“Of course, you didn’t think,” she snapped, and I flinched. “That boy is a disease! An affront to everything this family stands for!”
“He’s not!” I exclaimed.
“People like him always are!” she said over me. “They are a drain on society around them. Always taking and never trying to better themselves! To be productive individuals! He smokes! He skips classes! And don’t get me started on his brother!”
She scoffed, sounding utterly disgusted at the thought of Aidan. I couldn’t disagree with her on that one. Leaving Maverick alone with his brother had an uncomfortable feeling weaving its way through my stomach—one that I struggled to make peace with. I didn’t like not knowing what Aidan might do to him.
“He’s my friend!” I told her. Something inside me fractured as I said the words. The need to defend him—to defend his presence in my life—was strong. My mind struggled to grasp the right thing to say, rather than blurting out whatever thought popped into my head. “Who cares if he smokes? It’s only sometimes! It’s not like it’s hurting him. It’s not hurting me! And he’s smart—a lot smarter than people give him credit for. So what if we miss a few days of school? I don’t fucking care!”
“Watch your tongue,” she snarled, but I ignored her. The floodgates had blasted open, and I had very little control over what was coming out of my mouth.
“Yeah, he’s a little rough around the edges to everyone else, but they don’t know him! They don’t know what he goesthrough! And still he’s funny, and he’s smart, and he pays attention, and he gets me, and I—”
I snapped my mouth shut quickly as I realized that I was about to say something I’d regret. I cared about Maverick.A lot.A lot more than friends were supposed to care about friends.
And a lot more than my family would ever be okay with.
“You what? You love him?Please!” She rolled her eyes in disdain as I shook my head. I didn’t love him—though I wasn’t sure I knew what love was. Icouldlove him. Maybe one day. “You don’t have a clue what love is. That boy has you believing ridiculous things as he tries to use you for your money.”
“He doesn’t—”
“Tell me that you don’t buy him food,” she challenged. I kept my mouth shut. I wouldn’t apologize for making sure he didn’t go hungry. And if she was asking, it meant she knew. “I didn’t work as hard as I have to give you everything in life to have you throw it away for the likes of someone like that boy. Tomorrow, you’re going north to live with your grandfather.”
A cold panic burrowed in my chest, stealing the breath from my lungs. For a moment, I couldn’t process the words. My mind struggled to catch up.
Leave?I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to stay here where Maverick was. The thought of being pulled away from him threatened to break me.
“No,” I said as I shook my head rapidly. “The school year’s not even done—”
“He’s going to take you toChathamand set you up to finish the year out there,” she cut me off.Chathamwas the private school both of my parents had attended—very elite and very rigid. It was everything I didn’t want. “Clearly, raising you here in Wilde Bay is hindering your growth.”
“It’s not! I can… I can…”I couldn’t even make myself lie about all the ways I could avoid Maverick.We both knew I wouldn’t.
“You need straightening out,” she told me. “A reminder about who you are and where you come from. A reminder of the legacy you hold in your hands. Of the importance your name carries. He straightened your father out, and he can certainly straighten you out, too.”
The room shrank around me. My heart pounded erratically as anxiety reared its ugly head. I knew what my grandfather’s version of straightening out entailed. I’d heard the stories. I’d seen how my grandfather had crushed my father.I wanted no part of that.I didn’t want to end up like him.
And the fact that she was okay with sending me there… with putting me through that… my stomach dropped out. I couldn’t believe it.
“Please,” I begged quietly. The word came out small and pathetic, despite how hard I tried to hold it together. “I’ll do better. I promise.”
Even as I said it, I knew it wouldn’t matter. The decision was out of my hands. I didn’t have a say in my own life. And fighting her never worked. It only made things worse. I had learned that lesson a long time ago.
“It’s already done,” she said. “Go upstairs and get your stuff packed. Your grandfather will be here in the morning to pick you up.”
I just nodded, words failing me. I turned away like a dog with its tail between its legs. My chest was painfully tight as I left. I didn’t know what else to do.
CHAPTER 12
harley
Ihad zero survival instincts. None. Whatsoever. All I had was a desperate need to run to Maverick. So desperate that I defied my mother. Sneaking out after everything was a bad idea—I knew that. I just couldn’t make myself care.
I couldn’t just leave Maverick without seeing him one more time. Not without saying goodbye. Not without… explaining or… something.
I snuck through the dark house, minding every turn to make sure I didn’t run into my mother. Going out through the laundry room was the easiest way to go. Only the help went in there.
Which was why finding my father leaning against the washing machine with a glass of scotch in hand was a shock. Christopher Lowell was a beast of a man to the rest of the world, but they never saw the broken side of him. The man who crumbled in his own space, falling down a bottle at every chance. He was miserable, and I understood why. For as hard as my mother was on me, she was even harder on him. He drank in secret to deal with it. I caught him sometimes, and he usually apologized.
