We don’t move, at least not for now.
ChapterFourteen
Cleo
By noon, the fog has pulled back a little, leaving the big room rinsed in sunlight.The ocean keeps hurling itself at the cliff.I’m curled on the end of the new long sofa Eddie brought last evening with a throw over my legs, pretending I’m a person who knows what to do with hours.
Barret arrives with a guitar and a tray, one balanced over the other like he’s learned to carry his comforts in pairs.
“Not going out today?”he asks, setting the tray on the low table—soup steaming, toast, apple slices fanned like a neat good afternoon.
“I was thinking about swimming, but—” I tip my chin toward the water pounding itself into foam.“It doesn’t seem like a safe activity.”
He snorts.“Well, it all depends on where you choose to swim.”
“Oh, I have options?”I clap, trying to sound amused.“You telling me that the island's north side is tamer?”
He rolls his eyes.“We have an indoor pool.Eddie built this place thinking about us—he knows how much you love to swim.”
“You and him.”My voice comes out flatter.
He glares at me as if saying,Don’t be fucking obtuse.Okay, maybe not that blunt, but it feels like it.
I rub the comforter, look at my toes, which are in desperate need of TLC, and say, “I heard you.”
“You heard us ...”He drags a breath, then softens it.“You need to be a little more outspoken.My mind-reading abilities are ...well, you’re the one who actually reads minds.Not me.”
“That’s not exactly it.I was good at trying to guess because making other people happy guaranteed my place in their lives,” I confess.
See, nobody can’t say I’m not reading the books they left on the nightstand.I’m even borrowing words from it—probably learning a thing or two.Not that they might be useful, but at least I can talk shit right now without sounding broken.
He narrows his gaze and glances toward the stack by the bed.“You’re reading Eddie’s self-help books?”
I shrug.“Just because I’m not going outside doesn’t mean I’m not doing something when I’m not sleeping.Or screaming.”
His mouth curves.“Why don’t you call us?We can keep you company.”He looks around the room.Glass.Cedar.A view that swallows you whole.“This place is big.It’s less boring with two idiots hovering.”
“I’ve been out,” I mumble.“Earlier.While you two were behind two huge wooden doors.”
He arches a brow, a glint in his eye that isn't quite teasing but definitely knows too much.“How did you know we were there?”
My face heats instantly, that useless flush crawling up my neck.I hope the tan of my skin does its job and hides it, but I’m not exactly proud of myself.“I might’ve heard a thing or two.”—Or everything.But I don’t say that part.
His mouth curves, the start of something mischievous.But it doesn’t bite.It doesn’t mock.“You did, huh?”he says, tongue touching the roof of his mouth as he tsks.“If we weren’t in a weird place, I’d threaten a good spanking.But ...tell me—what did you hear, princess?”
“Princess.”That word settles right into a crack inside me.Like it belongs.Like I belong.
For a split second, I let myself be that Cleo again.The one who took on the world like it owed her nothing.Who solved problems with a snap and a smirk and never let anyone see the bruises beneath.But she’s gone now.Replaced by this fragile thing wearing her name like it still fits.
“Never mind,” I say, before I derail into something I can’t climb out of.Then I remember Dr.Stevens—her voice unblinking, unbothered by the mess.“Fine.”I breathe, drag the courage through my ribs, and let it spill out fast.“You-two-seem-to-be-in-couples-counseling.”
It comes out in one breath, rushed and slurred.
“We were ...are,” he admits.“If you recall, our dynamic leaves all the decisions to Eddie.”
“It’s easier to let him,” I say, and it’s true.True enough to sting.“I made so many decisions for everyone that letting the two of you take care of me was—” I fumble.“—a different pace.So much easier.”
He nods slowly.“We love to take care of you, princess.”
