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I pull open the door, and my sisters practically tumble through it.
“Where are you going?” Lana asks the second she steps inside. “Are you leaving?”
Alexis kicks at my pile of old pajamas and wrinkles her nose. “Clearly, you’re planning to come back. You’ve left all of yourthingshere.”
My sisters have been taking the “Rayne Watch” in shifts. One of them comes out in the morning and again in the evening to make sure I’m technically surviving. The fact that both of them are here means something is up.
I groan. “Harmony called you.”
“Texted, actually,” Lana says.
“She’s worried about you, Raynie. We all are.” Alexis grabs my shoulders and holds me at arm’s length. “We aren’t sure talking to Kyle is a good idea.”
“Kirill,” I correct. I’ve made a point to tell her Kirill’s name several times, and each time, Alexis gets it wrong.
“Whatever. He broke your heart. I don’t need to know his name.”
“Because his brother died. He’s been hurting, too. You can’t blame him for that.”
Alexis takes a deep breath. “I feel bad for him. I do. But he isn’t my concern. You are. I have never in my life seen you as down as you’ve been the last three weeks. You’ve lost weight, you’ve barely left the house, and you were damn-near catatonic for two weeks. We almost called a psychiatrist to come see you.”
I look to Lana for confirmation and she shrugs. “We were scared.”
“This man slept with you while you were his employee and then blamed you for his brother’s death.” Alexis shakes her head. “He seems unstable to me. I think you should cut all ties with him. No connection, no contact. Quit him cold turkey. You’ll forget he even existed soon enough.”
I chew on my lower lip. “I really don’t think that’s possible, Alexis.”
“I know he seems like the most important person in the world to you right now, but that will fade,” Lana says. “Give it time, and you’ll move on.”
The last three weeks without Kirill have been hard enough. The thought of a lifetime of this—endless days and weeks and months stretching out without ever seeing him—is too painful to contemplate.
Besides, there is more at stake here than my feelings.
“This isn’t just me being lovesick, okay? I need to talk to him. We have… loose ends to tie up.”
“Please don’t worry about money right now,” Lana jumps in. “You don’t owe me a dime. I can talk to Mitchell and get you a job with one of his friends. People are always looking for secretaries.”
Alexis wrinkles her nose and leans in to “whisper” to Lana, though I’m not sure her voice is capable of dropping that low. “You can’t send our baby sister off to be the secretary for Mitchell’s pervy friends. You know how they treat their assistants. We’d basically be turning her into a prostitute.”
“Okay!” I wave my hand between them, interrupting this not-so-secret conversation. “That’s enough. I can take care of myself, alright?”
They both turn to me, eyebrows raised.
I glare back. “Fair enough. The last few weeks have been… dicey. I’ll do better, though. Iamdoing better. Talking to Kirill won’t change a thing. Believe me.”
Despite what he may think, some things are beyond even Kirill’s control.
Lana and Alexis do their best to stop me. They follow me outside to the waiting car. Mitchell gave me the keys to his compact when Lana was desperate to convince me to get out of the house, though I’m sure he’s regretting it now that I’m actually taking him up on the offer.
“Just call him then,” Alexis suggests. “There’s nothing you can’t say to him over the phone.”
I shake my head. “In person is better. I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll come with you,” Lana blurts.
I snort. “Kirill hates you and vice versa. Your presence won’t make things any better. Plus, I need to do this alone.”
As soon as I close the door, I press the lock button so neither of them can try to throw themselves inside the vehicle. Thankfully, they don’t try. They do stand at the top of the driveway and wave at me like I’m driving off to the gallows.
