Page 26
“You left all your stuff in the pool house, Sunny,” I bark, my voice low and authoritative. Her eyes are round like saucers, and she stares at me, confused. “Please go clean it up.”
She doesn’t move, but I notice the way her chest heaves a little faster. She’s searching my features, and I hope she can see that I’m just trying to get her out of there. Whether she sees it or not, I don’t want her sticking around this crowd when they’re already so far gone.
“You don’t have to do anything, Sunny,” Cadence slurs as she sways.
I don’t respond to her sister. I just give Sunny an assertive look. After another long awkward moment, Sunny stomps past me.
When I move to follow her, a soft hand grabs at my arm. I turn around to find Cadence looking soberly concerned, her gaze following her sister. “Hey,” she mumbles. “Be nice to her.”
I let out a sigh and lean in to whisper so that none of the others can hear me. “I’ll be the one worrying about Sunny, now. Got it?”
Backing up, she gazes up at me with surprise. I don’t think she expected that.
“She’s not safe here, Cadence, and frankly, neither are you.”
“You’re nothing like what I expected,” she murmurs.
I already have my back to her, following Sunny to my house. Over my shoulder, I reply, “I don’t care what you expected.”
The sound of the party dies away when I reach the pool house and close the door, trapping Sunny and me alone inside.
“Don’t go back there. Stay here and finish what you’re working on. You can eat dinner here tonight.”
She nods while throwing her pencils in her bag.
I can’t stand when she stays silent like this. I want to crawl inside her mind and know what she’s thinking. I want her to tell me—to yell, scream, fight, anything.
“Why do you stay there? Why do you put up with them?”
She shrugs, and I’m on the brink of madness.
“Sunny!”
She spins around and throws her hands up. “What do you want me to say, Alex? Yes, they’re awful. Yes, I hate it there, but what choice do I have? They are my family and I don’t have a big fat inheritance to pay my way out. Why do you think I’m doing this?”
Hearing her shout at me is more satisfying than I expected. I’m not ready for her silence again, so I continue to push her buttons. I stalk toward her, stopping just a foot away.
“You let people push you around too much,” I say, ignoring the buzz under my skin having her this close.
“Who? Like you?”
“Yes, like me. I was an asshole to you earlier today. Why didn’t you tell me so?”
“Fine, you were being an asshole today.”
“Good. Keep going.”
Her chest moves as she drags in a deep breath. “You can’t act like you own me, Alex. You can’t just boss me around and act like you know better than me. I’m not a child.”
“Good. Keep going.”
“I…I don’t have anything else—”
“Really?” I bellow as I take another step toward her. “You don’t have anything to say about them?”
Her jaw clenches even tighter as she realizes that I’m talking about her family, specifically her dad.
Her shoulders soften as she backs away, her legs hitting the scaffolding. I have her cornered, pressed up against the cold metal.
