[ the second book in the drops of sunshine series ]
As much as she ended up loving her first one, AJ Hood never wanted to go on another quest. But somehow, she ended up on one anyway. And this time, it's not going to have a pretty ending... but at...
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~ ☼ ~
I blinked away the sleep in my eyes to see Alec hovering over me.
He had a pensive look on his face, but when we locked eyes, he gave me an unsteady smile.
"Hey, runaway," he said. "I got some ambrosia for you."
I sat up, watching as he got a square of a vague baked good from a bag on the bedside table. We were in a hotel room - I assume one of my siblings had bought it - and Chicago was going on as normal outside the window. I brought my attention back to Alec as he offered the ambrosia to me, and I ate it with no complaints. Even though it made me feel physically better, it didn't help my mental state.
Not only were Lucas and Kiera were traitors.... now they were dead, too.
I think the fact that I didn't fight him on eating the ambrosia must've been Alec's confirmation that I was doing horribly.
"AJ..." he said, trailing off, as I swallowed German chocolate cake that tasted like ash.
I stared back at him, tears coming to my eyes again.
"I'm so, so sorry," he said. He pulled me into a hug.
For a moment, I could almost pretend I wasn't here. Maybe I was back in the Big House, waking up at CHB for the first time, and could start all over. I'd ask Lucas more and not forget about him after our second meeting. And I'd be nicer to Kiera, too, no matter how bitter she was.
"Where's Aria?" I asked, my voice raspy.
Alec pulled away. "She's in the bathroom. She got a few scrapes and cuts, but she's... she's near catatonic. Riley thought maybe getting her into water would help."
I doubted it. She was a woods girl, not a water girl.
I tried to get to my feet, and Alec quickly put his hands out. "Woah there."
"Alec," I said. I gave him a look, and he sighed.
"Okay," he said. "After you."
He moved away in the rolling hotel desk chair to let me walk past him. I wasn't injured, so I could walk perfectly fine, as long as I didn't think too hard.
When I approached the bathroom, Riley met me there. Immediately, she pulled me into a hug, too. Even though I wanted to see Aria, I couldn't deny my sister made me feel better. As I let her coils tickle my scalp, I began to cry again.
"I'm so sorry, Riley," I said. "You were right."
"Shh." She rubbed my back. "It's okay."
She let me go and touched my face once. "You okay?"
I nodded. "Is Aria?"
She sighed. "You see for yourself."
While she went off to update Alec, I tiptoed into the bathroom. Aria was in the shower, in just a camisole and her shorts. Her hair was soaking wet, and her legs were pulled up to her chest.
