"You don't know anything about me."
"I know enough." I lean against the wall. The headache is splitting my skull open. Each word I speak makes it worse. Makes the pressure build until I think my head might actually explode. "You and Zero are both insufferable. Your brother is only slightly better."
Something shifts in Bane's expression.
Cold. Furious. His whole body goes rigid. Dangerous.
"You want to talk about insufferable?" He takes a step closer. Close enough that I can smell him—amber and sandalwood and barely restrained rage. "Let's talk about you. You walk into this house—ourhouse—acting like you're too good for us. Like we're the problem."
"I never said—"
"You didn't have to. It's written all over your face every time you look at us." Another step. He towers over me now. I have to tilt my head back to see his face and the movement makes the room spin. "You think you're special because Margot chose you? Because she adopted some charity case out of pity?"
The words hit like a punch. Physical. Brutal. I feel them land in my chest, knock the air from my lungs.
"You're nothing," Bane continues. His voice drops lower. Colder. Each word precisely aimed to hurt "You're nobody. And you don't mean shit to anyone here."
My chest tightens. I can't breathe. Can't think past the words burrowing under my skin like parasites.
"Margot?" He laughs. Bitter. "She's going to get sick of you now that she has a new family. You? You're going to be alone and miserable because you are so unlikeable even your parents didn't want you."
I can't breathe.
The air won't come. My lungs are frozen. My vision narrows to a pinpoint—just Bane's face, twisted with contempt, and nothing else.
"Guess what?" Bane leans in. So close I can see the gold flecks in his hazel eyes. Can feel his breath hot against my face. "My dad doesn't want you either. He's just too polite to say it. So either shut the fuck up and stay out of everyone's way, or leave on your own before I have the pleasure of kicking you out myself."
The headache explodes.
White-hot pain lances through my skull. So intense I see stars. Bright bursts of light that bloom behind my eyes and fade to black. The room spins. I grab the wall to keep from falling. My fingers scrabble against smooth plaster. No purchase. Nothing to hold onto.
"Are you—" Bane starts.
But I'm already moving. Away from him. Away from the words that are burrowing into my chest like knives. Away from his face and his voice and the truth I don't want to hear.
I make it to the stairs.
Start climbing.
My hand grips the railing so hard my healing knuckles scream. Each step is a battle. Lift one foot. Plant it. Shift weight. Repeat.
Each step is agony.
Behind me, I hear Bane mutter something. Indistinct. Maybe an apology. Maybe a curse. Footsteps. Then nothing.
I lock my door and sink onto my bed. The mattress dips under my weight. The room tilts and keeps tilting, even when I close my eyes.
My hands are shaking.
I press them against my thighs to make them stop. It doesn't work. The tremors just move up my arms, into my shoulders, until my whole body is vibrating with it.
You're nothing. You're nobody.
Even your parents didn't want you.
Margot's going to get sick of you.
The pain in my head is unbearable now. Not just pain anymore. Something else. Something deeper. Something wrong. Pulsing. Throbbing. Like something inside is trying to claw its way out.
