Bite This! by Tasha Black Read Free Book Online Page B

Lazarus was later seen checking into the famous Malibu Sanctuaries rehab center.
    They cut to a picture of him walking in the front door of the famous facility.
    Darcy smiled to herself. Rehab.
    Johnny wouldn’t even take allergy medicine. He’d never been impaired in his life.
    But he was smart. Rehab would put him out of the public eye for his 300th moon.
    And it would keep him locked away on the other side of the country, so he was no help for her here.
    She glanced down at her phone again.
    No response.
    Looked like she was on her own.
    Well, except for Finn.
    Finn had been unbelievably helpful, come to think of it. He’d jumped in without asking questions, sharing her trouble at his own expense, like he was family.
    That kind of loyalty was rare.
    Finn was special.
    He caught her staring at him and she didn’t break eye contact.
    “Thank you,” she said.
    “Pardon?” he asked.
    “Thanks,” she repeated. “You really put yourself out there to help. Most people wouldn’t do that for someone they hardly know. And I’m grateful.”
    She felt the boy moving next to her and turned to see he was nodding his head up and down.
    “ We’re grateful,” Darcy corrected herself. “Me and… what’s your name, anyway?”
    The boy opened his mouth again, but again, nothing came out.
    His expression was utter frustration. It looked like he wanted to talk, but had forgotten how.
    “Can you write it?” Darcy asked him.
    His little face broke into a smile and he nodded eagerly.
    Darcy looked around. Lisa noticed and headed over, thinking Darcy was summoning her.
    “Can I take that for you?” Lisa offered, gesturing to their plates.
    “Sure. Hey, can I borrow your pad and paper?” Darcy asked.
    “Um, okay, but I need it back when I get another table,” Lisa said, handing over her pad and pen.
    “Sure,” Darcy said, handing it over to the boy as Lisa grabbed their plates and headed off.
    The boy grabbed the pen and began to write.
    Watching over his shoulder intently, Darcy saw an L.
    After that, there were only unintelligible scribbles.
    He took a deep breath, and then applied himself to the paper again.
    More scribbles.
    Suddenly he was stabbing angrily at the paper, tearing holes in it with the pen.
    “It’s okay, buddy, don’t worry about it. You’ve been through a lot and something’s got you all mixed up. That’s all. We’ll figure it out,” she told him in a low, calm voice.
    He dropped the pen on the table and collapsed against her side again, leaning against her with his eyes shut, his small body warm against her.
    Finn leaned forward.
    “Hey, it looks like you started by making an L. Does your name start with an L?” he asked the boy.
    The kid just stared, like he didn’t understand.
    “What are some L names for boys?” he asked Darcy.
    She didn’t respond, not sure if they were going to upset the boy further.
    “Is it Liam?” Finn asked.
    The kid shook his head.
    “Labron?” Finn offered.
    “ Labron?” Darcy asked Finn.
    “What?” Finn said.
    “Is it Logan?” Darcy asked, unable to stop herself. Logan was a very popular name.
    The boy smiled and shook his head. He was getting interested.
    “Linus?” Finn asked. “Leonardo?”
    “You are terrible at this,” Darcy told Finn.
    The boy put his right hand over his mouth and breathed heavily.
    “Is he okay?” Finn asked.
    “I think he’s trying to give us a clue,” Darcy replied thoughtfully.
    The boy’s dancing eyes told her she was right.
    “It sounds like he’s scuba diving,” Finn ventured.
    “No! He sounds like Darth Vader,” Darcy said, surprised she hadn’t picked up on it immediately.
    The boy nodded and made the breathing sound again.
    “Your name is Darth Vader?” Finn asked incredulously.
    The kid just stared at him.
    “Anakin?” Darcy offered. “No. L. Luke!”
    The kid banged on the table so hard their coffee cups jingled and nearly jumped out of his seat with excitement, nodding his head up and down