Renegade by Cambria Hebert Page A

also see hers.”
     
    “Of course you would,” he muttered. “Women.”
     
    “Hey!” I protested and threw my napkin at him. “Us ‘women’ just want you to not be doomed for eternity.”
     
    “So freaking dramatic.” He rolled his eyes. “And it isn’t for anyone else to say how I live this life or the one I get after I die. That’s my choice.”
     
    I didn’t have a comeback for that one. “So what are you going to do?” I said after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.
     
    All the air expelled from his lungs in one big whoosh. “I don’t know. It’s been hard to do anything because I spend so much time with Kimber.”
     
    “What’s up with that anyway?”
     
    “She needs me right now. Being trapped in hell messed her up, Heven. And her parents didn’t even notice she was gone. They aren’t even in town right now. They’re never home. I went over there after everything happened…” His eyes turned grim. “She was sleeping in the closet because she was so scared. She was alone in that huge house.”
     
    “You feel responsible for her,” I said, feeling a pang of regret for everything Kimber went through in hell.
     
    “Yeah. I do. We were together a long time, Hev. I know she’s a bitch and she acts all superficial, but she isn’t, not really. She doesn’t have anyone. She’s alone and scared.”
     
    Guilt burned through my insides like a shot of alcohol going down my throat. I hated that feeling. I felt guilty that she was going through so much and I wasn’t there for her. Guilty because I remember lying in the hospital after China’s attack and being scared and confused. No one would come see me, but she did. She came with nail polish and playing cards. She acted like nothing happened. It kept me sane.
     
    But a lot happened since then.
     
    How could I forget everything she’d done to me? To Sam? To all of us?
     
    Could I ever trust her again?
     
    “She betrayed me,” I snapped. I didn’t want to feel guilty about this, and it made me angry that Cole reminded me to feel that way.
     
    “She also gave us that last marble that got us out of hell,” Cole said quietly.
     
    “Not Sam,” I shot back, remembering being drug out of hell and leaving Sam trapped behind.
     
    “She told me the reason she got locked up.”
     
     “What?” I asked. “Did she insult Hecate’s hair?”
     
    “She tried to get the map back,” Cole explained. “I guess after she talked to you, learned the truth about everything, she felt guilty. She tried to get it back, so Hecate locked her up.”
     
    All the anger and sarcasm drained out of me. “She tried to get it back?”
     
    He nodded.
     
    “Well, that’s something to think about,” I murmured.
     
    Cole looked across the room and I followed his gaze, watching as Kimber entered the cafeteria, her fancy water in hand. I noticed how she didn’t make eye contact with anyone, and she kept her head high. I noticed how people whispered about her as she passed and she pretended not to hear. Then I saw her lock her eyes on Cole and the way she looked at him… It was as if she’d been stranded at sea for days and he was her lifeline, slowly towing her to safety.
     
    Kimber smiled.
     
    And that’s when I knew.
     
    I knew Kimber might not be as changed from who she used to be as I thought. And I also knew she was still in love with my brother.
     
    Maybe there was a chance Kimber and I could be friends again. I wasn’t sure. But I was sure Cole didn’t belong with her. He belonged with Gemma. And if I had anything to do with it, Cole and Gemma would work things out very, very soon.
     

 
     
    Sam
     
    I glanced up and down the hallway, making sure it was pretty much empty. Kimber had her head buried in her locker as I approached, and I wondered if maybe this was a good idea. It probably wasn’t, but there was no one else to talk to and she was probably the only one that could help. Assuming she agreed to help. With Kimber