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“The stuff you told me about what happened with Rich and Emily. It wasn’t the same story he told me.”
I sigh, looking down at her. “What story did he tell you?”
“He said that she kissed him and he turned her down. He didn’t say anything about sleeping with her or having an affair.”
I feel my hands clench. “Well, he’s an asshole. No wonder he tried to save face with you by lying about it. He probably thought that saying it was just a one-time kiss made it sound less terrible than it was.”
“Are you sure there wasn’t something more going on between them then?” she asks. “If he lied to me about it …”
“I don’t think he was trying to lie to cover up anything more sinister,” I tell her. “He had no reason to lie to us and every reason to come clean with the truth. I think he just didn’t want you to think badly of him after you found out what he did, especially since it was a catalyst for everything else.”
“Maybe,” Sienna says, biting her lip. “Why did the Haven Center even close down in the first place, by the way? You guys never said what happened there.”
“It was some funding issue,” I tell her. “I don’t really know, that’s what we were told. They ran out of funding and the grants stopped coming through I guess.” I hadn’t even really thought about it at the time, just accepted that those sorts of things happen in a place like Caspian Springs.
“I see,” Sienna says, licking her bottom lip as she takes it in. “Makes sense. It just sucks that it had to shut down.”
“Yeah,” I agree. “But I don’t wanna dwell on old stuff like that anymore. I want to cuddle you and then beat you atHalolater.”
Sienna narrows her eyes. “Oh, you’re so on.”
I pull her in for a kiss, her question lingering in my mind. Would we have been able to get the center back up and running if not for what happened with Emily? It feels too painful to speculate on the what-ifs, so I just try to let it go and focus on spending time with the woman I love.
Even if it means leaving some questions unanswered.
38
SIENNA
Agnawing sense of unease has been growing inside me ever since I found out the truth about Emily and Dr. Thornton, but it still feels as though there are missing pieces to the puzzle.
“I need to go turn some work into Dr. Thornton, can you take me there?” I ask Caleb after dinner. I need to talk to Dr. Thornton if I want answers.
Caleb nods. “Yeah, I can go with you,” he agrees. “Dom and Bastian are going to be tied up with some repairs at the shop. But I’ve got a feeling it’s actually got something to do with the Serpents though.”
My anxiety spikes at the mention of the Serpents and their constant looming presence in our lives. “You think they’re going to go up against them?” I ask, my voice tinged with concern. The thought of the two of them in such danger without backup sends a shiver down my spine.
“No, I don't think they'd do something reckless like that," Caleb reassures me, though he rubs his hands over his arms, uncertainty evident. “You'll know when we're ready to make a move.”
I nod, hoping he’s right. As we head upstairs, the weight of impending confrontation hangs heavy in the air. Despite Caleb's reassurances, my mind races with worry, unable to shake the sense of impending danger that lurks just beyond our reach.
With everything going on with the Serpents, part of me wonders if I should be so worried about this situation with Dr. Thornton. It seems almost trivial to be so concerned about the boys’ past relationship when their very future hangs in the balance.
On the other hand, I do feel like I need closure on this situation. It’s affected them so deeply that it almost feels like we can’t move forward until we can all move past it.
I fall into an uneasy sleep that night, spending the whole night tossing and turning. I wake up sweaty, haunted by the lingering image of Emily’s face as she accuses me of stealing the Ravenwoods from her.
Exhausted, I make myself a cup of coffee and try not to be consumed by the overwhelming urge to run away from it all. It won’t help anyway since the Serpents are still lurking around.
“Are you okay?” Caleb asks, coming into the kitchen to wrap an arm around my shoulder.
“Fine,” I tell him. “It’s just work stuff.” It’s not exactly a lie but I feel uneasy concealing the truth from him. He nods and squeezes my hand, a comforting lifeline in this sea of turmoil.
I’m doing this for them, I tell myself as we make our way to campus. I need to help them resolve things once and for all. Still, the idea of confronting Dr. Thornton leaves a bad taste in my mouth, since I don’t know how he’ll react. Will he finally tell me the truth this time?
As I push open the unlocked door to Dr. Thornton's office, a chill rushes over me, the temperature inside significantly colder than the hallway. The faint scent of old books mingles with themustiness of the room, and I find myself enveloped in a cocoon of academia.
Since he’s not back from class yet, I decide to look at the necklace again to appease my curiosity. I want to look at it more closely and see if I missed anything.
