Page 106 of Quiet Obsession
I leave the ball in Hyde’s court, knowing he won’t tell Dash shit. I still can’t believe he toldme. He’s always believed that if he can ignore something long enough, it’ll eventually stop existing.
He did that with Millie for years. He erased her from his life so thoroughly I thought he was an only child. We all did.
“Nothing happened. I just needed a reset,” he says, his gaze flicking to mine before dropping to his plate.
“Oh-kay but better fix that headache before game night. I don’t care how hungover you are, we’re playing.” Dash looks to me. “You’re coming, too.”
Dash has a sixty-inch flat-screen and a gaming console in his room. That’s where we spent most of our weekends last year, but since Millie came along, Noah’s room’s takenover and Dash is still salty about it.
“Yeah, alright,” I say, without thinking it through.
Noah will be there, and the two of us in one room after what I found out might be too much tension.
Hyde grabs the glass of electrolytes, looking up at me. “You got any painkillers?”
“Not on me. Eat, it’ll help.”
“You’d know,” Dash pipes in, pointing his fork at me again. “Have you seen Noah? He wasn’t in class this morning.”
Hyde’s head snaps up, his hangover momentarily forgotten.
“It’s not like him to oversleep,” he says, then, all too quickly, adds, “What about Millie? Have you seen her?”
My pulse spikes, my hands itching to pull out my phone and text her. Noah better not be in her room or I’ll break my long-established rule and knock out my friend.
Dash cocks an eyebrow at Hyde, eyes flickering my way when he’s not looking.
“Yeah, I saw her with Abby, he says. “Why?”
Hyde’s shoulders slump. “No reason.”
His face gives nothing away, but that gesture is either relief or disappointment and given our conversation last night, I don’t think it’s the fucking former.
He finishes the rest of his meal in silence while Dash doesn’t shut up about some party the post-grad crowd’s throwing this weekend. He stops the word-vomit when a pretty brunette passes our table, and before I blink, he’s across the room, charming her out of her panties.
“What was that?” I ask, drumming my fingers againstmy coffee cup. “I can’t tell if you’re glad or pissed off that Noah’s missing, but Millie isn’t.”
He looks up at me with bleary eyes. “I’m neither.”
“Neither? You can’t be neither, Hyde. Either you want Noah and Millie to—”
“You told me not to do anything unless I’m worried he’ll hurt her, right?” he cuts in.
I told him I didn’t think heshoulddo shit, but he went and did it anyway.
“So, I’m not doing anything,” he continues and I barely keep from snapping in his face about that text last night. “But I want to know if... if things are happening, so I will be watching. Don’t forget she’s my sister, Creed.”
The sister his friends didn’t know about until she almost died. The off-limits sister that’s suddenly not so off-limits.
“Fuck,” he hisses, massaging his temples again. “I need painkillers. And sleep.” Slowly, like he’s afraid he’ll lose his balance, he gets to his feet. “I’m going back to bed.”
“Yeah, alright.”
He marches away, leaving me alone with my half-empty, lukewarm coffee and buzzing mind.
Nothing makes sense anymore.
Hyde glared at Noah’s arm flung over Millie’s shoulders when they showed up at my fight. He glared whenever Millie was with Noah in the library, playing chess or reading. He complained about how much time they were spending together, and now he sends him into her room late at night?
