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Meredith nods, but she’s unhappy with his answer.
“And what is it you do, Meredith?” I ask, and her eyes widen before narrowing as I smile.
“I, well, erm… I’m in between jobs,” she snaps as Blair chuckles and grins over at me in thanks.
“And where is your mother?” Meredith questions, ignoring Dad’s flinch at the reminder, but then her eyes lock on me. “Or mothers, should I say? Your father informed me you’re only their half-brother, correct? Different mothers? Where is she?”
I wince, and Blair frowns at me and then glares at her mother. “She’s… not around,” I reply painfully as Cyrus stands.
“Cyrus, please sit. She didn’t mean anything by that. Did you, Merry?” Dad urges.
“Nothing at all,” she says sweetly. “I was just curious.”
“Bray and Cyrus’s mother is… dead, I’m afraid. Asher’s mother is not in the picture.” It’s a nice way of saying she abandoned me to him when I became too much for her and her addiction.
“I see.” It goes quiet again before my dad clears his throat and looks at Blair, trying to play nice and change the subject. I have to hand it to the man, he’s really trying even if he’s clueless and likely to step in shit.
“Your mother told me you dance?”
“I do,” Blair replies hesitantly. “Have since I was a child. My father taught me.”
“Really? Was he a dancer?”
“No, he wasn’t, and he’s dead. It’s rude to bring it up,” Meredith snaps.
I see Blair flinch in pain, so I automatically reach for her under the table. She looks at me as I link our pinkies. Her hand hangs by her chair as I wrap my pinkie around hers, offering her comfort. Her eyes lift to mine, searching for something before my father addresses her again and she turns away, but she doesn’t let go of my hand.
No, she holds it tighter.
“I’m sorry, Blair, I truly am. I didn’t mean to offer any insult or upset you.” He rubs his chin awkwardly. “What about a boyfriend… girlfriend?”
“Blair prefers to keep her options open, isn’t that right?” Meredith almost spits. “A free spirit, they used to call her.”
I grind my teeth, even as Bray leans in and grins at Meredith. “I think that’s what they call you, not your daughter.”
“Bray,” Dad barks, but Bray just laughs and reclines back, sliding his arm across Blair’s chair. Her mother notices and narrows her eyes but says nothing.
“Well, there was that one boy…” Meredith starts, her eyes cruel as she watches Blair. She’s targeting her in retribution because she can’t come after us. Blair freezes, her eyes widen, and her breath stops as we observe her with concern. “What was his name again? Reece? No, that wasn’t it. It began with an L, right?”
“Lucas,” Blair rasps, and I see her anger growing as she tries to fight it. “His name was Lucas, and you damn well know it.”
“It must have slipped my mind.” Her mother laughs and looks at my dad. “He died, terribly tragic—”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” Blair snarls, leaping to her feet. Her body vibrates with pain and rage so potent, I can actually feel it. “Don’t you dare fucking speak his name like you give a shit. You always hated him; you even tried to fuck him once to break us up, you spiteful bitch!”
“Now, Blair…” Her mother smirks. “That’s not nice. After all, wasn’t it your fault he died?”
The question hangs in the air, and I see Blair snap. Her chest heaves as she glares at her mother. “Guess that runs in the family too. Isn’t Dad dead because of you? Or how about your boss who shot himself after you told his wife how you got him drunk and slept with him in their bed? You want to play this game, Mother? Fucking get ready, because we both know I have a lot more on you than you have on me. If you ever bring up Lucas or what happened again, I will destroy you and the little money sucking leech system you have set up.” She throws her napkin on the table and storms away.
I go to push to my feet to follow her, but Meredith speaks.
“Let her go,” Meredith sneers. “Ungrateful bitch.”
“Meredith,” Dad warns.
I glance at Bray who appears shocked and worried, and then we look at Cyrus. His eyes are narrowed on Meredith, and his lips are tilted down. We just learned more about both of them than we have the entire time we have been here. It seems our stepsister has been through a lot more than we ever thought, and right now, all I want to do is punch her smug mother’s face for hurting her. She knew exactly what she was doing, and she did it on purpose to hurt her child.
Cyrus meets my and Bray’s gazes. “Why don’t you see if Meredith here is aware of the house rules?” he suggests with a growl and stands. “I’ll check on Blair.”
