"When was the last time you slept?"
"I don't know. Monday?"
"It's Thursday."
"Then Monday."
Rowan sits in the armchair across from me, his green eyes scanning my face.
"You can't keep doing this."
"Doing what?"
"Destroying yourself." Riley perches on the arm of the couch, her skirt pooling around her legs. "We've been watching you spiral for days, and it's killing us."
"I'm fine." I take another shot of whiskey.
Rowan takes away the bottle.
"You're not fine!" Riley’s voice cracks, tears filling her eyes. "You haven't eaten or slept. You're drinking alone in the dark. This isn't fine."
I set the glass down. "I'm handling it."
Rowan sighs.
"No, you're falling apart. And we get it. You love her. But this isn't going to fix anything," he says, gesturing at me.
"I don't know what else to do," I say weakly.
Riley slides off the couch arm and sits beside me, taking my hands in hers. Her fingers are cold, delicate.
“Talk to Ivy. She might forgive you.”
“I’m already talking to her—”
Their faces perk up.
“—as King.”
Rowan looks away.
Riley’s face falls. “You need to stop hiding behind King, Dec."
"She'll hate me."
"Or she might see that you're human."
I wish I could believe that. But once relationships turn bad, they get worse and irredeemable, especially when Gregory is involved. I’ve had enough experience to know.
"You've spent years taking care of us," she continues, her voice breaking. "You carried us through grief and trauma and every hard thing. So let’s take care of you now. Let’s help you fix this."
I pull her into a hug, and she clings to me like she's fourteen again and terrified of losing me. Rowan joins us, his hand gripping my shoulder. For a moment, we're just three kids who lost their parents and learned to survive together.
"I don't know if I can," I admit.
"You can," Rowan says firmly. "You're Declan Hawthorne. You don't quit."
Afterward, they insist on a home-cooked meal. While I take my bath, they prepare steak, mashed potatoes, vegetables, and sauce. I don’t know how many months Riley has been practicing with this recipe, but the food is delicious, making the pain bearable.
