Page 30 of Devious Obsession
“If you care so much, why don’t you do anything about my father?” I grip my phone hard, and part of me thinks he might actually give me an answer.Partof me has hope that he’ll own up to everything Dad put me through as a kid.
It’s why we left, after all.
It’s why Mom is still running almost a decade later.
“The website is down,” he says instead. “I’ll leave your email to you. And dealing with the culprit.”
“Thanks,” I whisper. “I’ve got to go.”
“Stay safe, Asp.”
I tuck my phone in my pocket and head back to Thalia. I sink into my seat and watch her. She’s pulled out some books, giving the library a solid effort. But her lips are moving, what she’s reading just barely audible.
“We can go home,” I offer.
She nods quickly and flips the book shut. “Are you okay? Should we stock up on some ice cream on the way home?”
“I’m fine.” I don’t mention that the website is down. But part of me wants to go confront Steele. To make a big deal out of this.
That’s what he wants, though, isn’t it?
We make it almost all of the way home when my phone rings again. This time, it’s my mother. I pause on the sidewalk. “I’ll catch up.”
Thalia nods and continues on, while I glance around the quiet street. Then I swipe to answer it.
“Hey, baby,” Mom greets me. “How are you?”
“I’m fine.” My gaze stays on Thalia’s back. I slowly drift after her. “How’re you?”
“Oh, lovely. Lovely. Stephen is taking the girls and I to Spain!”
I stop in my tracks. “What? Why?”
She tuts. “Can’t you be happy for us?”
It’s like I can feel Mom’s pout through the phone. Sometimes I think I’m more of an adult than she is. I mean, only one of us would get a shotgun wedding in Vegas to a near-total stranger. Right?
“I… Yeah, no, that’s awesome. Are the girls around?”
She makes a noise in the back of her throat. “Dakota is in the back yard with Stephen. They’re discussing building a tree house or something.” Her voice shifts, getting louder as she calls to one of my sisters. “Lennox—your sister is on the phone. Yes, Aspen. Obviously. Okay, well, she wants to talk to you—”
“Hi,” my baby sister says into the phone. “I miss you.”
I smile. Lennox is joyful. Spirited. She’s twelve. And although she’s now at a new school, she’s the type to adapt quickly. It’s why she took to Stephen O’Brien so fast. Dakota is a bit like me. More reserved, slower to warm up. But the fact that she’s outside with him right now, having a conversation without my mother involved, is a good sign.
Isn’t it?
There’s a tiny piece of me that doesn’t want anyone to adjust or adapt, so we can go back to normal. But that’s unrealistic—and a little cruel, too.
“How are you, Len? I miss you more.”
I reach our brownstone and unlock the front door. Len chatters in my ear about school, her new friends. A lump forms in my throat, but I ignore it and make the occasional humming noise to keep her talking.
Thalia stands at the kitchen island, her gaze on a pile of money.
Like, more cash than I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
Hundred dollar bills wrapped in thousand dollar bundles stacked on top of each other. Some have spilled off, making more of a mound shape. And off to the side, the brown paper sack it came in with a piece of fabric piled on top of it.
