Page 84 of The Wallflower

I freeze, letting his words register. “Investigators? For his father’s business?”

Lee shrugs, then his shoulders sink, and he fiddles with some frayed threads on the throw rug underneath him. "I don’t know shit, Drew. I feel like I’m trying to put fires out left and right. All I can think is keep your father happy now until we can figure out how to take charge of our lives again. Your life again. Then we’ll do what we can for Sebastian too."

I lie back on the bed, so I don't have to look at him. "I’m not sure there's enough time for that. Right now, my father wants Maybel out of my life so he can marry me off for his career, for his own gain." I don’t even bring up the fact that Maybel tried tossing me out of her life after our last fight.

Lee squeaks from the floor. "Marry?"

"Oh, whatever you're hearing from your fathers. They didn't tell you he expects me to entertain a date at this stupid-ass party. He told me, and I quote, to eat her like Thanksgiving dinner if that's what she wants."

"That's fucked up, dude. But not really shocking."

I don't bother replying to that. We both know how fucked up it is.

"Can't you like, make sure you only see Bel in private? Or maybe push her away for now until all this attention dies down?"

Remembering how skittish she is and how much fucking work it took to make her look at me like a person instead of a monster, I don't think so. Not when it all backfired, and she doesn’t want me anymore anyway. "Probably not. She'll go back to hating me. And now that I see the lust in her eyes, I don't want to go back to that place. I can't go back there." It’s more of a mantra. She’s already given up on me, but I can’t give up on her, not yet.

He sighs. "What if one of us pretends to date her instead and bring her to the house so you can see her?"

I snort. "She hates all of you fuckers way more than she hates me." I roll so I can see him again. "Besides, you all think it’s better to stay away from her anyway."

"Dude. Real talk. I've never seen you like this about a girl before."

"She's mine," I whisper. "She's not special or important, but she's fucking mine. And I'm so goddamn tired of giving everything up for him. Mom. The house. Bel. Soon, he'll separate me from you guys, like he's already trying to do, then force me into his company to become a drone, his perfect carbon copy. Another body he can use to make himself more money. That's always what it's about for him."

I let the silence grow, staring at my friend. How did it come to this? We've always been so tight, impenetrable. This year, though, we are turning on each other, for what? I fucking hate this shit.

There's a knock on the door, and Sebastian enters, a permanent scowl etched into his face. He throws a garment bag across my desk chair. "This just came. And there’s a note attached." He tosses it on top of the bag and stalks back out of the room.

Lee stands, graceful as always, “Let me try and figure this all out. I refuse to let anyone break up our brotherhood.”

I nod and watch as he leaves just like Sebastian did. In the end, we've solved nothing. We've done nothing. I feel powerless, and I fucking hate it. I stand and grab the note, ripping it out of the envelope as if that small act of retribution will make me feel better. The creamy white paper is an embossed invitation. Scribbled on the back is a note in my father's messy loopy handwriting.

I expect you to be early, so you're here before your date.

I crumple the piece of paper up and throw it across the room as hard as I can. Fuck him and his orders. Fuck it all. And I almost laugh at myself because of how ridiculous it is. As much as I say that, we both know I'll be there. At least until I can find a way to get myself and my mom out from under his fucking thumb.

CHAPTER 30

BEL

I'm still thinkingabout what happened with Drew a day later. I feel raw, like a wound that hasn’t healed. Part of me, the hopeless part, thought he’d have said something by now or at least tried to fix things. No luck, especially not when I haven’t received a single text from him. I’m trying to figure out my tutoring schedule and who I can convince to come back and work with me. When I blew up this whole thing with Drew, the last thing I’d been thinking about was the money.

My phone vibrates beside me, and I snatch it up, hoping it’s a client. The number for the hospital flashes across the screen, and I hit the green answer button and press the phone to my ear. "Hello?"

"Ms. Jacobs, this is Dr. Mitch. I’m just calling because your mother missed her appointment today, and she's not answering my calls now. I'm worried. I was going to send an ambulance, but I wanted to call and check with you first."

Time stands still. My heart is lodged in my throat so tight, I have to clear it. "What, what do you mean? I thought her appointment was tomorrow morning. That's what she told me. I was going to come with her."

"I'm afraid not. She was due to come in today. For the first of the experimental treatments she signed up for."

I sigh.Mom, what are you doing?Knowing how apprehensive in the beginning she was to do this, I’m not really surprised. She probably thought she could skip it without me knowing.

"I'll go check on her. Is it too late to show up for the appointment?"

"No, it's just a simple injection. You can come anytime. Please let me know if she is okay, though. I need to confirm."

“Of course. I’ll be in touch soon.”

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