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I nod, thinking that’s better than what I expected, which was nothing. But still, he knows I’m struggling to keep up.
“So, you will do your best to behave, Astrid?” The smug look on his face makes me want to slap it off. But new Astrid needs to step up and use killer words instead of killer blows.
“Yes,” I reply coolly, “but remember, Dr. Howland, Weymouth is not a place for ladies. But you already know that.”
A fucking allowance? Beggars can’t be choosers, and I’m concerned by the amount. A thousand a week isn’t bad, but I earned that in a week. I need more money, but the Monarch club is history. Even if I could reopen it tonight, who’s going to help me run it?
Astrid: Monarchs at the school gym?
Derick: No one is going to show. We’re poison.
Astrid: Understood.
I wander around Main Street until I find a place to sit down. I end up in the posh café Bryce took me to, which I can’t afford now. I order a black coffee and sip it slowly as I think of a new plan. Howland has me behaving for his pocket change—He’s using the threat of cutting me off. He forgets the eighteen years I spent dirt poor. I should just leave Stonehaven and go back to Weymouth. Let him manipulate Charlotte. And she knows how to misbehave without getting caught.
I check my phone and send Wyatt a text telling him I’m heading back to the apartment. I’m not. I love him like it hurts, but the boy is bossy as fuck. That’s not good. I trust him with all of me in bed, but when we leave that cocoon of security, I’m cautious. Why don’t I trust him 100 percent? I scoff at myself. It’s because I know his friends.
I stare at my phone as my coffee turns cold. I know who else I need to talk to. You have to dive into new things. You can’t think too long, or your sanity will turn you into a coward. Or an adult.
Astrid: I need to talk to you.
Pierce: When and where?
