Page 160 of Unholy Obsession

“Nothing.”

She jerks her hand down, but I catch the hesitation.

“It’s just... we’ve all been worried about you. You’ve been in kind of a fragile state.”

“What the fuck does that mean?” I snap. “I’m fine.”

I stand up.

Oily curls fall into my face, reminding me that I haven’t exactly been the best at showering lately. I push them back and tie them at the base of my neck with the ponytail holder that’s always around my wrist.

“Why? What’s up? What’s going on?”

“Well...” Kira hesitates. “You know how MadAnna wasn’t at my baby shower? Oh, wait—neither were you. Anyway. Apparently, she’s taking another “leave of absence” for her mental health,” Kira continues. “That’s what Domhn’s been calling it, anyway.”

“What?!” I shriek. “And you’re only just telling me this now? Where’s my phone?!”

“I think you left it by the couch.”

I scurry over, my limbs feeling only slightly less heavy at the unusually quick movement. Depression is a bitch when she gets her claws into you.

Immediately, I dial my brother’s number.

“Moira?” Domhn answers, surprised. “Hey.”

His voice gets all gentle and weird—which is never a good sign.

“How’s everything going?”

“Where’s MadAnna?” I cut to the chase.

He sighs, and I can just imagine him dragging his hand down his face.

“Uh... she said she had to go take care of some things.”

“When?!” I all but shout into the phone. “How long ago?”

He sighs heavily, and that tells me I’m not going to like what he says next.

“Ever since she and you...” He doesn’t finish the statement.

“But she came back, right? After we got kidnapped, she came back home. We’ve had a few video calls...”

And then it lands.

Oh, shit.

“Domhn, is she on the run because of what I did?”

“You didn’t do anything, Moira,” he says firmly. “You fell in love with a good guy who just happened to have a psychotic father. It’s nothing you or anyone else could have controlled.”

“But—”

“She says there are some things she needs to clear up from her past before she can come home and we can get our happily ever after.”

“Fuck, Domhn!” I cry. “Oh my God, I fucked everything up again!”

“No, you didn’t,” his voice is stern. “I know you love to take the whole world on your shoulders, sis, but this one has nothing to do with you. She’s running from people she pissed off in a former life. She doesn’t feel like she can ever be safe until she deals with them.”

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