Page 68 of Twisted Lies

“May I ask if it’s also for your mother’s?”

“I’m paying the rent on her apartment,” I explain, “That’s why I keep going through the money you send me. Plus, every freaking kid at Stonehaven wants to eat anywhere but at the dining hall.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have said freaking, but Dr. Howland laughs. He actually looks at me with a soft gaze for once. I sit up straight, worried that I’ll fuck up that goodwill before I leave.

“You’re overdue some type of financial compensation,” he says. “So if you take my name legally, then I will give you the money in increments.”

I nod, grateful that I pulled it off. “I don’t want to say who I am at school just yet. I’ve gotten used to how they act around me, and I’d rather they be as close to themselves as possible and not…you know.”

“Kiss ass?” he says, smiling. “It’s a hazard of our situation to collect yes-people around us.”

“I’m sorry to ask for the money,” I tell him sincerely, “but if I weren’t at Stonehaven, I wouldn’t need it.”

“Don’t apologize, Astrid. You aren’t some poor relation who appeared on my doorstep. You are my daughter. A Howland. Come, let me show you your room, and then my driver, Christopher, will take you back to Stonehaven.” He stands, holding out his hand toward me. “Thank you for reaching out to me.”

“Thank you,” I bite my lip. “Should I call you Dad?”

He sighs. “It’s better than Daddy. Let’s try Elliot. You are an adult, after all.”

“Thanks, Elliot.”

I follow up the staircase toward the second floor. To the left, a bedroom is also being painted, and I wonder if it’s Charlotte’s mom’s room. The room is stripped bare, and all the furnishings are gone except for a moving box on the floor.

Elliot guides me toward the right. “Your room is near mine,” he says, “I hear that you are friendly with Bryce Shelton?”

Fuck. And thank goodness I didn’t say that aloud. “We have a class together.”

My bedroom is also empty, but it’s large, with a private bathroom. I don’t feel anything toward spending time here. Elliot doesn’t show me any other rooms before we return downstairs. At the front door, I hold out my hand, and he shakes it. I won’t say I feel like I’m making a deal with the devil because that’s not how it feels. It feels like I finally have what has been missing—a father, as stupid as that may sound. I need someone who cares about my future, starting with Stonehaven. Someone who will back me up when I tell them to watch their backs.

As the car pulls out of the driveway, I realize that Elliot never once asked about Charlotte.

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