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"So I heard you had a kid," I say when the appetizers are on our table. June forks her salad, and Kade picks at a beef tartare. "What's his name?"
They exchange a glance, and I realize they aren't sure how much they should tell me. It pisses me off, and I push my plate back, then throw the napkin on the table. "You know what, if I make you this uncomfortable, just forget it. I'm sorry for wasting your time."
"Parker, don't." I'm shocked when June is the one to reach out, her warm, soft hand covering mine. "Stay, please. We have a lot more to talk about." My gaze bores into hers, but I finally sit back down. Kade clears his throat, and we all do our best to pretend nothing's happened.
"His name is Theo," Kade finally says.
"How old is he?" I ask next, trying to hide the pain from my voice. I don't want them to know how much power they still have over me. How their words can hurt me more than my knife could ever hurt them. They exchange another uncomfortable glance.
"He's eighteen months," Kade finally says.
"Cute." I pick at my beef tartare, just as Kade is doing. "Do I get to meet him?"
"Of course, eventually," Kade nods. "He's your nephew, after all." I can see how much June is glaring at him. That'll be those protective, motherly instincts kicking in. She wants to protect that kid from me. But he's a Miller. The boy has the same darkness running through his veins as I do and as Kade does.
The rest of the evening progresses with the same amount of awkwardness. We make our way through the main course, and when they bring out dessert, my twin and stepsister exchange a heated glance. There's something else they want to talk to me about, I can tell. And they're about to do it now.
"So," Kade begins slowly, meeting my eye carefully like I'm a ticking time bomb. It fucking pisses me off. "We wanted to talk to you about something."
"Oh?" I say with a smirk, my eyebrows raised. “Why don't you tell me about it, June?"
I'm taunting her on purpose, and she twitches as soon as I say her name. Finally, Kade nudges her to make her talk to me, and she looks me in the eye for the first time that evening.
"We..." she begins, her voice hoarse from being quiet all evening. She clears her throat before going on. "We wanted to offer you to get some help."
I look at her, feeling completely confused, but it's like a dam has broken inside her. She's braver now that she's finally said something to me. She reaches for me, grabbing my arm in one of her palms. Her soft, creamy skin enveloping mine is almost too much to handle.
"I love you so much, Parker," she says sweetly, her eyes dancing across my face, begging for me to listen. "You were always my best friend. I know you didn't mean what you did, and I know you want to get better. And we can help you with that, you know? We can make all those problems go away."
I look at her blankly, trying to take in what she's saying. I have mixed feelings, what with her skin on mine combined with the words coming out of her mouth.
"I go by Nox now," I remind her firmly. She flushes. So fucking pretty.
"I'm sorry," she manages. "I got too excited. But I want you to know we're here for you. The way we should have been all those years ago."
"What do you mean?" I ask through gritted teeth. She looks so enthusiastic. Like she can actually help. Like I can even get better.
"We have this great psychiatrist," she begins. "He deals with a lot of cases like yours... People who have been abused by a close family member."
My eyes snap to Kade's. Does he know what Dad did to me? Did he finally accept our father was a fucking monster, just like I am? I don't ask, and Kade doesn't meet my gaze.
All these years, I've blamed Dad for everything. But Kade should've noticed something was off. The number of times I hid my scars and the bleeding from him, and lied to protect Dad. And he never said a word, never even suspected anything. Even now, he won't acknowledge it.
"And this magic doctor can make it all go away?" I chuckle darkly. June smiles, nervously tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear.
"We hope he can, Parker, err, Nox. We really do."
"How's he going to make things better?" I ask.
"Well, he's very well-known in his field and specializes in PTSD. You know, post-traumatic stress disorder," Kade goes on, and I nod, resisting the urge to tell him I'm not a goddamn idiot. "We thought with his expertise, you would be well on your path to recovery. We know it's possible for you. And we want to be a family again."
