As the door opened, my niece’s recognizable, high-pitched voice greeted me. She skipped into the apartment like she owned the place.
“Hello again,” she greeted happily.
My eyes followed her as she made herself comfortable on the couch. “Hi, Mills.”
I shifted my gaze to my sister, who stood in the doorway with a guilty smile. She already knew what my reaction would be.
I rushed over to her. “Anna, no. I can’t.”
“Alex, please. I know this is last-minute, but I really need you to keep her for the night,” Annabelle pleaded.
“I have an exam at seven in the morning,” I said firmly. “I can’t afford to fail, which means I can’t afford to babysit.”
“I know, I know.” She rubbed my shoulder with a frown. “But you know that if I could ask someone else, I would. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“Anna, I really can’t handle it today,” I said, desperate for her to accept my answer. The way today had been going, adding Millie on top of it might’ve made me crumble.
Annabelle retreated, sending kisses and apologies in my direction. “You’re the best brother in the world, and I love you. I won’t do this to you again, I swear.”
First Killian, then Salem, and now Anna?
When the door slammed shut behind her, I let out an exhausted groan. The pain that started in my neck was now in my head, creating an intense headache. It didn’t help that I was adding to the tension by pulling on my hair, but I couldn’t help it.Fuck me.
I flinched at Salem’s sudden appearance beside me. He spoke low enough for only me to hear. “That kid isalwayshere. I didn’t sign up for a child to live here.”
Turning my head his way, a condescending smile grew on my face. “And I didn’t sign up for a slob roommate. Guess we both don’t get what we want.”
I turned my back to him to grab my items and continue studying in the living room, and when I heard the front door slam, I let out a sigh of relief. Salem finally left, and I knew because he always slammed doors in the apartment.
My body felt different in a way that I struggled to put into words. Almost like I felt as if I were watching myself from an outside perspective. It wasn’t a good feeling, but not necessarily bad either. I chalked it up to all the conflict I had dealt with today.
“Alex,” Millie spoke softly from the couch.
I didn’t look up from my textbook. “What?”
“I wanna tell you about what I did at school today.”
Her words barely registered in my brain. “Give me, like, two hours. Alright?”
“In two hours I’m gonna be sleepy,” the child whined. “I promise I will talk quickly, I?—”
“Millie, please. I told you not right now, and I’m trying to focus.”
I kept my eyes on my schoolwork, not daring to turn around to see the hurt in her eyes that I knew she had. The last thing I wanted to do was snap at the kid, but she wasn’t listening, and I was on my last straw.
What I needed was a break, but I didn’t have the time for one.
I was so engrossed in my anguish that I didn’t realize Millie had opened the front door until it was wide open.
My hand rubbed my eyes roughly—I think I dozed off a couple of times. “You aren’t supposed to open the door without my permission.”
Her head hung low. “Sorry.”
It was only then that I took notice of who she let in: the guy whose texts I had been ignoring for the past week. River’s worried glance, coupled with his rigid stance and hands in his hoodie pockets, gave the impression he didn’t think I looked too hot. It was like a light went off in his head, and he realized the solution to all of his unanswered questions.
I buried my face in my hands. “Of course you’re here.”
“You’ve answered none of my calls or texts.” River’s voice was closer than I expected it to be.
