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My parents, the families, had my buddies and me under close surveillance. They made us sit on our hands while they moved pieces and talked to people. Maywood Heights was in a city-wide search, and the details of that my friends and I were kept out of. We weren’t allowed to move unless they said we could.
So, we moved without them.
I was facing the consequence of that now, my butler never more than a breath away these days. He was nice about it, and as a friend of the family, I doubted he minded, but he was always there. He was my own personal keeper, and I really had no control.
I forced myself to at least look okay about that once I got inside. Ronald told me my mother wanted to see me, so I fixed my fucking face enough to make it seem I was good today. Being good got rewards, and maybe they would even drop the therapy sessions.
I ended up finding both my parents when I went looking for my mom. The pair were in the kitchen, talking, but they stopped in my presence.
This wasn’t surprising, speech halting around me. My parents may be at home full time these days, but that didn’t mean they were speaking about anything they were doing. I was being shut out, black-balled.
And my father could barely look at me.
Mom had been better about it, better at hiding it, her disappointment. There was a reason they both were forcing me back into regular sessions with Dr. Singh.
“How was it today, baby?” Mom eased off her barstool, Chestnut at her feet. The family dog bounded over to me, and Mom smiled a little. “Progress?”
It’d only been a week, but Mom clearly was trying to make conversation with me.
Dad too waited for this response, interested, but that didn’t surprise me. He did care, cared about me.
But that didn’t mean I hadn’t fucked up in his eyes.
He’d been begging me to talk to him, pleading even about my problems and everything when it came to Charlie. I hadn’t listened then.
And now here we were.
I ran my hand through Chestnut’s fur, playing with her for a little while. I didn’t know really what to say. My default was lies in the past, lies about how things were and what I was going through.
My silence was very telling.
It caused both my parents to sigh and my dad to put his hands together.
“Well, I at least hope you’re giving it a fair chance.” Dad swung a rare glance over to me. His eyebrows knitted in tight. “It will only help you.”
I begged to differ there, but I wouldn’t today. “I’d like to be helping you.”
I was working on honesty. Being honest instead of gut reacting.
Dad panned away. “I think we both know that’s not happening.”
“But I can help—”
“Like sneaking out at all hours?” My father cocked his head. “Going missing with your friends and making your mother and me worry when you know our attention is needed elsewhere?”
We had a few times, Thatcher, Wells, and me. We’d even recruited some Court kids, everyone ready and willing to help us. They’d been at late hours and outside of the city’s searches with the local law enforcement and city volunteers. We’d only left Wolf out of it because we’d been forced to.
His parents had him on lockdown even worse than us if one could imagine.
Wolf wasn’t leaving unless his parents knew about it. They were worried about him, worried about him spiraling. We were too, but we knew our brother. His energy was better spent looking, but again, his parents weren’t easing that tight grip.
I guess they’d already lost one kid.
I couldn’t breathe thinking about that, and it crossed my mind more than once that maybe Noa didn’t want to be found.
I mean, she’d left, hadn’t she?
One better, she hadn’t contacted me after she’d left. If she were scared, overwhelmed, she should have done that. I didn’t know the reason exactly why she’d left, but I did know I hadn’t been a part of the decision. She hadn’t come to me.
