Page 74 of Oblivion

Honestly, I expected Clay to be the first one to question the way I’m handling Sammy. Since Starling helped Bunny escape from Hunter, Clay has changed. I know that just like me, he’s always regretted the impact Bastian had on Starling and the part he played. I know that he had to face his own consequences when he sent January to Italy. But when Bunny disappeared and Hunter fell apart, Clay lost some of the edge he’s had his whole life.

I don’t know the full details, but I know that he’s the one who found Bunny and flew her to New York to meet with Hunter. Since then, there’s been a softness that’s replaced some of the lethal privilege we were all raised to feel.

That’s not to say that he’s not just as capable of being as ruthless as the rest of us should the need arise to protect his family or business. But January has made him consider his actions more than he’s ever had to before.

After I asked him to help me ruin the Landons, I wondered if he’d been willing to help, so it’s odd that Bastian is the first one to seek me out.

The door to the coffee shop opens moments later, and my brother strolls in, his posture relaxed even if he does look like a scary motherfucker. Where Clay has softened since Starling dropped Bunny’s tracker onto the dining table all those weeks ago, Bastian has hardened. He and Starling are married, but when she cut the tracker from her friend’s skin, she demonstrated clearly that if she decided to run, she’d be more than capable of disappearing, and despite how insane, controlling, and obsessed Bastian might be, he may not ever be able to find her.

Even though he’s never said anything, it’s fear that I can see in his eyes. Worry that the woman he loves may someday vanish without a trace, and there’s nothing he can do, short of actually locking her in the cage he’s threatened her with before.

“Do you want another coffee?” he asks when he reaches my table.

“Sure.” I nod, watching as he moves to the counter and orders our drinks before taking the seat opposite me.

Leaning back, I exhale and wait for him to say whatever he came here to say.

“Starling is worried,” he finally says.

“Okay.”

“Sammy told her that she’s not sure she’ll be able to live with the guilt of knowing that you destroyed Landon and his entire family because of something she did.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I stay quiet.

“Have you considered how you’ll handle Sammy if she turns that guilt into hate and focuses it on you?” he asks concisely.

“Are you suggesting I let it go?”

“No,” he scoffs.

“Then why are you here?”

“Because my wife asked me to talk to you, and now I have.”

“Why hasn’t Starling come to me instead?” I question.

“She’s still figuring out how to be around you. How to be around all of us, to be honest. Hunter’s behavior toward her, plus Bunny deciding to come home, and then Sammy getting engaged has been hard for her.”

“She’s the one who preached about consequences—” I start.

“I think we all know that she has the right to be angry and to lash out,” Bastian cuts me off.

Exhaling sadly, I nod. “Yeah. Are you worried about her?”

I’m shocked when Bastian lifts his hand to the back of his neck and rubs. “I’ve barely fucking slept since Bunny went AWOL,” he admits.

“Why?”

“I’m terrified she’ll be gone when I wake up.”

“She loves you,” I say, trying to reassure him.

“I know. But that doesn’t mean she won’t leave me.”

This is the first time since the night that Starling was attacked by another student that I’ve seen true fear in his eyes. “Does she still have her tracker?”

“Yes, but she’s shown how easily she could remove it.”

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