“I do.” Pressing my head against the glass, I watched Nix watch me. He reminded me of a predator stalking its prey, biding its time. But he wouldn’t catch me, not this time.
“Did you two get a chance to talk?”
“A little.” But there was still so much we hadn’t aired.
“I’m sorry if I pushed you to come here. I just thought—”
“It’s okay, Celeste,” I said quietly. “I don’t want to hide or avoid everything, but sometimes it just feels easier, you know.”
“Yeah. How can I help? Maybe I could speak to Da—”
“No, don’t do that. I don’t want you to do that.”
“Okay, sorry.” Her eyes flicked to mine, brimming with apology. “I won’t say anything.”
“I appreciate your support, Celeste, I do. But I need to do things at my own pace.”
“Of course. I know I can be a little much sometimes. But it’s only because I care about you, and I want you to be happy. And I know living at the house with us doesn’t make you happy.”
No, it didn’t.
But it didn’t matter.
The simple truth was, I had nowhere else to go. Sure, I turned eighteen in a few weeks, but if I left, the money I had access to would quickly deplete.
It wasn’t enough.
Not if I wanted to truly escape Old Darling Hill and my father’s clutches.
“It’s not like I have much choice,” I murmured.
“I know.” She sighed. “But it won’t be like this forever. You’re eighteen soon and you graduate next spring.”
As if I needed any reminder.
Nine months.
I just had to survive nine months.
It wasn’t lost on me that’s how long I’d survived without Nix.
We drove the rest of the way back to the house in silence. When we eventually drove through the automatic gold-tipped gates, Celeste broke the tension.
“What are you going to do about Max?” she asked, cutting the engine and twisting around to me.
“Honestly, nothing. It’s obviously a game to him. I figure it’s better not to provoke him.”
“Are you sure that’s the right approach? I mean, he’s my brother, yeah. But he’s also a sociopath.”
A small chuckle left my lips. She wasn’t wrong there.
“He’s clearly baiting me for leverage.” I shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll let me know what he wants eventually.”
“You’re sure you want to do this? Go up against Max, I mean?” Concern flitted across her expression.
“What else would you suggest? Tell Michael about Nix? Because that’s not an option.”
Not yet at least.