The Twelfth Keeper Boxed Set: Books 1-3

by Belle Malory

  “Fantastic.” Kennedy rolled her eyes. Of course it was classified. They couldn’t make it easy on her, could they? It seemed like the more they delved into solving this project, the more confused everything became. These constant dead ends were getting old.

  “Do you want me to fetch anything else?”

  “I suppose you can compile some related waves. Research Dominika’s family for me, too.” She yawned, eyeing her pillow. “I’ll work on it later.”

  “You bet, cupcake. Goodnight.”

  “Thanks, Matilda. Goodnight.”

  Matilda hung up, and Kennedy told the lights to switch off.

  Beside her, Reagan’s bed was empty. It was the last night of spring break, which meant Reagan and every other teen on this island was either at the beach or the local bowling alley. Last year Kennedy had been one of those teens. She’d hit up the beach with Hunter and their small group of friends. This year her presence would only cause a commotion.

  She glanced at the picture of her father sitting on her nightstand. A lot could change in a year. She knew that better than anyone.

  Her brace vibrated as another message came through. She still didn’t want to hear the inevitable from Phoenix, and wasn’t planning to check it, but then she noticed her brace was flashing another color. The message wasn’t from him.

  Fang?

  That was weird. She and Fang barely spoke to one another back on Olympus, much less sent each other messages. The two of them weren’t exactly each other’s biggest fans. Unless icy glares and pretending like the other didn’t exist were signs of admiration. She wasn’t even aware that Fang had her number.

  The message was attached to a video clip. Thought you might want to see what I’ve been up to.

  Security camera footage filled up the space in front of her. Kennedy made out two bodies in the middle of a hallway. One was Fang, and the other was obviously Phoenix. She stared at the video, vaguely aware that her mouth had dropped as she watched Fang press herself against her boyfriend. Was this really happening?

  Kennedy waited for Phoenix to push Fang away. She stared hard at the image of him, willing him to do it. She waited for what seemed like an eternity, watching the two of them kiss. Her stomach churned violently when it became apparent that Phoenix wasn’t going to stop Fang.

  Eventually the kiss ended, they exchanged words, and Fang walked away. Phoenix raked his hands through his hair, looked at the ground, and then walked out of the frame as well.

  Bile stung the back of Kennedy’s throat as her eyes fell on the date at the bottom of the screen. She swayed, feeling like she was going to pass out.

  It was today’s date.

  Fifteen

  “It’s time our feud came to an end.” The bed sunk in the spot where Reagan plopped down. “Don’t take this personally, but you, dear sister, look like death. My help is clearly needed.”

  Kennedy turned over, hugging the pillow beneath her. “Go away, Reagan.” She stared at the wall, hoping her sister would get the hint.

  Reagan nudged her shoulder, apparently in no big rush to leave. “What’s going on with you? I’m supposed to be the one with the awful hangover, and I’ve been out of bed for hours now. I figured Mom might force you to get up, but she’s too busy with Jake who—get this—is in the garage, changing out Barney’s spark plugs. I swear, there’s always something.”

  The wall Kennedy stared at was purple. It was the color she and her sister finally agreed on after arguing for hours over whether they should paint it beige or lime green. Somehow, purple ended up being their common ground.

  Over the last few hours, she didn’t allow herself to think about anything outside of the color purple. Grapes, violets, and lavender filled her head.

  “Seriously, Kenn. Talk to me.”

  Plums.

  Bruises.

  The color of her favorite cardigan…

  “I’m tired,” she insisted. It wasn’t a lie. Her mind was tired, but her body refused to sleep. She’d sell her soul for a sleep agent right about now.

  “You’ve been in bed all day. Look at me. I’m not going away until you do.”

  Kennedy let out a long breath and then turned around to face her sister.

  Morning glories.

  Eggplant.

  The shade of eye shadow Reagan was wearing right now.

  “Is this about what happened with Hunter? Are you depressed?”

  Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the concern but no. Not all of my emotions depend on whether or not you and Hunter are speaking to me.”

  Orchids.

  Purple hearts.

  Amethysts…amethysts.

  How had she not noticed she’d been wearing it this whole time? In one swift motion, she sat up, jerked the clasp of the chain loose, and threw the necklace Phoenix gave her across the room.

  A very stunned looking Reagan blinked several times. She craned her head to look at the necklace, and then back at Kennedy.

  “Don’t ask,” she muttered, wedging her face between two pillows so she didn’t have to see how asylum-worthy she looked to Reagan.

  “I’m just making an assumption here,” her sister said quietly, “but I believe the cure to what you’re going through is a girl’s night.”

  “I don’t have any girlfriends.” Her voice came out muffled through the pillows. “Hunter was my go-to person, and now I don’t have him.”

  Reagan groaned, unimpressed with that excuse. “You have me.” The pillows were yanked out from beneath her. “Turn around, zombie-girl. You don’t think I recognize a broken heart when I see one?”

  Kennedy slowly lifted her face from the mattress and met her sister’s concerned gaze.

  “Ever since Dean and I ended things, the story of my life has been one big, ugly broken heart.” All the pain and heartache Reagan felt was right there beneath the surface, and seeing it made Kennedy feel like crying. “I don’t want to be heartbroken,” she whispered. “I want to be indifferent.”

  “So do I,” Reagan said. “It’s called denial.”

  Kennedy didn’t want to believe that. She wanted to believe that the moment she saw those things on her brace’s video feed, all her feelings for Phoenix had disappeared. She wanted to believe she no longer cared, and if she kept thinking about purple things, she could continue to be indifferent.

  “You need to get up.” Reagan sniffed in her direction. “And shower. Yes, definitely shower. That’s the first step.”

  “What’s the next step?” Because she wasn’t going through with step one unless step two sounded promising.

  “Ice cream. Or in your case, frozen yogurt.”

  Kennedy looked at Reagan, and then again at the purple wall, trying to decide which one she needed more. “Okay,” she finally said, agreeing. What could it hurt? “But this girl’s night thing better be dripping with awesomeness.”

  “You’re going to love it. I promise.”

  She paused by the door. “Reagan?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I don’t care if I get a stomachache. I want the real stuff today.”

  Reagan smiled. “You got it, babe.”

  ~ ~

  The rest of the day passed in a blur of manicures, pedicures, shopping for shoes, dresses, and makeup, and then a final stop for ice cream on the way home. Kennedy wore the blonde wig Phoenix had given her to hide from the public, and Reagan made fun of her for it. “You look ridiculous,” she said. The teasing didn’t bother her. It was better than getting stopped by mobs of people, and it worked. The two of them stayed under the radar the entire time.

  She had needed this.

  Actually, it hadn’t occurred to her just how much she missed these simple routines. It was nice, just being a girl again. Reagan had said this was the cure. It wasn’t exactly. There were still moments throughout the day when she remembered what it was all about, moments that filled her chest with a horrible aching, but those moments were fleeting at best. She definitely felt a heck of a l
ot better than she had at home. She supposed her sister was made up of more than book smarts after all.

  The only real low point in the day came just as they were pulling in the driveway. “You got the ice cream, blondie?”

  Kennedy climbed out of the car, cradling the bag in her arms like she was holding precious valuables. “Got it right here.”

  She stopped in her tracks at the sound of voices coming from Hunter’s front porch. Her former best friend’s arms were entangled around a pretty girl in a miniskirt, who was giggling against his ear.

  “Is that…?”

  Kennedy nodded stiffly. “Ava Penbrooke.”

  By the look on Reagan’s face, she was just as surprised. She stood there, shaking her head at the scene playing out in front of them. “How could he bring her here? What an asshole.”

  “Don’t call him that, Rea,” she said, making her way to the front door. “He’s just trying to move on. I’ll admit I thought he could do better, but if he goes for girls like that, it’s his business, not ours.”

  Kennedy fumbled for her keys, really missing the hand-scanners back on Olympus. She swore if she dropped the ice cream, there would be hell to pay.

  “Ava freaking Penbrooke,” Reagan huffed from behind her. “I don’t care what you say, Kenn. He is totally discrediting his so-called feelings for you with that two-faced little tramp.”

  The lock on the door clicked, and they stepped inside. The house was quiet, which meant Ashley and Lincoln weren’t home. Noises of some kind were always being made when they were in.

  Kennedy set out the ice cream on the coffee table, pushing a spoon and a sundae in Reagan’s direction. She settled onto the floor, ready to forget about what was outside.

  Reagan sunk into the spot beside her, still glowering. “How can you not be upset? I’m upset for you, which means you should be fuming.”

  Kennedy shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m disappointed. Ava is…” She pictured her quirky but loveable Hunter with the perky, attention-grabbing cheerleader and shuddered. “Let’s just say I don’t think she’s good enough for Hunter. But I can’t be mad. Not after what I put him through.”

  “Well, I sure as hell can be. I’m the one who had to listen to him whine about you for hours on end—and then to see him pull this crap? It’s disgusting.”

  Kennedy swallowed a bite of her ice cream, thinking about how different her reaction was when she saw Fang kiss Phoenix. Although she wouldn’t call watching Hunter grope Ava a pleasant experience, it was nothing compared to the sickening nausea she felt while watching that video on her brace.

  Hunter’s actions, she could forgive. She would still jump at the chance to be his friend again, even if that included him dating Ava Penbrooke. Or any girl for that matter.

  Phoenix, on the other hand, could rot in hell for all she cared.

  “He must’ve done it to make you jealous,” Reagan said, pushing her spoon around her bowl. “That has to be it. That’s why he brought her here—to get you back, so to speak.”

  Please don’t let that be true. It was easier to accept that Hunter was moving on, rather than still hurting at her expense. She looked pointedly at Reagan, wishing her sister had never mentioned that. “Why are you so upset?”

  “What, am I not allowed to be angry?”

  “Not this angry.” She studied Reagan, noticing how her cheeks had reddened, and also how she clenched her fingers tightly around her spoon. “Do you have a crush on Hunter or something? Because that would be gross, Rea. You’re almost two years older than him.”

  Reagan scowled. “I think I’ll overlook your gross comment for now.” She set her spoon down, sighing heavily. “I suppose there are some things I should explain.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “You know how I told you Dean and I had mutual friends?”

  Kennedy nodded.

  “Well, after we broke up, they sort of took his side. I guess they figured since I was going to Dartmouth and they were all going to state, they were better off sticking with him. These past few months, I’ve literally had no one.” She looked in the direction of Hunter’s house. “Except for Hunter. It’s humiliating but true. And if it wasn’t for him, it would’ve been worse than awful. He was a friend to me when I had none, Kenn.”

  Kennedy remembered what the first few days on Olympus were like, and how alone she felt. She couldn’t imagine living like that for months on end. She reached out and hugged her sister as tight as she could. “I’m so sorry, Rea. I had no idea it was that bad.”

  “I can’t breathe,” Reagan insisted, pushing out of her arms, but smiling as she pulled away. “I didn’t tell you this to make you feel sorry for me. I just wanted you to understand. Lately, Hunter has been telling me everything. And I listened the whole time, because I wanted to be there for him, too. Because I had no one else.”

  “So you feel betrayed,” Kennedy said.

  Reagan tilted her head to the side, considering that. “More or less, but I’m also pissed off because I know he did this to hurt you. And you’re my sister, therefore, it hurts me as well. That’s not okay.”

  “Because you were a good friend to him,” Kennedy said, filling in the rest. “And you feel betrayed.”

  Reagan lifted a brow at her. “You’re really sticking to this betrayal thing, huh? All right, I guess feel a little betrayed. I had exactly one friend left, Kennedy. One.” She waved her arm towards Hunter’s house, annoyed. “And now I can’t be friends with him. Obviously.”

  Kennedy smiled, warmed by her sister’s loyalty. That meant more to her than she would ever know. “Yes, you can,” she said. “Hunter is only human, and a very intelligent person once told me that humans sometimes make mistakes. I want you to continue being his friend.”

  Her misty-eyed sister stared at her for several seconds without saying anything. “You’re really giving me permission to be nice to him?” she finally said. “Even after what he just did?”

  “Damn straight. You’re the only person I could ever allow to fill my shoes.”

  Reagan let out a long breath. “I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m still really angry with him for this.”

  That’s because you have an itty-bitty crush on him. Kennedy smiled, seeing it for what it was. Her sister may not know it yet, but she liked Hunter. It was still gross, but undeniable.

  “So,” Reagan said, stirring rainbow-colored sprinkles around in her bowl. “Are you ready to tell me what mistake Hottie Number Nine made?”

  The achy feeling came back full force at the mention of Phoenix. Every time it happened, she felt squeezed from the inside out, and it hurt—it physically hurt so much.

  She felt bad because Reagan had just spilled her guts, confessing to the hell she’d lived through over the course of her break up. She appreciated that her sister trusted her enough to open up like that, she really did. But…she didn’t think she could talk about Phoenix. About what she saw. Speaking about things gave them life, and she didn’t want to give the image of him kissing Fang a life of its own. All she wanted to do was bury it some place where it could suffocate to death.

  Delusional was her middle name, and right now, she was okay with that. It wasn’t often, but she firmly believed that every once in a while, delusions could serve a purpose. At the moment, that purpose was to keep her sane.

  “Never mind.” Reagan’s hand rested on her arm. “I can see it’s too soon. We can talk about it later.”

  Kennedy swallowed the giant lump in her throat and smiled. “How is it that I’ve never noticed how awesome you are?”

  That produced an infectious grin from Reagan. “I’m taken for granted a lot. Maybe absence made your heart grow fonder.”

  “Maybe.”

  The front door swung open. Ashley came bustling in, hauling a sleeping Lincoln over her shoulder. “What’s this?” she whispered. “Ice cream? And nobody got me any?”

  “You can have the rest of mine,” Reagan said. “I�
�m done.”

  “Mmm…I’ll take you up on that offer. Let me put him to bed first.” She quickly shuffled out of the room, heading upstairs.

  Kennedy shared an amused look with Reagan. “She was wearing makeup.”

  “And her hair was curled,” Reagan added.

  “Do you think she was out with Jake?”

  “Probably.”

  “Man, this isn’t getting any less weird.”

  A few minutes later, Ashley came back into the room with her face freshly scrubbed and wearing pajamas. “Rainbow sprinkles—my favorite!” She grabbed Reagan’s ice cream bowl and fell into the recliner. “So what are you girls up to?”

  “It’s girl’s night,” Reagan informed her.

  Ashley lifted a brow, licking her spoon. “Girl’s night? Why didn’t anyone invite me?”

  “Because no one knew where you were.”

  Ashley completely ignored that and said, “I know what we can do, let’s watch a chick flick! Standard protocol declares chick flicks a must-have for any successful girl’s night.” She asked the TV to find them a few suitable options. “What do you girls want—a sappy tear jerker or a romantic comedy?”

  “Comedy,” they both answered in unison.

  “Romantic comedy coming up.” Ashley snuggled into the recliner, propping her feet up. “This is nice. We haven’t done this in a long time.”

  The credits started rolling. Kennedy tried to pay attention to the TV, but Ashley kept fidgeting and moving around in her chair. “You okay, Mom?”

  “Yeah, of course,” she said, clearing her throat. “Speaking of romance,” she said tentatively, never taking her eyes off the screen. “I wanted to tell you girls that I’m dating Jake. Nothing serious yet. Just thought I should let you know.”

  Thick silence drowned out everything but the television. Kennedy felt her face grow hot, embarrassed on her mom’s behalf. Ashley had to be dying right now. She was playing it cool, as if it was no big deal, but they all knew Jake was the first man she had dated since their father. She would never, ever tell them in a million years unless it was serious.