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“It could be the latter,” said Piper. “What her mom did … it’s like it made something in Celeste die. It left her with a void. Nothing fills it. And she seeks validation from others. I can understand why she’s so angry. I mean, imagine if your mom woke from a coma and had not only forgotten you but didn’t want to stick around to reconnect with you. Imagine if she then flitted off without even a goodbye, and you told yourself she’d come home once her memories returned … only she never did. It would wreck a child, wouldn’t it?”
“Lots of people have emotional wounds, Piper. Some don’t handle them well, and I don’t think anyone would ever expect them to. But nothing gives them the right to project all their anger and pain onto the people who aren’t responsible for those wounds.”
“Well, now she’s also feeling a whole heaping of jealousy sprinkled with bitterness. She’s going to be a pain in our asses until she’s worked it out of her system.”
Switching gears, Levi went on, “That wasn’t just about jealousy or bitterness. In manipulating Whitney and Joe, she also controls what you do to some extent. She tried controlling me with subtle techniques, but I wouldn’t stand for it. So she knows I won’t let her pull that shit with you; that she’ll lose her favorite whipping girl. That’s part of why she exploded.”
Piper felt her brows knit. “Wow, you’re right. I didn’t see that before. I should have, because it’s kind of obvious that she’d feel the need to control the people close to her—she can then ensure they don’t go anywhere. She can keep them from hurting her the way her mom did. It all comes back to that.”
“It would seem so.” Approaching a red light, Levi slowed the vehicle. “That scene in the kitchen didn’t go as badly as it could have done.”
“It was one of the very few times where my mom and Joe really spoke up for me and refused to back down. Well, it was more that they were very strongly appealing to Celeste to accept how things are, but still. You know, there were a couple of times back there when I felt like Celeste was trying to provoke you.”
“She wanted me to growl and yell and insult her so that your mother and stepfather would jump to her defense.”
“I guess I should have expected that.” She exhaled deeply. “Thanks again for … well, everything you did today.”
He shot her a lopsided, sideways smile. “Like you, I’m not so bad as anchors go, am I?”
Her mouth curled. “No, not so bad at all.”
CHAPTER SIX
Leaning back against her kitchen counter the following morning, Piper absently plucked at her lower lip. She’d found a little … surprise when she went into her backyard a few minutes ago. A surprise that left her furious, disgusted, freaked out, and utterly confused.
The question was … did she tell Levi?
He’d arrive very soon, since he’d yesterday offered to drive her to work. Well, it had been more of a pressing suggestion than an offer. He’d claimed that it made sense for them to use whatever free time they both had to continue getting to know each other. It did make sense, so she’d agreed. And she wasn’t so sure she’d be able to hide that she wanted to shit fury on someone’s ass.
Really, given that he was her anchor, he’d be an obvious person to report the ‘surprise’ to. Particularly since he was a sentinel of their lair and would know how best to deal with the situation. So why was she hesitating? Simple. She didn’t like that she was coming across as a high-maintenance anchor.
First she’d pretty much run from him and then had to be convinced not to forsake the bond. Then there were the slashed tires, which he’d had to take time out of his evening to get sorted. Also, there had been the matter of her needing a job, which he’d felt necessary to rectify if she couldn’t. Celeste’s outburst had come next, and that had been far from pleasant. And now there was this weird bullshit, which might suggest that Piper had yet another issue he’d feel compelled to handle.
The time they were spending together should be easy and fun, not peppered by crap. She wasn’t worried that he’d walk away from her or anything. She simply didn’t like that she was bringing drama into his world. Anchors were supposed to make each other’s lives easier, not complicate them.
It already bugged her that she had nothing to offer Levi except for a bond that would prevent him from turning rogue. So many things took up his time and attention. He had so many responsibilities to juggle. But, not being a sentinel herself, she couldn’t help with them. Piper had no way of improving his life or easing whatever burdens he may have. She was simply just … there.
