Page 62 of Treason's Temptation
“You don’t mean that shit.”
“Yeah, okay,” I muttered, as the city skyline reappeared.
“Every day you’re reliving fucked up memories while pretending you’re not. You spend so much energy trying to distract yourself for a moment’s peace,” Ward’s soothing voice stole my attention.
“You try to act normal, but you always feel out of place. On the rare occasion that you do feel happy, it doesn’t last. So you’realways hoping for tomorrow, but that hoe never shows up. It’s a heavy burden to carry alone. You know you should tell him, but just thinking about it has your body on fire with nowhere to run.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
Ward took his eyes off the road briefly, looking at me while I held my breath.
“I don’t lie to my brother.” My eyes rolled, feeling backed into a corner. “But I can loan you some time to tell him yourself.”
“And if I don’t?”
Ward tapped the wheel twice, softening just a little, “Don’t let your brain choose familiar pain over unfamiliar peace. You can talk to Tre about shit.”
“How did you do that?”
Ward’s smirk vanished, focusing back on the road, closing the window to his soul.
“Magic,” he replied with an arrogance that explained his relationship with Treason.
“Magic isn’t real.”
“Says who?” My neck craned at the kid gloves he wore handling me, “Pain knows pain. I’ve seen and done shit my brain shouldn’t know exists. There is no normal after that.”
“I met K-Low tonight. He said he’s a friend of Tre’s, but it didn’t sound like it.”
“What else did he say?”
“He was surprised he let me onthatside of town and tell Tre to hit him.”
“That’s it?” I nodded, and he smirked. “Thanks, even though you should be telling yourman.”
“I like you a lot more than I like him.”
A deep, throaty laugh filled the car, making me laugh too.
“Don’t say that out loud. I’ll fuck around and have to beat his ass for real.”
We rested in silence, floating to Treason’s house. I expected to find him on the couch like a father waiting for his child. Especially sinceStinkhadn’t called or texted once since I was gone. Instead, the penthouse was dim, the hallway illuminated by the light escaping from his office.
After a quick shower and regretting not ordering wings to go, I stumbled into the kitchen to make s’mores. I needed a pick-me-up after my conversation with Rayven, and coming home to silence didn’t exactly help. It felt much colder, reminiscent of my childhood whenever we stepped outside of Sloane’s boundary.
I asked him fifty times to stop putting things on the top shelf. Yet I was staring at the cinnamon out of my reach. Footsteps neared while I stood on my tiptoes, one hand braced on the cabinet, as if he could smell me in need. Treason’s bare chest entered the kitchen, radiating heat and silence. Just when I thought he’d let me struggle, his arm reached past mine, snatching the bottle effortlessly from the shelf.
Treason placed it on the counter and grabbed a bottle of water before leaving. No eye contact or sarcasm. No questions about my night and other men in my face. Treason didn’t even bother to ask what I was making. The silence cut deeper than yelling would’ve. I was immune to it, but silence felt like a knife to the heart.
But he still helped you. Does this mean he still cares? Or is he just being polite? Don’t read into it and start hoping again.
I swallowed hard, throat thick with things I wish I knew how to say. Things likethank you, orI didn’t mean to make you feel like you didn’t matter. But the words stall somewhere behind pride and anger, leaving behind the scent of his cologne and the sting of my own walls.
Chapter 13
There was no soul-stirring peace that made it hard to get out of bed this morning. Just exhaustion because I hadn’t slept. Even hitting the bag at the gym felt harder. I still pushed through and came back to shower, but the water didn’t feel as hot, either. Standing in the closet, time dragged. Time always seemed to move fast when I was flirting with Navie or watching her prepare for the day. Today, it dragged getting dressed in the stillness of my room.
Thandie wasn’t the problem that Navie wanted her to be. It was just a method of avoiding a difficult conversation about Lorenzo. My fist throbbed at Navie’s allegiance to whatever she was hiding.
