The relief of walking into a warm home hit Alice so hard she almost burst into tears.
Caleb's mother shushed them as they entered, despite their already being silent. She rocked a child in her arms; his little red face flopped back with a string of drool hanging from his cheek.
Alice took a handful of the duck food and lobbed it as far as she could to entice the ducks over. Little Tyler copied, managing to get his tiny offering just onto the side of waters bank."Woo, seagulls," Alice cried as a horde of white, squawking birds descended over the ducks, stealing the food.
Caleb approached Dylan with a nod, grunting, "Alright?""Hmm," Dylan nodded. "I have an idea."'Please don't pertain to Ali
Alice checked her phone for what was at least the hundredth time. 'Why hasn't he messaged me?' she wondered.
Caleb stared down at his phone with a grimace. An 'I hate Mondays' meme filled the screen.'Yeah, don't we all,' he thought.
"You did so well. If I didn't know you were lying, I would have fallen for it," Dylan gushed.Alice let the praise go over her head. She wasn't interested in anything he had to say.
Alice hugged Caleb's jacket closer to her face, breathing in his scent. He'd lent her the jacket days ago, but somehow it still smelled like him. Or maybe it was her imagination wanting it to smell of him.'I could just stay here,' Alice thought. 'Maybe if I just sit here and don't move, everything will be okay.'
"Are you coming, man?" Caleb pestered Dylan. "Oh, I was going to—" Dylan started to list off an excuse."This was your f
“We are having a party at my house later," Dylan said.Alice felt her heart sink. 'A party?'
"My parents won't let me keep him," Alice said, flitting her eyelashes and making puppy dog eyes. "Can he stay with you? Please? Please, Caleb?"Caleb sighed as he looked down at the kitten. The little guy was purring and rubbing his face along her hands as she petted him. Yes, it was cute, but he would get bored with its cuteness after a time, and still have to feed it and look after it.
"You're desperate for praise, aren't you? Just crying out for love and adoration. Why is that? Did Mommy not cuddle you enough?" Caleb sneered. "You always want to hear about my childhood trauma but what caused your damage, huh? Did Daddy never tell you he was proud?"Dylan turned his head away, face stretched into a hateful scowl. Caleb didn't allow it, grabbing him by the chin and lifting his staring into his eyes.
Alice read over the contract as Dylan used her phone to message Caleb. With any luck, Caleb would see through whatever lie Dylan dreamt up. He was too smart to fall for it. She had to cling to that hope.As she poured through the contract, her eyes almost crossing as the horrid font began to look like ants crawling across the page, she found a spark of hope.
It was tempting to sit in a tree outside Dylan's property with a pair of binoculars, but he knew the sneaky bugger had camera's set up out there. Alice had assured him she would be fine, that she could handle anything he threw at her, but honestly... that was bullshit.She wasn't as weak as he and Dylan had originally assumed—she was a warrior—but Dylan had ways of finding people's weaknesses and exploiting them. He was a genius when it came to inflicting suffering
Alice thought she might be sick. The journey to Dylan's house was only a twenty-minute walk, but it felt like hours as every horrible possibility cycled through Alice's mind. It was the waiting that killed her. Not knowing what he would do to her... or make her do."Dylan, why are your parents never home?" Alice asked. She wasn't fishing for information—intel was going to have to be Caleb's job at this point—she was genuinely interested.
"Oh shit," Alice muttered, staring down at her phone in dread."everything went according to plan," the message read. All lowe
'Shit,' was all Caleb could think. 'Shit, shit, shit. What now?'Caleb considered the options. He could admit the truth and throw himself at Dylan's mercy.
Caleb racked his brain. Why would he order a drink if he planned to leave before taking a single sip? It was a fair question.He felt the weight of Dylan's gaze as he desperately tried to formulate a response.
Caleb locked eyes with Kate, warning her not to cause a scene. She was definitely the type who craved drama, much like her younger sister.Kate seemed to get the message. She smiled up at the Bouncer and told him there was no problem.