Page 60 of Addicted

Stone had enrolled him in some fancy private school closer to the estate, and every morning a driver would take him there and pick him up in the afternoon. Ish got to see other people, interact with the outside world, live something close to a normal life.

And I was stuck here every damn day.

I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t call anyone. I couldn’t do shit except wander around this big ass house like a ghost, trying to find ways to pass the time without losing my mind completely.

***

Today had been like every other day.

I’d woken up alone yet again and gone through my morning routine. Shower, get dressed in clothes I had no reason to wear, stare at myself in the mirror and wonder what the fuck my life had become.

Then I’d gone downstairs for lunch.

Brady, Stone’s chef, had prepared some gourmet shit. Seared salmon with asparagus and wild rice. It was delicious, like everything he made, but I could barely taste it.

I was too angry. Too frustrated. Too fuckin’ tired of being trapped.

After lunch, I’d gone for a swim, hoping the water would calm me down. It didn’t. I just floated there in thepool, staring up at the clear blue sky, feeling the sun on my face and wishing I could be anywhere else.

Anywhere but here.

When I got out, I dried off and went to the theater room. I put on some random movie and sat there in one of those plush recliners, trying to lose myself in the story.

But I couldn’t focus. My mind kept drifting.

To Aurora.

To my best friend, who I hadn’t spoken to in weeks. Who probably thought I was dead. Who was probably worried sick, calling my phone over and over, wondering what the hell happened to me.

I missed her so much it hurt.

Missed her laugh, her wild energy, the way she always had my back no matter what. She was the only person besides Ish who really knew me, who understood where I came from and what I’d been through, and I couldn’t even call her. I couldn’t let her know I was okay. I couldn’t do shit.

By the time Ish got home from school, I was in the game room, playing pool by myself and trying not to scream.

“Hey, Indie,” he said, walking in with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

Something about him felt lighter. Healthier. Like life wasn’t weighing on him the way it used to.

Stone had bought him a whole new wardrobe, too. All designer shit, expensive sneakers, everything a teenage boy could want. And Ish was eating it up, loving his new life in this big ass house with all the amenities he could dream of.

I was glad he was okay. Glad he was safe. But I alsoresented him a little bit. Because he got to leave, and I didn’t.

“Hey,” I said, lining up a shot and missing. “How was school?”

“It was cool,” he said, dropping his backpack on one of the chairs. “We got a test coming up in history, but it’s whatever. I got this.”

I nodded, forcing a smile.

“That’s good.”

He walked over and grabbed a pool cue, joining me for a game. We played for a little while, not saying much, just existing in the same space. It was nice. But it wasn’t enough.

After about twenty minutes, Ish said he was gonna go to his room and chill until dinner. I told him okay and watched him leave, feeling that familiar tightness in my chest. Then I went upstairs to the master bedroom.Ourbedroom, Stone had called it. But it damn sure didn’t feel like ours. It felt like his. And I was just stuck here.

I climbed into bed even though it was still early, pulling the covers up to my chin and staring at the ceiling.

I was so tired. Not physically—I hadn’t done shit all day. But mentally. Emotionally. I was exhausted from being trapped, from not knowing what was going to happen next, from feeling like I had no control over my own life.