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My face fell. “But you’re nothing like him.”
Cecilia shook her head. “No, he’s not. He’s much better than his father could ever be.”
He slipped his arm around my lower back and I realized we hadn’t gotten much packing done at all. They’d taken their time to fill up luggage for me, and not one ounce of time had been devoted to packing her things. I felt guilty. But they didn’t. Which made me feel a bit better, but only a bit.
“Well, I’m going to go have myself a glass of wine downstairs. I have some things I want to pack up down there anyway. We can give the clothes a rest.”
Cecilia’s voice caught my ear and pulled me out of my trance.
“Do you need any help?” I asked.
She waved her hand in the air. “I’ll be fine. Clint’s been packing with me for the past three hours. And I know you came over to see him.”
“But I’d like to help. If you’ll let me.”
Clint chuckled. “And we will. After she’s had her glass of wine.”
Cecilia nodded. “Exactly. I need a break. And if you're still here after my break, you can help. How’s that sound?”
I grinned. “Sounds good. I’d like to repay you somehow for… all of this.”
Cecilia snickered. “Nonsense. You're more than welcome to it.”
27
Clinton
I watched as Cecilia winked at me, then left us in the closet by ourselves. I felt how overwhelmed Rae had become. I felt her tensing next to me, and I wanted to help her relax. I guided her to my bedroom and closed the door behind me, locking it for good measure. In case Dad decided to storm the house again. Rae stood in the middle of my room, her eyes locked onto a spot on the ceiling.
Then she let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t take all of that stuff.”
I walked over, taking her hands in mine. “You can, and you will.”
She shook her head. “It’s too much. It’s too nice. I don’t know what to do with it.”
“You dry clean it. Any stain, just take it to a dry cleaners.”
“I don’t have the money for that.”
I shrugged. “Sell the jewelry. Then you will.”
“That jewelry is beautiful, though.”
“Then, sell some of the purses and sunglasses to afford the jewelry cleaning and dry cleaning.”
She snickered. “So this is how the rich live.”
I licked my lips. “Trust me, it’s not as nice as some people think.”
Her fingertips reached out and fondled a bruise against my jawline. Her eyes flickered over to worry, and I didn’t want her to feel worse. I wanted her to feel better. I wrapped my hand around her wrist and brought her fingers to my lips, kissing the tips of them. All of them. Watching as she softly relaxed.
“It’s okay, Rae. I’m okay.”
She sighed. “I could’ve sworn your father had—”
I nodded slowly. “I mean, it wasn't pretty. He was angry. He lashed out. He did what he usually does. But it didn’t come out as bad as I figured it would.”
Tears rimmed her eyes. “I hate him so much.”
