Jack gets it. His blue eyes meet mine.
“Yeah. She wants me because I’m the only one who’s given her what she needs before.” Eli looks at me. “Sorry, kitten, not a brag, just sorting through this.”
“No worries. Let’s move on.” I give him a tight smile. “If what she’s looking for is release like you said, she should be fine with someone else.”
“There’s a lot of trust in that kind of situation, kitten. I’m not saying I should do it, but she may not feel comfortable with just anyone.” Eli’s thinking, but at least we’re on the same page now.
“Then that’s her problem.” I’m done letting these girls try to control what the guys do. “If she trulyneedsa session, then if we provide her with one, she should give us something in return.”
“Anything she gives us will have to be triple checked.” Nico sighs and looks over his shoulder. “We need to figure out this thing with our fathers too. I can try to talk to my dad. Caden, your dad will be home for a couple days.”
“I’ll see what I can get.” Caden scrubs his hand over his face. “But honestly, the main thing we’ll be focused on is Ava.”
“We need a strategy for dealing with our fathers.” Luke leans back on the bed with his arm behind his head. “And one to follow the guys.”
I settle in to help where I can. But they know this world. I’ve been living in isolation up until now. And I have to figure out how to move around girl world and find out if any of them are up to no good. Which will be a task in itself.
When everyone fallssilent and we’re working on our homework, a knock comes from my door. Standing, I stretch before walking over and opening it.
Mom glances inside my room, probably checking for extra boys. I just shake my head. Honestly, she wouldn’t be wrong most nights.
“Thought I’d check on you before I head to bed.” Mom plays with her necklace. “I work in the morning. I won’t wake you when I leave, but I do expect you to sleep alone.”
“Not an issue.” My insides twist, but it will be no different from before when the guys leave their webcams on while we all sleep.
Mom nods and glances at the guest bedroom door. “Be careful, Harper.”
I hug her. “I will.”
Mom hugs me back before releasing me and heading to her bedroom. I close my bedroom door and grab my pajamas from the closet. Everyone is still working or doing something else.
Slipping into the bathroom, I change and get ready for bed. When I head out to my room, I’m surprised to find Luke still in the guest bedroom on his computer. I half expected him to be in my bed.
Maybe it was more like anticipated having him here. Disappointment spreads through me. I set the computer on my nightstand and climb into my bed.
“Night, princess,” Luke says as he shuts out his light.
I want to ask if he’s going to creep in to sleep with me, but I’m afraid the answer will be no. Mom wants him to sleep there. It’s fair and normal. Well, not exactly normal to have one of myboyfriends sleeping in the house with us, but given his home situation, I’m glad he’s here.
Eli said Luke’s father wants something from him, so he won’t hurt him. But it would worry me. It’s one thing for him to be all alone in that huge house. It’s another for him to be there with a monster.
“Night, sweetheart.” Jack blows me a kiss and heads to his bed.
Caden disappeared a few minutes ago when his parents arrived home. I’m not sure when he’ll be back, but his room is currently empty and Jack assured me that our transmission isn’t being displayed when he’s out of the room.
No idea how Jack does that, but I’m glad to have someone like him on my side.
“Night, sunshine.” Nico stretches and heads into his bathroom.
Eli sits against his headboard, reading as usual. I study him. He’s cool and calculating normally. How much of his earlier conversation was to see what I would allow? To see if I still cared enough to say no?
I pull my phone into my bed.
Me:
We need to talk
Eli’s gaze lifts before he reaches for his phone. He glances at me before typing.
