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Suddenly knuckles are under my chin, and my eyes are lifted to meet a pair of green ones.
Parker says something, and Chase nods. In the next moment, the burn of the cold floor disappears, replaced with a hint of warmth. My eyes open again, and I’m in the air.
I think I hear screaming, and then…nothing.
The soft murmurof voices splinters through the darkness, and I wince at the sound, my head pounding with the threat of an oncoming migraine.
Fingers brush along my hair, and my own sink farther into the material beneath them.
“Peep,” my brother whispers.
My eyelids feel like weights, but I somehow manage to lift them, slowly meeting his gaze as he kneels before me.
“Parker…” I blink in confusion, the arm wrapped along my middle tightening, but when I shift, they loosen, and I throw my own around my brother. “Can I go home?Home to your househome?”
“Are you sure, Payton?” he asks.
He says something else, but I don’t hear it. I’m already nodding.
“I’m sure. I don’t want to be here.” I can’t be here. “Please.”
“I’ll take her home. Stay with her.”
My muscles tense, and I pull away, slowly looking behind me to the person whose lap I’m sitting on.
My brother asks, once again, if we’re sure, but Chase doesn’t look his way, just offers me a small smile. “Yeah, man. I got her.”
My ribs rattle, a chill breaking over my skin. He sat with me this whole time?
How long has it even been?
Chase gives me a small nod, and then he pushes to his feet, not asking if I want to be put on my own. He carries me from the room the same way he held me inside it.
My lips start to tremble, and I squeeze my eyes closed.
I don’t want to see the hall.
I don’t want to see the others.
I don’t want to do this without you, Deaton.
Tears leak from my eyes, and Chase’s arms tighten around me.
And because the universe decided I wasn’t beat on enough for the day, the only person worse than Miranda Vermont makes her presence known.
My mother is here, and by the sound of it, she’s been waiting for a while.
“Where the hell is she?” her threatening voice shrieks. “I gave her long enough.”
“She needs to be with people who care about her right now,” Parker snaps. “Not someone who treats her like a puppet.”
My body bounces slightly with Chase’s advancing steps, and I close my eyes tighter, refusing to look her way. I can’t face her, not right now, not when I know what I would see.
Victory andI told you so.
Suddenly, Mason is in front of me, staring down with an overwhelming sense of helplessness. He gives me a small nod, then turns, standing at our side in silent support as my brother faces off with our mom.
“Put her down,” she seethes. “She needs to learn to live with disappointment. It’slife. And we’re leaving.”
