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I can only stand to look at Evie’s outline for a second, noticing how sour she looks.
“What’s with you today?” she asks. “God, you two act like we’re going to a funeral! Don’t you see this is what it takes? Back in my program, they said nothing good happens withoutwork.Well, family takes work too. A year from now, I think we’ll all agree it’s worth it.”
And what if this family has a gaping Chris-shaped hole that can never be filled?
I bite my tongue to keep from lashing out at her.
“You’ve certainly been adamant about making hard choices,” Dad says quietly.
“Someone has to, Bruce. I know this isn’t easy for you—foranyone—but you know I’ll do what it takes to make things right. Anything.”
“Anything,” Dad repeats weakly. “Right.”
The conversation fades as I look up and see the clinic looming large in the distance.
It’s one of those old-school places funded by rich donors fifty years ago and still decked out in these incredible gardens hiding a sleek white stone castle behind its walls.
It’s a reputation that needs no dressing up.
Celebrities and business moguls go here to find their way back to sanity.
I can’t say Dad hasn’t always offered me the best in everything, even when he’s twisting my arm.
I stare at it through the window glumly, wondering how I’ll actually feel once I’m stuck inside, knowing I can’t leave. A cage decked in gold and ivory is still a cage.
My stomach knots up.
The only thing I’m sure about is that it can’t be worse than wherever they’re holding Chris. I only have to worry about endless doctors pestering me.
Not being beaten within an inch of my life.
This place is another kind of torture, even if it can’t hold a candle to the horrors he’s suffering.
The worst part is, I know he still thinks of me.
If he could see what I’ve been reduced to, where I’m going, instead of finishing school...
I bite my lip to hold back the emotional overload.
Jesus Christ.
While I’m selfishly worried about ruining my education, they’re ruininghimin all the most vicious ways.
That’s why I won’t give up on him.
I can’t.
If a whole army of MDs tries to tell me I’m just infatuated and I can’t possibly have a relationship with my stepbrother, they’ll waste their words like arrows shot at the moon.
I’ll never stop loving him.
Never.
“Bruce? Why are you stopping? We’re not at the gate yet,” Evie bites off, staring at my father. I open my eyes and realize we’re not moving.
He’s pulled over on the curb just outside the long, winding entrance to the place.
Dad says nothing.
