Page 15 of Midnight Curfew

We’re pulling through the gate of my father’s house in no time, and I look up, seeing all of the rooms dark except for the small light of the chandelier in the foyer.

Barnes opens the car door, and I climb out. “See you at nine,” I remind him.

“At nine, sir.”

Unlocking the front door, I step inside, quickly entering my code on the security panel. I walk to the middle of the foyer, eyes up and listening to the house.

Quiet. Sophia is asleep. Ava said her schedule has gotten more predictable now.

I drift into the kitchen, passing the puzzle she started on the large island, and grab a bottle of water out of the fridge. Standing there, I drain the bottle, thankful for the silence. It’s been one thing after another since I got home two days ago. My father attended my graduation, and I hitched a ride on the plane with him, coming straight home. Ava stayed here with her daughter.

Anna-Katherine…

Dallas knows her by that name rather than the name she was born with.

Fuck. It threw me when we were at the school earlier, but it’s good that she’s bonded with him. Not many people call her Anna-Katherine.

He’ll be easier to hurt.

Starting tomorrow.

Sliding the empty glass bottle onto the island, I charge out of the kitchen, climbing the stairs. I pause at her room, gripping the handle and hesitating before I twist the knob. Dim light from the hallway spills across the floor, and I see my stepsister under the sheet in her snow-white room. The ceiling fan makes the canopy curtains billow, and I can just make out the thin white ribbon tied into a little bow on top of her brunette head. She used to sneak cigarettes with me when she was twelve and I was fourteen. Now she acts as if she has no memory of it.

“He likes you, doesn’t he?” I ask, but not loud enough for her to hear.

Just like Dallas said, my stepsister lives in a world no one else sees. It wasn’t always like that, though. Sophia Katherine Beaumont was once vibrant, beautiful, and sassy.

Now she’s vibrant and beautiful and shelters herself within the persona of a child. The people she loves call her Anna-Katherine now.

My stomach tightens as I look at her pink toes peeking out of her long nightgown and her gorgeous long hair, which has hints of red through the locks. “What’s not to like?” I say through my teeth.

He never protected my secrets or let me just be around him all day.

Not like he does you.

“Callum?”

I jolt, realizing my jaw aches from grinding my teeth. My stepmother stands in the corner of my eye, and I pull Sophia’s door closed.

Turning toward her, I meet her concerned eyes. If only she were perceptive enough to notice when my father was opening her daughter’s door at night.

Brushing past her, I head to my room, ripping off my tie as she follows.

I barge through my door, slipping off my watch and putting it on my dresser with my phone and wallet.

She stands in my doorway, but I speak before she can. “Go with my father to Aspen,” I tell her.

I know she wants to talk, but there’s nothing I want to say to her right now.

“You think that bastard wants me around?”

“Then go somewhere.” I shoot her a look. “I need space.”

“Sophia—”

“Sophia stays with me,” I cut her off.

I unbutton my vest and remove my jacket.