“How much did you drink last night?”
“Clearly not enough.” I tossed the dirty dress in my laundry basket, grabbed a perfume bottle from my dresser and poured it out over the fabric. The last thing I needed was for Poppy to smell my indiscretions. She’d run up the stairs in her maid’s uniform and pray for me in Spanish if she did.
“Sienna—”
“Spencer, please.” I held up my hand. “The last thing I need right now is a pep talk, okay? In case you were wondering, it’s been extra shitty around here since you left. Living here with Dad and his new whore, and Silas, who seems to get high on being a pain in my ass, is not exactly a great home environment.”
“You don’t have to stay here, Sienna.” He stepped forward. “I’ve told you this so many times, do as I did. Find another university and move away from here. That’s the only way to get out of all this.”
I scoffed. “Do as you did? Run away from my problems?”
His jaw clenched. “I didn’t run from my problems.”
“It sure as fuck looks like it from where I’m standing.”
“I chose to leave because I had enough problems to deal with. Staying here would only have piled on more.”
I wiped perspiration from my forehead, not sure whether it was the summer heat or my hangover. “Yeah, well, your fear of more problems left me all alone here in this fucking hell hole.”
“Then leave, Sienna!”
“I can’t!”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because I promised her, dammit!” I snapped, tears stinging my eyes while my heart pulsed with grief. “I promised Mom I wouldn’t leave Dad, and that I’ll stay close so I can take care of him. I just didn’t think my promise meant I’d be in hell for the rest of my life.”
“Jesus, Sienna.” Spencer rubbed the back of his neck, and I sniffed, biting back the tears. “You never told me.”
“Because it was my problem. My promise.”
“Still, you should have told me.”
“Well, good thing I didn’t. You already ran away because you didn’t want more problems, imagine if I had to saddle you with mine.”
This time the tears proved stronger than my will not to cry. I had never told anyone about the promise I made to my mother the last time I spoke to her. It was as if she knew something was going to happen. She was on her way out to buy my dad’s birthday present. I asked if I could tag along, and she’d usually let me go shopping with her whenever I asked. But that morning she said no. She said she needed a bit of time on her own. And right before she walked out the door, she turned to face me, her red hair pinned in a perfect updo.
“Sienna?”
“Yeah?”
“Promise me that you’ll always stay close. Your dad might be a wealthy CEO who seems like he can take care of himself.” She smiled. “But we all know that’s not true.”
“Um, sure. But what is this—”
“I should be back soon.”
She never came back. She died that afternoon in a car crash, and the last memory I had of her was when I promised her I’d always stay close. And now here I was, staying close, yet I couldn’t be further away.
I wiped at a tear, and Spencer placed his hands on my shoulders, staring down at me with pity in his eyes. “Listen to me, Sienna. It’s not your responsibility to take care of Dad. You shouldn’t feel like you have to build your entire life around some promise you made to Mom.”
“Of course, I do.” I shrugged from his touch and stepped back. “That’s where Dad and I are different. It’s been four years since she died, and I’m still thinking of that day. Dad, on the other hand, didn’t have a problem moving on, bringing that two-faced bitch into our lives. Into our home.Mom’shome.”
“Sienna, Dad is allowed to move on with his life. Would you rather have him mourn for the rest of his life?”
“I have to.” I crossed my arms, not caring that another tear lapped over my lips. “I have to mourn her every fucking day. God, I can’t even look in the mirror without thinking of her. And let’s not forget the fact that Silas is there to remind me every chance he gets.”
“God, he’s an asshole.” Spencer cursed under his breath.