          Emily laughed again, wincing a little as she did it. "You're a pretty shitty liar, you know that?" She leaned back against her pillows and sighed. Claire cleared everything from the bed and stretched out beside her, getting as comfortable as you could get while sharing a tiny hospital bed. Claire watched the silent TV for a moment, gathering her thoughts before speaking. Emily didn't press, she knew Claire too well to do that.
          Claire finally said. "I'm scared for him, Em." The words felt brittle, hard, not what she'd intended to say at all. "He acts like it's his responsibility to save everybody. He blames himself every time somebody goes missing. Whenever something bad happens and he isn't there to stop it."
          Emily cradled Claire's head against her breast, running her fingers through her silky blonde hair. Her