“You’re right, Lumi. I’m not going to manipulate you. That would imply you have a choice.” I growl. “You don’t.”
She yanks her hands away from me, and this time I let her. But my eyes never leave hers.
“You have five minutes,” I say firmly. “I go first, and you don't touch anything until I say it’s clear.”
“Wow, thanks, Dad.”
Her chest slams against my back with a startled oomph when I toss her over my shoulder. One hand wraps around the back of her thigh, the other cradles her head. I don’t flinch as I jump down from the fire escape, landing hard enough to rattle the railings.
“You’re insane,” she mutters, gripping my fur.
“And you’rekaemorin. So we’re going to do this my way.”
I set her down the second we hit the ground. She doesn’t look at me.
“Let me down!” she barks, swatting at my back.
“I think I’ll carry you instead.”
“Are you serious?”
“Deadly.”
My claws shoot out, and I lower my antlers defensively as I step inside her door.
“Can you put me down now?” she asks.
“Fine. Five minutes, and you don’t leave my sight.” She grabs the note, and my breath hisses softly behind her as I read over her shoulder:
I should’ve died with her. I think the wrong sister died.
And below it, in a handwriting that isn't hers:
No, little dove. You stayed for me.
“What is that?”I ask.
“It’s a page from my journal. I wrote this after my sister's funeral.” She says, tears welling in her eyes.
“Did you tell anyone about that entry?”
“No. Never,” she mumbles.”I—I don’t even leave my journals out, I always put them in my dresser drawer.”
The room shrinks around me.
“They read something that wasn’t meant to be seen by anyone but me. Not only did they read it—he answered it.”
“They didn’t just come in tonight,” I say slowly. “They’ve been here before. They've had time to plan this.”
My claws flex. My whole body is tight.
“They knew which tea to use. They knew how I take it.” She repeats... her voice hollow. “They knew where I kept my journal.”
“This wasn’t just a message. Whoever this is, they think there is something between you two. This isn't infatuation, Lumi.” I murmur.
“They read it,” she croaks. “They probably devoured every single fucked up page. Those were my most emotional, heartbroken thoughts scrawled across pages I thought no one else would ever see.”
She crumples the page in her fist and drops it to the floor before she wraps both arms around herself.
