Page 2 of Mastered by Them
The sun has gone down, and it’s chilly for May. A breeze tugs at Dani’s frilly dress. She wraps her arms around herself. I don’t have a coat or sweatshirt to give her, but I can give her a ride.
“Let me take you home.”
“To your apartment?” She sounds almost hopeful.
Fuck. “I can’t. If Edmund’s in town, I stay with him.”
She squints. “Can’t, or won’t? Never mind, it doesn’t matter. None of this matters, because I’m gone, I’m done.”
“You can’t leave.” My heart twists as I say the words. I don’t want to force her to stay, but I can’t let her leave like this.
“I already called a car. And I’m not fucking marrying Edmund. I’m not. I can’t believe my granddad even entertained the idea. What the fuck, Troy?”
I want to hold her, but it doesn’t take a genius to see she’d reject all attempts at comfort. She’s rigid, arms locked around herself. I thought it was because of the cold, but now I see what it really is—she’s trying to keep herself together.
“You feel like your world’s falling apart.” My voice is raspy. “You don’t know who you can trust.”
Her gray gaze slams into mine. “You don’t know me. Neither you nor Edmund. Don’t try to tell me how I feel, what I’m thinking. You don’t know.”
But I know me. I know my own past and what a twisted event like this can do to someone’s heart. Fuck, I’m feeling it right now. She was ours and now they want her to be his. With a ceremony. A license. A ring. His ring, his promises. Not mine.
My feelings don’t matter right now. Not to them, not to her, not to me. I take a deep breath. “What do you want?”
“You’re the first person to ask me that tonight.” Bitterness twists her lips in a false smile. She points across the street. “I’m going over there to wait for my ride. Don’t wait with me, don’t follow me. That’s what I want. Can you do that?”
I nod, then hesitate. “Dani…don’t let this change you.”
Her laugh is sharp and she flips me off before stalking across the quiet street to wait.
I walk toward the house until I’m out of her view, then melt into the shadows so I can keep watch. Loud, panting breath reaches my ears—Arky trots up to stand next to me, his big brown eyes black in the darkness.
Far out of my reach, Dani stands alone—a bright splash of pastel on the shadowy street. She holds herself stiffly, looking smaller and more alone than I’ve ever seen her.
She might be small, she might be alone, but to me, she looks as strong as ever.
When she marries Edmund, I hope she doesn’t lose her heart in the process.
Danica
My chest is tight, my throat closed. Is this another panic attack? I sit in the backseat of my ride, trying to breathe through it. Funny enough, it’s thoughts of Troy that keep me from making a scene. I imagine his strong arms wrapped tightly around me during my last panic attack, the way he held me together when I was scared.
It isn’t until the car crosses into Dorado Heights that I take a full, cleansing breath.
I’m not sure what got into Granddad, but he broke my trust tonight. I can only think that he had me come with him to the Laytons’ house because he knew something like this was going to happen. He wanted me there, like I was some kind of peace offering. A commodity, something to be traded.
Fuck him.
I’m less mad about the whole marriage thing than I am about my granddad betraying me.
I wipe away a tear that’s trying to escape.
The driver pulls up to my house. I thank him before hurrying inside. There, I mutter a quick hello to my roommates who are crammed onto the sofa and watching one of Elias’s serial killer documentaries. Then, blessedly, I reach my room and collapse on my bed.
Cackle gives me an imperious meow from the floor—he followed me in here. I scoot to the side, allowing him to jump up so he can make an absolute pest of himself, kneading the pillow right next to my head.
I could call Leah or Dmitri, and I probably should. But I don’t even know what to say. Even thinking what I’d say—Granddad is setting me up to marry Edmund Layton so our families can be stronger—sounds preposterous.
So I don’t call. Instead, I turn my phone all the way off. I don’t want to talk to anyone, because nobody can give me the answers I need.
