“So here’s the deal,” I say, each word deliberate. “You do the full rehab. You get clean. You find something—sports, music, I don’t give a fuck what—but something other than running around high as a kite. You make your sister happy.”
“And if I don’t?”
“Then,” I smile. Cold. “I’ll ruin Thea instead. Thoroughly. Make that bitch suffer while I sit on the sidelines and watch. Do you understand?”
Thea protests from the back but I tell her to, “Shut the fuck up. I’m having a conversation.”
Axel’s jaw clenches. His hands ball into fists on his lap.
“You can’t force me to stay in rehab,” he says. “You know that, right? You have to admit yourself willingly.”
“I know.” I lean back, start driving again. “That’s why you’re going to choose to stay.”
“Why the fuck would I do that?”
“Because you’re tired. Because you almost died. Because deep down, you know Lexi’s right.” I glance at him. “And because if you walk out of there, I will fucking shove ten pills down your throat and kill you myself.”
Silence.
Good.
We drive the rest of the way without speaking.
The facility is a converted mansion on the edge of town. Old brick, overgrown hedges, iron gates that creak when I push them open.
I park in the circular driveway and get out. Axel follows slowly, reluctantly.
Inside, the lobby smells like coffee and disinfectant. There’s a woman at the front desk—mid-forties, kind eyes, the look of someone who’s seen it all and refuses to be shocked by anything.
“Can I help you?”
“Checking him in,” I say, nodding toward Axel.
She slides a clipboard across the desk. “He’ll need to fill out the intake forms.”
Axel stares at the clipboard like it might bite him.
“Go ahead,” I say.
He picks up the pen. Starts writing. Slow. Deliberate. Like every word is a concession.
I don’t threaten anyone about entering his name in the database. Don’t slip anyone cash to keep it quiet. I have nothing to hide here. This is legitimate.
When he’s done, the woman reviews the forms and nods. “We have a bed available. You can start today if you’d like.”
Axel looks at me. Then at Thea. Then at the floor.
“Yeah,” he finally says. “Okay.”
She smiles. “Great. Follow me.”
She leads him down a hallway. He doesn’t look back.
I watch until he disappears around a corner.
Then I leave.
Thea’s walking with her arms crossed. Glaring at me.
