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“Why not?” I asked.
She rolled her eyes. “They were living safe and warm in your house. Why’d they go messing with you and risk being thrown back to the streets?”
“I thought they liked me,” I said, dipping my head. Had I been stupid all along? Did they treat me nicely just for a place in my home?
“They did,” said Lilja with a nod. “They let it become their weakness. They trusted you to protect them from your brother. You betrayed them that night.”
“I didn’t!” I cried out. “My dad got into a horrible accident that night too. Callum used my distraction to hurt them. I spent the next few years trying to find them but I had no luck.”
Lilja looked thoughtful as I told her about my side of the story.
“Callum stopped me from going outside after that,” I said. “His guards followed me wherever I went. They reported my location to him at all times. I couldn’t meet my friends without him knowing. He threatened my closest friends to break all ties with me. Over time, I lost contact with everyone I knew at school. He turned me into a prisoner in our home.”
“You could’ve protested.”
“I tried. Trust me, I tried,” I said as bitterness washed over me. “He always held my dad or one of the staff members as a hostage to make me obey him. He’d hurt them to punish me. I can’t stand anyone getting hurt because of me. He even threatened to kill Dad if I left home.”
“What’s wrong with him? How can he hurt his own father?”
“He’s obsessed with keeping me chained to him,” I said. “He tries to pass it off as being protective of me but Callum just wants to own me.”
Lilja stayed quiet, curling a lock of pink hair around her finger. “Your brother is an asshole, then.”
A dry chuckle escaped me. “That’s an understatement.”
“And now, you’re a prisoner here.”
“I need to get out of here,” I said desperately. “Callum will hurt Dad to punish me. I need to get him out of that house soon.”
“How will you manage that on your own?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. I can figure it out later. For now, I need to find a way to escape this place. Can you help me?”
She gestured toward the door. “I can leave that door open for you. The rest is up to you.”
“Really?” A hopeful grin spread over my lips. “Thank you! I think I can slip out through the entrance hall. The way was confusing but I think I can figure it out.”
“My brothers won’t spare you if you get caught,” she said in a grim tone. “Are you ready to risk it?”
“They’ve already hurt me enough,” I said through a choked throat. “They can’t do anything worse to me.”
“They could kill you.”
The casual way she said it raised the sparse hair on my arm.
“I need to try,” I said, despite being aware of the risk. “My dad’s not safe with Callum. There’s no one to protect him. I won’t be able to forgive myself if something happened to him.”
The easy expression on her pretty face vanished. “You’re going to regret it.”
At this point, my entire life seemed like a series of regrets. My brother was a predator and the boys I loved so much had turned into monsters who hurt me in the worst ways possible.
Apart from my life, there was nothing much left to lose.
When I looked up, Lilja was already gone from the room. The door stayed open just as she promised me.
I didn’t want to be a captive anymore. This was my last chance to take control of my life and I was going to take it despite the risks.
Getting up from the bed, I stepped through the door.
