The Sunshine Boy and the Weaver King

Chapter Fifteen

"He said it's personal," Anthony said, picking at his shoelaces. 

Mia gawked at him as she sat cross-legged a few feet away. "You just... asked him? Dude. That's so not what I meant. In fact, that's pretty much the opposite of break into his house and subtly find out what's going on."

"I'm sorry." He swallowed. He hadn't meant to explode like that. Literally or figuratively. And now it all felt hazy and weird, like he hadn't really been there or done that. Biting his lip, he said, "He's got connections with my parents." 

Mia shut her eyes and sighed. "How do you figure that?"

"He walked out of the club with me. Like he had a right to. And then he went back in."

She blinked. 

"Alicia Martin owns The Solstice," Anthony explained, "and she knows my parents. Old friends, apparently. So if Burke can just walk in and out of her club like that, and she trusts him to deal with me, he knows her well. If he knows her well, she's, at the very least, run him past my parents for approval."

"Who even are your parents that she asks them for approval?" Mia quirked an eyebrow. 

Anthony paused. "I don't know."

She snorted, but didn't reply. 

When she'd shown up that morning, Anthony had felt like death. He'd had maybe two hours of sleep, and after downing two cups of instant coffee, which only made him feel worse, he headed out of Briar to meet Mia. 

Maddox had been there when he got back, and even though he got a questioning glance, Maddox did the usual thing he did when Anthony did something questionable. 

He didn't ask. 

"I can't believe you'd do that without talking to me about it first," Mia said, frowning. She looked more hurt than anything, like Anthony had betrayed her. He supposed that, in a way, he had. 

"I left you out of it. Burke doesn't know you know," he said. Then glanced down at the grass. "I'm sorry. I just... I had to do something. And it was looking impossible to get into Burke's place. I thought it would be faster to just..."

"To just expose yourself to the underground power system?" Mia arched an eyebrow. She shook her head. "I'm not mad at you. I mean-- I was. Don't get me wrong. I was really mad. But now I'm mostly worried."

Well. Now he felt worse. 

Mia watched him thoughtfully, her lips pressed together. "I know we don't know each other. I went out on a limb, trusting you. But you're not heading in a totally great direction, mentally or physically. I'd rather not face the Weaver by myself, you feel?"

Anthony blinked as he pieced those few sentences together. "I'm not..." he paused. "I'm not going to die, Mia."

She gave him a dubious look. "Sure."

*

"Maddox, I have a question," Anthony said, laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling. His arms were folded behind his head and he was starving (and ignoring the sounds his stomach was making). "Am I crazy?"

"That's subjective," Maddox replied instantly. 

"Okay, well," Anthony said, "in your opinion, am I crazy?"

"No."

Slightly surprised, he turned to look at Maddox, who was typing something out on his laptop. "You don't really know me, though. And I don't know you."