“Why do you all keep bringing up Dona?” He frowned, and I guess he didn’t see it. “They are nothing alike.”
“You can’t see the ambition?”
Dona was shaking with it. She was nearly going crazy with the desire to be greater; it was like she was fighting her way up a mountain. Meanwhile, Calliope looked calm and collected like she was using a ski lift to get up instead.
“There is something about Calliope. Some part she’s not showing us, that makes Ethan look so different next to her.”
When I looked back at Wyatt, since he wasn’t speaking, I found him just staring at me. “What?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.”
“Liar! What? Tell me!”
“You know everyone in this house is aware you secretly assess and dissect people almost as badly as Ethan does.”
I frowned at that. “You make it seem like I’m plotting something.”
“No, that’s the problem.” He chuckled. “You use what you learn to avoid everyone, to stay out of the way. You’ve always done that, you know. You’d read the room, rush to warn Darcy and me to make sure we didn’t get into trouble. Darcy listened more than I did.”
“You never listen to me,” I snapped.
“Yeah, because it’s okay to make trouble sometimes, Helen. They would yell a little bit, and then it was over. You never seemed to get that and were always the good one. The one that tried to stay out of messy conversations or issues. Now, look at you diving into this. You’ve never done that with me before—shown me what was going through your mind as you tried to figure out people.”
I shifted and looked away. “This isn’t about me. Seriously, focus. How do you feel about Calliope?”
He sighed, rubbing the side of his face. “I thought Ethan was becoming different, was opening up more. There was even witty banter between us. His ice wall was coming down, and now this Calliope has his wall back up. I feel like something is calculated about this, too, but I can’t put my finger on it. Not to mention this whole Ivy-Calliope mess feels…rushed and reckless.”
“That worries you because Ethan is always calculated?”
“I’m the reckless one. He’s the calculated one. That’s how it’s always been,” he replied, and I could feel him drumming his fingers on my bare back.
“Maybe you are both changing.” And I wasn’t sure what that meant yet. “Here you are trying to calculate while he’s out there being reckless. He asked for both Sedric and Darcy. Then Sedric got benched. Which means he’s going into whatever he’s doing with one less man then he planned…reckless.”
He sighed, just realizing and moving to get up despite the pain he was in. “See, this is why I fucking hate new people! They come in and fuck up the order of shit, and I no longer know what the fuck is going anywhere.”
“In her defense, you kinda never knew what the fuck was going on here before,” I replied, rolling over in the sheets and twisting back my hair.
“Are you mocking me now?”
I grinned. “What’s my punishment?”
He glared and shook his head. “You’re trying to seduce me so I’ll stay in bed and I don’t go out to help, Ethan.”
“I am.”
“Always trying to stop trouble.”
“I’m also reminding you that Ethan didn’t ask for your help.” I swore he wasn’t going to rest no matter what. He just couldn’t stay still. I’d rather he spent his time in bed with me than getting hurt further before he could fight.
“Ethan never asks for help, Helen. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t need it.”
“Wyatt, Ethan did ask for help. He just didn’t ask for yours,” I reminded him, sitting up. “Don’t overstep him. That’s what Nari did with Calliope. Be calm, collected, and wait. He knows you are his brother and have his back. So be the good soldier and be patient. And get off your leg, you’re hurt.”
He frowned and sat back down. “God, I’m so fucking whipped.”
“Now, is that your punishment or mine?”
His eyebrow rose, and I knew we’d both be hurting from this round, but neither of us cared.