Series: Cobalt Empire Series by Krista Ritchie
Total pages in book: 220
Estimated words: 215301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1077(@200wpm)___ 861(@250wpm)___ 718(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215301 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1077(@200wpm)___ 861(@250wpm)___ 718(@300wpm)
Audrey lifts her chin. “Like Beckett then.”
“I was homeschooled,” Beckett notes with a soothing tone.
“I am carving my own path,” Audrey amends with a stronger inhale, her shoulders pulling back. “And I know what you might be asking yourselves. Where, Audrey, will you live next year? That brings me to my current predicament. My hope is to move in with all of you in New York. If that’s something you would all accept…” Her eyes shift warily to our mom. “Mother and Father have explained to me that you cannot be forced to live with me. Which is both fair and truly unfair, seeing as how I was forced to be here alone.”
My head pounds, and I miss our dad’s reply about school, society, something or other. I haven’t prepared for Audrey to move out. Let alone move in with us. I know she’s been counting down to join us in New York—but that countdown wasn’t supposed to be cut short.
“I don’t understand,” Ben says while Audrey remains standing. His hands are frozen in the air like he might bury his face in them. “What about your best friend? You’d never leave Kinney at Dalton.” He names Kinney Hale. Luna’s youngest sister is in the same grade as mine. “She’s going to finish out the last semester of her senior year alone? While you’re in New York with us?”
“Disloyal, Audrey Virginia,” I chime in, shaking my head.
Her cheeks redden. “No, see, Kinney and I have spoken, and she encouraged the move. She wants me to be with all of you because she knows—she knows how precious time is with a brother. When she almost lost Xander…” Audrey trails off as the air becomes thinner between us all.
I think we’re all looking at Ben. He’s only staring up at Audrey. His throat seems constricted, but he manages to say clearly, “I’m not going to take my own life. Xander didn’t take his.”
“He’s tried,” Audrey whispers, “and this isn’t only about you. It’s about me too. I can’t bear to be in this house anymore. It is the most horrid experience to live here without a single sibling.”
“Jane is here,” Ben says. “She lives in Philadelphia.”
Audrey’s eyes well, realizing Ben is not on her side. “It’s not the same. She doesn’t live in this neighborhood. She doesn’t live in this house.”
Jane nods. “I understand, Audrey. I, too, would wish to be in New York if I were you.”
“Thank you, Jane,” Audrey says in a soft, breathy whisper. Her resolve has fractured from Ben’s response, and I’m happy to take a backseat and let my baby brother convince her to stay put in Philly. No way is Audrey moving to Hell’s Kitchen a good idea right now. I’m stretched thin just being there for Ben.
I know I am amazing at time management. Literally the best, but I’m taking Adderall right now. And I’m hoping to actually stop at some point.
“It’s our decision?” I ask our parents.
“Of course,” Mom says in a tight breath. “It’s your lives. Your apartment. We don’t force you to live with each other. That’s your choice.” She shifts her piercing gaze to Dad, and I can tell she’s stressed.
I can’t imagine she’s ready to be an empty nester five months ahead of schedule. Mom was devastated when Eliot and I left home. The night we were packing, I overheard her crying in her bedroom. It solidified what I knew—Eliot and I are her favorites. But Audrey is her youngest daughter. She’ll at least shed one tear for her.
This is a good point. I’m ten seconds from guilting Audrey to stay in Philadelphia when Ben says, “I don’t think you should move to New York.”
The way this convo was going, it’s not a big shock. But Audrey’s chin still quivers. “Why?”
“You know why,” Ben croaks, emotion unspooling through his eyes, his face, his bottomless empathetic soul. “The frat. The fentanyl. Last time you were in New York, it didn’t end well. If something else were to happen to you—”
Eliot interrupts, “That’s why she lives with us. We won’t let anything happen.”
Ben—with his reddened, emotion-stricken eyes—sends me the look. The one pleading for help.
“Dude, there’s not even enough room,” I say to Eliot.
Audrey perks up. “I can sleep on the pull-out couch.”
“No,” Beckett says gently.
“She can have my room,” Eliot decrees, trying to find a solution to appease everyone, but this isn’t going to fucking work. This is such a bad idea, and to be completely honest—we’re full of those, he and I.
We know how to breathe under the mess we create, but Ben will suffocate. I do not want to smother our little brother.
I cut in, “Eliot Alice—”
“We’ll paint the walls blue—”
“No, Eliot.” I abruptly stand up from my chair. It crashes backward with the sudden force.
Surprise coats his eyes. “Tom. We’re on the same side.”