I don’t answer him. I can’t. The monster is too close to the surface. If I give Neo any more attention, it’ll end with me throwing him over my shoulder again, marching him to my room, locking the door, and refusing to let him leave until he tells me what’s wrong.
That behavior might work for my brothers, but not me. I’m the heir. There’s an expected standard.
Behaving like a Neanderthal falls short of that.
“Are you firing me?” Dotty asks, and I shake my head, walking at a clipped pace toward the door.
“I will speak to you in private,” I tell her, and I swear I feel something wet hit my neck. Not sure what that is, but I think she might have sprayed me with vinegar.
As the door closes behind us, I turn to face the aging housekeeper. Her graying hair is pulled back in a bun, and she has an apron on, a second spray bottle stuffed into one of the pockets. I think this one is just for me. To antagonize me whenever I’m around.
“Has Neo said anything to you?” I ask, and she purses her lips, staring at me.
It seems she wants to keep a secret. Either that or she has no idea what I’m talking about.
I try again. “I’d like to know if he confided in you. About us.”
“Even if he did, I’d say nothing.”
I sigh. “Have you no loyalty to me, to this family?”
Her lips curl up, and I see the first genuine smile light up her face. “Unless you’re firing me, I’m going back to work.” She hesitates, and then adds, “Sir.”
It’s mocking. She knows she’s never said that to me in my life. Probably has something to do with cleaning up my messes when I was a child. When I don’t stop her, she turns and walks away, leaving me to stare at the office door, dreading having to go back in and figure out what’s wrong.
I push my way inside, striding to my seat and lowering myself into it. Neo doesn’t even look at me, just continues to type, answering emails and murmuring to himself.
He’s moved his chair farther away again, and now there’s a headache knocking at the back of my skull.
My monster is unhappy with this turn of events. It was quite satiated when we were on our date, happy to have him tucked into me, to have his hand in mine. Now it’s like Neo’s a stranger.
Ask him again. Ask him what’s wrong.
I refuse, letting the uncomfortable silence sink between us until I can’t stand it any longer.
Before lunch, I push myself to my feet and wander to the office door, hoping Neo will comment on my abrupt departure, but I hear nothing as I step into the hallway.
I need some fresh air, to touch some grass. If Neo says nothing is wrong, then nothing is. And yet I can’t help the niggling feeling in the back of my mind that tells me something is definitely not right.
You did something wrong. Fix it.
Fix it.
I step outside and wander the expansive property, my hands tucked into my pockets, my head down. I can hear the trickle of thefountains in the distance, can hear the sound of the rain tapping on the leaves of the trees.
And I can also hear the soft beat of music floating through the air.
I follow it, moving toward a small shed we keep on the property, one I assumed was for gardening tools. But when I pull the door open, I see a shirtless Samson inside, his hips rocking back and forth, his eyes closed, his hands in the air, each holding an axe.
He’s off beat entirely. Even someone as bad at dancing as I am knows this, but he looks like he’s enjoying it. Whatever it is he’s doing.
The squeak of the door hinge has him freezing and then lunging toward me. Eyes wild, his axes drop to the ground, and a dagger appears from nowhere. I’m shoved up against the rickety wooden wall before I can say anything, and when he realizes it’s me, he scowls.
“Knock before interrupting the artistic process,” he murmurs, letting the dagger fall slightly, but not before nicking me. I can feel a sliver of pain and the trickle of blood, but it goes ignored. “And why the fucking glasses? Thought you magically cured your bad eyesight.”
“I find them easier to take than contacts some days.” That’s why. It has nothing to do with Neo and how he likes the way they make my face look. “I had no idea you were here. Had no idea you were…dancing?”
The way my voice lilts up at the end has him flipping me off. “I know I’m not the best, but yeah, I’m dancing. Gonna practice until I get it right.”
