Page 72 of Among the Sins of my Father

A man approaches, extending his hand to Michael and grinning at me beneath his mask. “Truly splendid performance, my dear,” he says.

“Judge Ross.” Michael nods and shakes his hand but keeps walking, tugging me behind him. The man frowns, then shrugs and takes another sip of his drink.

Once we’re at his room, he shoves me inside and slams the door behind us.

“What the fuck was he doing here?” Michael says, twisting the lid off the bottle of vodka and bringing it to his lips. “Want some?” he offers. I shake my head and he laughs. “Don’t worry, it hasn’t got anything in it.” He paces the floor, lifting the bottle time and time again. “Did you know he was coming? Have you been in contact with him?”

I lower myself to the edge of the bed, fluffing the tutu of my costume over the mattress. “And how would I have done that?”

Michael scowls. “Just answer the damn question.”

“No,” I reply. “I did not contact him. I did not know he would be here.”

There was a pull in my chest the moment I laid eyes on Jericho. It was like he had reached inside, wrapped his hand around my heart and physically tugged me toward him. It was only Michael’s grasp on my arm that had stopped me. Otherwise, I would have leapt from the stage and ran to him. Even then, I wanted to fight Michael. I wanted to rip myself away and run to him. But Michael’s heated words whispered in my ear had stopped me in my tracks.

“I wonder how Ette will fare without you here.”

That was all it took for me to obey. The reminder that it was more than just my life at stake.

“Well, how the fuck did he know!” Michael bellows.

“You hosted a birthday party in my honor. You hardly kept it secret. He will have been searching for me.” Michael’s eyes flick to mine as I speak, but he keeps pacing, keeps drinking. “He won’t give up until he gets me back.”

“Well, he has some nerve walking in here. There’s no way I’ll…” He stops talking and blows out a long stream of air. “I need something stronger.”

He starts to rifle through his drawers, through the cabinets in the bathroom until he finds what he’s looking for. Tapping the white powder onto the coffee table, he lines it up then inhales it, pinching his nose and shaking his head before his eyes spring open and focus on me again. “That’s better,” he announces. He holds out his hand, his eyes glazed and wide. “Dance with me.”

“Michael, I’m—”

“Dance with me!” he roars.

I take his hand and he tugs me to him, plastering my chest against his. His hand grips my back possessively. My costume is crushed between us. His grin is maniacal.

“All I wanted was to make this night perfect for you, Ev. I wanted to show you how much I love you. How perfect we are together.”

I don’t say a word as he jerks me around the room. His movements are frenetic. His eyes skip from object to object as though expecting someone to jump out and surprise us. Then he suddenly shoves me away, pushing me to the floor.

“Your father was right. You are an ungrateful bitch. I’m offering you the world, Everly. I’m offering you everything you could ever want and you’re throwing it back in my face as though I’m nothing to you.”

“You are nothing to me,” I say, gingerly getting up from the floor. “And the only thing I want is him.”

Having searched the room and found his vodka bottle again, Michael chugs on the liquid as though it is nothing more than water. “Him,” he snorts. “Jericho fucking Priest.” He guzzles some more. “What can he offer you that I can’t?”

I rearrange myself on the bed, attempting to look as though his ranting doesn’t affect me. But it does. There’s something unhinged in his eyes. Something crazed and deranged.

“Answer me!” he demands, lifting his voice to yell again. He stalks toward me, and I tell myself not to flinch when he grips my chin between his fingers and jerks my head upward.“I should have left you in that fucking cell. That’s what your father wanted. Did you know that?” He lets go of my chin and shoves a finger into his chest. “I’m the one who rescued you. I’m the one who loves you, who wants you. Why can’t you see that, Ev? Why won’t you love me?”

I lower my gaze as he stares at me, pleading through blood-shot eyes. I can’t help it when my lips start to tremble, signaling the arrival of tears.

Michael sighs. “I’m sorry.” He sits beside me, leaning against me heavily. “All I want is for you to love me. That isn’t too much to ask, is it? You loved me once. Can’t you love me again?”

His blue eyes implore me, begging me to consider loving him. As if it is an option. For a moment, I’m taken back to a time when I would have given anything for him to look at me like this. But now I know who he truly is. Now I know him by his actions and not just by the prettiness of his face. Now my heart belongs to another.

He cuts his gaze away from mine, not finding what he was searching for. “Let’s go out onto the roof,” he says, grabbing my hand and tugging me to my feet.

“I don’t think you’re in any state—”

He whips around suddenly, holding a finger to my lips. “Shhh,” he hisses. “No one is asking you.”

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