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“You still should have told us.”
“Why? It’s none of your business.”
A muscle ticks in Tino’s jaw. “What the fuck are you talking about? Of course it’s our business. You’re our business.”
I huff air from my nose. “Since when?”
He perches on the edge of the bed. I hate how I’m so aware of his proximity. “Since you became ours.”
“I’m not yours. I’m not anyone’s.” I blink away tears. “I know it was you, Tino. I know you filmed my mom and then put it on the screen. Dom might be the one taking the fall, but you were the one behind it all.”
He rakes his hand through his thick, black hair. “I didn’t know.”
“Know what? That it would mean the end of us? Of course you did.” I turn to Kirill. “And you supported him. You wanted me gone as much as Dom did.”
He shakes his head. “No, I never wanted you gone. Neither did Tino. But Dom is like a brother to us.”
“And he wanted me to leave, so you did whatever it took to support him.” I give a small bark of cold laughter. “I guess, in another world, I’d see that kind of loyalty as a good thing.”
“He regrets it now,” Kirill offers. “Very much. He wishes he could change things.”
I bite the inside of my mouth. “Why? Because he found out I’m epileptic? Or because his father is pissed at him for ruining the wedding?”
Tino shakes his head. “Things might have been different if he’d known about the epilepsy.”
“Are you for real? Do you even know how stupid and ableist you sound? It’s not something that makes you treat a person decently. Your own morals should do that, but they failed. As for Dom, I don’t need his pity, or yours either, for that matter. I didn’t want people to know so they didn’t treat me any differently than anyone else, and the same is true for all of you, too. You did what you did to get rid of me. Well, congrats, you got what you wanted.”
“We never wanted to be rid of you,” Tino says. “We wanted you to stay.”
I snap at him. “But Dom wouldn’t allow it? Right? And the two of you are too weak to stand up to him.”
Kirill visibly flinches at that. “We are not weak. We supported him, that is all, but you still should have told us.”
My tone is laced with sarcasm. “So, what? So you could have been a bit nicer to me? Jeez, thanks. I’m so grateful. Take pity on the poor girl who starts at your school because she’s got a condition?”
Kirill presses his lips into a thin line. “We thought you could take it. We thought you were strong.”
I grit my teeth, though their very presence is draining me of what little energy I have. “I am fucking strong. I’m stronger than any of you assholes have any idea about. Just because things short-circuit for me on occasion doesn’t mean I’m a weak person. I’ve had to deal with the sort of shit you have no idea about.” I realize I’m about to say more than I should, and clamp my mouth shut.
How did my life end up this fucking complicated?
I don’t know where I’m supposed to go, or what I’m supposed to do. I’ve relied on my mom for her support my whole life, and now she’s ripped that rug out from under my feet. Maybe I should be more independent at my age, but it’s not as though I’ve had a normal life. I’m frightened of being alone, of what might happen if I have a seizure and there’s no one around to help me.
That used to be the thing I was most scared of.
Now the idea of going back to Verona Falls and having to live with my mother and Nataniele and Dom is even worse.
I guess I’ll give Dom what he wants—I’ll leave. I’m broke, and I have nowhere to go, and I have no idea how I’ll keep getting my meds, but my self-destruct mode has fully set in. I’d rather die alone than be anywhere near these assholes.
“Seeing you like that makes me want to hurt someone,” Tino says helplessly. “I want someone to pay for putting you in the hospital.” He bunches his fists, the muscles in his neck and shoulders tensing.
I stare at him in disbelief. “You were the ones who hurt me, Tino. You, and Dom, and Kirill.”
He ducks his head. “We didn’t mean to. Not like this. We just thought it would make your mom leave.”
“And take me with her.”
He has the good grace to glance away. “Well…yeah.”
