Page 26 of The Liar in Room 5

Whatever fleeting thought I’d had about laying out the tangled mess in my head disappeared. Phoenix had enough on his plate without listening to me ramble about whether my jokes with Henry about him being a Daddy were thinly veiled because I actually wanted one.

“It’s lovely to see you venturing more and more out of your room. While you may not be a little—there’s plenty here who aren’t—they are entertaining.”

“They are.”

We lapsed into silence, but it was only awkward on my side. Phoenix looked serene.

“I’ve noticed you’ve been spending time with Henry.”

“Uh, yeah, he’s a nice guy. We’re friends.” I shrugged.

“Agreed. He’s been very generous the last several years with Halo House. “

“That’s nice of him.” It was obvious Phoenix had more to say on the subject, but I wasn’t sure what question he was herding me toward.

“In fact, he specifically asked that his recently increased donations be directed to a specific person’s upkeep.”

“Oh?”

“Yours.”

Any attempt made to hide my surprise was a doomed effort because I could read between the lines enough to know what was left unsaid. My stay wasn’t free anymore.

The meaning of it all left me in a spiral. Clearly, Henry had expectations, but I didn’t know what they might be. The strings tying us together were thin, but I knew they existed, which had to be worth something.

“May I ask you a personal question?”

I wanted to say no. When I opened my mouth, I intended to say that, or at least change the subject, but nothing came out. Instead, I nodded. Gah, I annoyed myself, but now I was stuck with it.

“Is Henry your Daddy?”

“He’s not…” I looked away because Phoenix’s gaze was too intense. It felt like this man, who somehow seemed to know everything, already knew far too much about me.

“Do you want him to be?”

“We’re working on being friends.”

Phoenix leaned back in his chair, one long, elegant finger tapping thoughtfully against his lips.

“They’re not mutually exclusive. Some of the healthiest Daddy-boy relationships I’ve seen are friends first and Daddy and boy second.”

“Do you think so?”

Truthfully, I’d never really considered it.

The examples I’d seen in my social circle before Halo House had never felt authentic, for lack of a better word. It always looked like people acting out roles instead of building actual relationships. That was one of the reasons I’d always resisted whenever a boyfriend brought it up. It was one of the very few things I’d consistently pushed back on.

I knew what the dynamic was. I knew what it entailed. It was one of the few things I couldn’t give away because it required too much trust.

A therapist would probably tell me it was because, deep down, I’d always known my relationships were temporary, whether I’d admitted it to myself or not.

But Phoenix wasn’t my therapist, and we weren’t sitting in group, so I shoved all those thoughts back where they belonged.

“Thanks for the company,” I said as I pushed myself back from the table.

I carried my plate and utensils into the kitchen, making sure to avoid Phoenix’s eyes as I crossed the room. If I looked at him, I didn’t think I’d make it back to my room where it was safe.

And that was exactly why I hated eating in the dining room.