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“She tried to hurt herself again,” my father explains.
“Let me talk to her, please.” I hear some rustling, and a moment later, I hear her.
“Willow,” she calls my name, and I can feel her pain through the phone. She’s broken, so damn broken, and all I want to do is fix her, but I don’t know how. The kind of help she needs doesn’t come cheap, and without my father, she’ll be on the streets, worse off than she is now. The reality is that I can’t just give up on her. I can’t.
“Ashton, what happened, why did you hurt yourself?”
“I’m sorry, Willow, I’m just so… I can’t be here any longer. I can’t. I want to leave this place, but Dad says the other place is too expensive.”
Other place? What is going on that makes her want to leave? When she first went to the facility, she loved it there. Now all of a sudden she’s spiraling out of control, she doesn’t like it? Something bad must have happened.
“I don’t understand, I thought you loved it there.”
“I did before Dad had me moved here. I want to go back to the rehab I used to be at.” It takes everything in me to hold on to the phone instead of throwing it against the wall in anger. That bastard had her moved. I should have known he was too cheap to keep her in that nice of a place. I don’t even want to know the kind of shithole he has her staying in.
I play his games, do what he asks of me, and he can’t even make sure she’s okay? I’m not seething, I’m fucking gone. Ready to tell him to shove all of this up his prick of an ass.
“Ashton, let me talk to Dad again. I’ll make sure you get moved back. Don’t worry, okay?”
“Okay, sis,” she sniffles. “Thanks, and I’m sorry. I love you, you know that, right? You’re the only one who ever believed me, who ever cared.” A rock of emotion lodges itself in my throat. I can’t do this right now. I can’t talk about this. Parker thinks his brother is innocent, but would he still think that if he saw my sister’s tears. If he heard the agony in her voice. If he knew that she wanted to end her life a thousand times over because the memories from that night haunt her even when she’s awake.
“I love you too, and yes, I know you do. Everything is going to be okay,” I soothe her like a mother soothes their child. Even though I’m younger than her, somehow, I took over the nurturing role after our mother’s death. Ashton lost it, fell off the deep end, and I was the life preserver that kept us both above water.
She hands the phone back to my dad, and as soon as I hear him clearing his throat, I go off on him. “What the hell? Where is she, and why did you move her?”
“Watch your tone, I’m still your father, and I told you how important it is to reinsert yourself into the crowd at Blackthorn. Business is bad, and I need those contacts. Have you made progress with Parker?”
I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. I don’t know if I call him breaking into my room, scaring the shit out of me, and then kissing me, making progress.
“I’m working on it.”
“Great, there is a fundraiser coming up. Parker’s father is hosting. I need you to get invited.” I don’t even think before I speak.
“Move Ashton, and I’ll get you an invite.”
“I’ll move her after the fundraiser. I can’t be sure you’ll actually get us in.”
“No, you need to move her now. I’m telling you right now, I’m getting you an invite. Move her first, then fundraiser.” I know I’m playing a dangerous game, but I also know that Ashton is in danger, wherever she is. I need to get her moved as soon as possible.
I hear my father cursing under his breath. “Fine, I’ll do it now while I’m here,” he finally says.
“Call me when you get to the other place. I want to talk to her again.”
“You don’t trust my word?”
“Do you really expect me to?”
“Smart girl, Willow. Something might become of you, after all,” he taunts before hanging up the phone. Asshole.
It takes me a few minutes to realize what I have just done. I promised him an invite. How the hell I’m going to deliver on that, I do not know. All I know is that I have to do it, which means I actually need to talk to Parker. Thinking about our last few encounters, I’m sure that’s going to go over well. I don’t even know how to get in touch with him besides seeing him in class.
