Page 65 of Devious Obsession
She’s talking about the cash in my closet. I checked it once we returned to our apartment but only pushed it deeper back on the shelf. The longer it sits there, the more I hate it.
I don’t want to take anything from my father, but seeing as it’s already here, ignoring it is my next best bet. He probably got it from somewhere illegal. And if I just waltzed into the financial aid office with that cash, they’d ask way more questions than I want to answer.
What if it’s tied to bad people and I get arrested?
Or worse, targeted?
“It’s not an option,” I respond in a low voice.
Violet’s gaze doesn’t waver from me. She doesn’t seem put off by our veiled conversation. If anything, her lips twitch up at the corners like she’s trying to hold back a smile. I can only imagine her and Willow have that sort of shorthand, too.
“Game on, sister,” Violet eventually says, then motions to the television. “I, for one, am ready for a movie. Popcorn, anyone?”
Five hours later, and we’ve finished two movies, eaten the popcorn, demolished the wine… and the tequila.Oops. My body and my brain are only faintly connected at this rate, which is fine by me. I’d rather not be connected at all.
And in fact, I think Willow feels the same, because she’s snoring on the couch beside me.
Violet and Thalia are talking quietly, and I roll my head toward them. They look like shadowy figures from this angle, similar with their body shape and their hair pulled away from their faces.
I tug a lock of my dark hair in front of my face, frowning at it.
I wouldn’t be mistaken for any of these girls.
Ah, well. My eyes drift closed for a minute.
Maybe longer than a minute.
When I open them again, Willow is covered in a blanket on the opposite end of the couch, curled into a little ball. I’m momentarily guilty that I’m taking up half of it, and I climb to my feet.
“I’ll be in my room,” I mumble to her, although I doubt she heard me.
Except there’s a body in my bed.
Violet, I decide upon closer inspection.
I head back out and go into Thalia’s room. She’s asleep on her back, snoring, with her arm slung over her eyes. I climb in beside her and fluff the pillow, and immediately my body goes back into the relaxed, drunken zone.
This time when I wake up, it isn’t because it’s morning.
Nope, I’m being moved. Jostled.
Is Thalia having a nightmare? Thrashing?
I crack my eyes open and am met with… white.
T-shirt.
Chest.
I drag my gaze up.
Throat.
Jaw.
Lips, nose, cheeks,eyes.
Steele.
