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The guys thought they could scare me into listening to them, and I was going to prove that it wasn’t going to fucking happen. I wasn’t going to spend the entire year terrified of my own shadow. There was too much I had to do if I wanted to leave this city behind.
“Katalina, now that you’re home, I think it’s time to stop acting out.” My gaze darted to William, who was staring at my hand on my hair. “That purple hair is unacceptable. I want it changed back to your natural color.”
“I can’t,” I said softly, trying to not get defensive. “I just dyed it. If I do it right now, it’ll ruin my hair.”
William’s lips pursed as I argued with him. He despised when I talked back about anything. Especially when we were in front of other people. My pulse spiked, knowing I was going to regret that when he got me alone.
But I refused to change my hair. The young, terrified girl with dirty-blond hair didn’t exist anymore. And I would never become her again.
“Welcome home, Katalina,” Richard said, not even bothering to look at me when he spoke. “I must say, we are all happy the four of you will be attending Braidwood this year.”
West stiffened beside me, clearly waiting for me to spill how they forced me to come back. I had decided early on that I wasn’t going to say anything. It wasn’t like the families would let me leave again anyway. I could fight my own battles against them without bringing our parents into it.
“I’m excited to play on the team,” I said with a forced smile. “Hopefully, we get to states this year.”
“River is excited to play on the team this year too,” River’s mom, Eleanor, spoke up with a warm smile. “It’s nice having you all back home. You all used to be attached at the hip.”
West failed at covering his snort, making William and Richard frown. Eleanor stared at them warily. Out of all our parents, she was the nicest. She had tried giving us a childhood instead of pressuring us like the rest of them. Her short hair framed her face and was the same color black as River’s. Her smile was always kind when she talked to us. But she was one of them too. No matter how nice she was, the business of our families came first.
“We know there’s been bad blood between all of you,” Richard said, looking at each of us before his eyes stopped on me. “I’ve already spoken to the boys about it. I expect this year to go smoothly with all of you at school. Is that understood, Katalina?”
“Yes,” I answered quietly. “All I want to do is focus on classes and basketball.”
“Bullshit,” Eli coughed. “How do we know she isn’t going to do what she’s been doing the last two years?”
I bristled with anger as I turned to look at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. And if you don’t want me around, then I’m sure I can get back on the team at my old school.”
“No,” William cut in sharply. “You chose to come back. You aren’t leaving again. Eli, there is no proof she was the one behind all that.”
“We don’t need proof,” West snapped as tension blanketed the room. “We all know it was her. Eli and I had to sit out almost a whole season because of her. And the cops almost got involved.”
“We took care of that,” Richard said, his face flushing with rage. “This will be the last time any of this is brought up. It’s in the past. Leave it there. You four are going to step up next year and do what is expected of you. That won’t be possible if you all keep acting like children. The founding families are a united front. If I hear a hint of any of you not portraying that at school, there will be consequences. We will not fucking tolerate it.”
The four of us mumbled agreements, even though I knew this was far from over. Whatever they were planning, they’d keep it out of sight from our families. River met my gaze, shooting me a half grin, as if this conversation was going to change my mind about asking for his help. It wasn’t. I didn’t need him.
“Katalina will do what we ask. Won’t you, honey?” my mom asked as I tore my gaze from River to look at her. It was easy to forget she was in the room. Her dazed stare shot pain straight through my heart. She barely spoke anymore. The drugs kept her quiet and agreeable, which was exactly what William wanted.
It was my mom who was a member of a founding family. Her bloodline. Not William’s. But when he realized the power she had, he stripped it away and took it as his own. I used to wonder why the other families didn’t interfere. They were supposed to protect her. As I grew older, I realized why. It was a men’s club. Richard and West’s father didn’t want women in their circle. They were more than happy to pretend William was a Whitman. Eleanor was the only woman in the group who had a voice, and it was usually smothered by the men.
And that fucking terrified me. When we were younger, I was positive West, Eli, and River would never treat me how their parents treated my mom. But after everything that had happened, I didn’t have that protection anymore. And that made my plan to leave even more important.
“Yes, Mom,” I answered, swallowing my fear of the future. “I’ll behave.”
“Good.” Richard poured another glass of wine. “That’s settled, and there will be no more talk of any of it.”
The table was silent as our food was brought out. I pushed the salad around with my fork, my appetite nonexistent. The worst thing was we had to do this every damn Sunday. I really hoped I could find enough excuses to miss at least a few of these dinners throughout the year. They used to be bearable when I got along with the guys. Now, it was almost insufferable.
Dinner finished, and dessert was brought out. Taking a deep breath, I leaned closer to Eli.
“We need to talk,” I muttered under my breath. “Meet me in the basement in twenty minutes. I have to talk to my mom about something first, and then I’ll be down there.”
Suspicion flittered across his face. “Talk about what?”
“Not here.” I rolled my eyes. “What’s wrong? Scared to be alone with me?”
“I’m not the one who should be scared,” he shot back, straightening back up when Richard glanced at us. “Twenty minutes, Kat.”
I nodded, returning my gaze to my uneaten piece of pie. Everyone was done eating, and the men stood, getting ready to go to the study. They did it after every dinner. Women were never invited.
