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Silence fills the air, and as I turn to go see what he’s doing, he stomps back into the house with a sledgehammer. He acts like I’m not even here, heading toward the white piano that was never used until Tara. Realization dawns on me as he gets closer, and I can see where this is going before it happens. If he does this, fuck, it’s going to be bad. That’s something she loves. Something she cherishes. Clearly, whatever happened is not what he’s telling me if that’s what he’s about to do.
Nix sets the hammer down and picks up the bench, smashing it over the piano with a roar. A crack echoes through the empty foyer, the bench breaking in half with ease. Pieces of wood splinter, flying in a million directions from the impact.
Fuck.
“Nix!”
He ignores me and throws the remaining pieces of the bench across the room, and I watch as they slam into the wall knocking over vases before he picks up the hammer. This isn’t Nix, at least not the Nix I know. When he’s angry, the control he exudes is noticed by being level-headed, thorough, and calm. However, the Nix that Tara brings out isnoneof those things. Something has snapped inside of him because this Nix has officially gone ape-shit. I’ve never seen him behave like this in all the years I’ve known him. He’s lost his fucking cool and is acting like an absolutely unpredictable, irrational raging beast.
Bringing the heavy hammer over his head, he slams it down into the piano—over and over again with a beastly strength I didn’t realize he had. Each hit cracks the pristine instrument, smashing it into large chunks. Every key he hits makes a screeching that echoes through the room. As the black and white keys shatter, breaking into tiny pieces, they cascade around the room in a swirl of chaos.
His chest heaves up and down rapidly while his eyes take in his surroundings like a lunatic. He looks possessed and unstable, full of rage and madness.
Watching Nix destroy something Tara loves almost as much as her family’s restaurant cracks me right down the middle. She would sneak in here and sometimes play in the middle of the night, not caring who she woke up with her sweet melodies. The beautiful noise filtered through the large home, filling it with much-needed warmth.
She doesn’t know it, but I'd sit in my office and just watch her play for hours, mesmerized by how beautiful and peaceful she looked. I love the way her face lights up every time she sits down on the bench and lets the music flow through her. The keys under her fingers are like second nature to her—just how my computer keyboards are to me. The memories of her eyes closing and head falling back, her long raven hair brushing against the bench, flood my mind.
“You fucking traitor,” Nix growls, chants over and over again, bringing me back to the atrocious scene in front of me. I think I’m in too much shock from what he’s doing to stop him. Maybe I should go wake Reilly up and get him over here because this doesn’t look like it’s going to get better any time soon. I’m surprised he can’t hear the screaming and rage from his pool house.
“What the hell are you talking about?” If he hears me, he doesn’t acknowledge it. I’m not sure he even remembers I’m still in the room with him. He’s so lost in the madness in his mind that he can’t see anything beyond blinding rage. I look at the room one more time, staring at the collapsed, dismal piano.
“What the fuck, Nix? What is going on with you?” I spit louder. It’s obvious whatever went down inside that house was bad enough for him to rage out like a child throwing a tantrum.
Nix shoots daggers at me as he releases the sledgehammer onto the floor with a thud. His chest heaves up and down, sweat soaking through his shirt. His eyes have darkened dramatically, so much so they are unrecognizable. Like a demon trying to break through the surface, claiming his soul once and for all.
He blinks, devoid of all emotion, masking the rage inside him. Grabbing his phone from his pocket, he dials a number and holds it to his ear before taking off upstairs, not giving me a second glance. “Kate, you got some time to help me draft up some papers?”
What the fuck? His mood change is giving me whiplash. One minute he’s the fucking Incredible Hulk, and the next, he’s talking to Kate about work. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are freaking me the fuck out right now.
Her chipper voice comes through the speaker of his phone, but I can’t tell what she’s saying as he walks away. By the time he answers her, he’s already too far for me to hear.
What the hell is his problem today, and what did he mean bytraitor?
I take one last look at Tara’s smashed dreams before I go and lock myself in my office, needing to figure out what the fuck transpired in the last few hours. Either way, I need to get back over to that house and talk to her. If he’s lying and actually pushed her away—away from all of us, I’m never going to let him forget the pain he’ll cause us.
* * *
Something’s wrong.
The ache deep in my bones tells me something is not right.
The tightness in my chest is making it harder to breathe.
My pulse is racing. My stomach is heavy.
It’s the same feeling I had on that day six years ago, which turned out to be one of the worst days of my life. I thought I was going crazy all day. I couldn’t stand still, my nerves felt frayed, but there was a nagging feeling inside me that something was going to happen. It wasn’t until I got the call from my mom that I confirmed my body was trying to warn me. I remember my mom’s panicked voice echoing through the phone, her sobs slurring her words and making it hard to understand what she was saying. Rae, my younger sister, was playing outside and got hit by a drunk driver while Mom was at work, trying to keep a roof over our heads just like I was. The babysitter wasn’t watching Rae close enough and let her venture out to the road where she could’ve died. Luckily, her injuries weren’t too serious, just a broken arm, scratches, and bruises all over her body, but thankfully it wasn’t worse. She was happy with her lollipops, Barbie band-aids, and loads of attention while she was in the hospital getting checked out. But it was still terrifying knowing she could have been gone in an instant.
Even though I’m freaking out right now because that same feeling is back, I can’t help but smile when I remember the smug look on Rae’s face when she came home from the hospital and I was there to watch her. She knew I’d do anything she wanted—like I wasn’t already wrapped around her little finger. She was only six then but knew how to manipulate better than anyone—it’s only gotten worse. My smile doesn’t last long when reality sets in. Just like now, I wasn’t there to stop something terrible from happening, I wasn’t able to keep my sister safe, but I could feel my heart breaking the moment it happened. I wasn’t sure what it meant, but I could tell something was wrong. The call from my mom only confirmed my suspicion.
That same sick feeling is eating away at me from the inside out.
I don’t know what it is, but trouble is brewing. Something is highly wrong right now, and I need to find out, if only for my own sanity. I know it has to do with Tara. Nix’s reaction, mixed with us leaving Tara there, does not add up to me.
I don’t believe Nix’s little story about how Tara just wants to stay with her parents. Even if he didn’t say it in thoseexactwords, it’s clear by the way he fucking destroyed the piano she loves so much that he left her on bad terms.
I need to make sure Tara’s okay. With the Draaks’ threats looming over our heads and her ex coming back around, I need to lay eyes on her. I won’t take anything less than a visual confirmation.
Another sharp pain aches through my abdomen making me feel even more uneasy and nauseous. I can’t imagine this pain will go away until I see her.
