Page 128 of Sardonic Burn

Henrick found all the evidence connecting Franco to Dylan. The disappointment and the anger in my father were unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. Leah reacted similarly. Both of them are so ashamed of their son’s actions that they completely stopped mentioning him.

As for me, although we never saw eye to eye, until that moment, he was still my brother. That sentiment left the moment we found Dylan’s words to be true. He’s lucky that it was Noelle who killed him. Otherwise I would’ve made him regret the day he was born.

Noelle smiles, but the smile is the most forced I’ve seen. It’s filled with sadness, sorrow, and anger.

“You should.” She chuckles, then winces. Her throat must hurt. “I blame myself. And starting today, stop coming here. You’ll be sucked into this fucked-up mentality with me, and you’re not prepared for it. No one is. All I want is to be left alone, please.”

“No, no.” I raise my voice slightly. “Don’t you dare say that, Noelle.”

But it’s too late.

I see the light vanish from her eyes. It happens too quickly, but she dissociates herself from reality quickly and returns to her doll-like state.

“Noelle, please, don’t do this.”

Noelle doesn’t hear me. The blank stare returns, and it’s as if it never left. Her blank eyes stare through me, lips slightly parted. Her body goes limp, and the nightmare starts repeating itself again.

It’s the last time I hear Noelle speak.

THIRTY-FOUR

Ray is acting like he cares. He rarely leaves my side. Kalina too. They’re constantly with me. I haven’t spoken a word to them since I got out of the hospital. Even then, it was to tell them that if they so much as thought about taking me to the psych ward, I’d kill them in their sleep.

They listened and then took me to their house.

I’m in my childhood bedroom, and this is where it all started. This is where the assassins were able to sneak into my room. Now that I think about it, it’s blatantly obvious that it wasn’t Hudson’s family.

They were too bad at their job to be sent by such an elite family.

Kalina is getting on my last nerve. This entire bedroom is filled with flowers. She’s changing my sheets personally twice a day and making sure there’s not a speck of dust. She tried to insist on bathing me as well, but Ray managed to talk her out of that.

They’re treating me like a child.

I hate it.

Last night, I woke up after another nightmare broke me into cold sweat. Both Ray and Kalina were in my bed, sleeping on each side of me. Immediately, Kalina brought me some of her sleep medications while Ray just held me.

I hear the staff in the house talking, too.

They’re not used to me being this quiet. They all know something happened since I was in the hospital for weeks, but no one dares to ask directly. They’re just whispering and murmuring amongst themselves, and it’s always refreshing to wake up with a new theory as to why the independent Noelle Campbell is on a house lockdown at this age.

“Noelle,” Ray calls out, and I look at him. “Jane returns tomorrow. I wouldn’t have approved of that, but she already booked the flight.”

A smile forms on my face, and I nod.

His eyes are glued to the nasty purple mark on my throat. It goes from pain and sorrow to anger in seconds. His hands fist next to his body, and he takes a step closer.

“I’m sorry. I failed you as a father, and I know there’s not much I can do to take back all the things I’ve done.”

I tilt my head to the side, a frown on my face. This is the first time he’s genuinely apologized, and I’m not sure how to react. He’s gotten too soft. He is the one who taught me to never apologize and to always deal with the consequences of my actions with my head held high.

He sits on the bed beside me and pushes the hair out of my face.

“I put too much pressure on you. You didn’t choose this life; you were forced into it. Last night, I sat down with Henrick.”

My mouth falls open, eyes widening as I continue to listen carefully.

He swallows. “This feud isn’t worth your lives. I’m not saying we’ll keep the alliance, but we won’t be out to get each other anymore, either.”

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