“I see.” My father continues scanning his phone. “I’m assuming you’ve done something about housing as well?”
“Yes.” I swallow hard as I nod again. “Evelyn and I have an apartment just outside campus. It’s within walking distance to the shuttles, so I won’t need?—“
“Have you emptied your room?”
My nose stings over the iciness in his voice, which surprises me.
I knew my father wasn’t going to be happy about any of this, and I knew he was going to make things as horrible as he could, but I wasn’t expecting to get emotional over him asking me if I’ve gotten all my shit out of his house. Which is exactly what he’s asking.
“I have.”
“Your mother knows, I take it?”
“She does.” Not that she gave a shit either. Sasha Reynolds couldn’t care any less about what I’m doing or where I’m at. I wasn’t a boy, or an alpha, and to her that basically means I don’t exist.
Scrolling a little, he nods but doesn’t look up. “I have to give it to you, you’ve done just enough to defy mewithoutbreaching your contract, or cutting yourself off from your trust. If I didn’t think you were making the biggest mistake of your life, I’d be impressed.” Then he looks up and makes eye contact as he says, “You’ve yet to do that over the last twenty seven years, and now is no different. I can only hope Camden will still want you after the way you’re single-handedly destroying the Reynolds name and legacy. I might have to sweeten the pot for him to ensure the future of the hospital as well as the academy.”
Ignoring the way my eyes burn with tears, and the multiple digs he just took, I force my voice to stay even as I ask, “Is there anything else you need to discuss with me?”
“You mean, since you’ve said your piece and completely derailed our normal beginning of the year debriefing?” I nod and he tucks his phone back into his pocket. “I suppose I should ask who it is you’re interning with, for tracking purposes.”
Is there any other reason for it?“Dr. Lowe. He’s new, part of the?—“
“Transfer? Good god, you really are ruining your life.” My father laughs like he truly believes I’m an idiot. “Have you even been inside that building? Do you know anything about where you’ll be spending the next three hundred and sixty five days?”
Well, that’s pretty damn dramatic.
I’m not moving into the old asylum, I’m just working there during business hours like everyone else on staff, and Dr. Lowe has a sterling reputation in the exact field I’m trying to get into. He’s making it sound like I’m being committed.
“I know enough.” Which is true. “And what I don’t, I’ll learn as I go.” Which is also true.
My father laughs again, packing his briefcase before he closes it and rounds his desk. “Don’t come crawling back to me when this blows up in your face. You’ve burned your lastbridge at Reynolds Memorial, and when you can’t hack it with the criminally insane deviants and their handler, I’ll be all too happy to find you in breach of contract, then deal with you accordingly.”
With those words of encouragement, my dad marches out of his office, waits for me to follow, then escorts his secretary down the hall while I just stand there wondering if I really did make a mistake.
I know I didn’t, this is the first time I’ve ever taken control of my life and that’s exactly what I wanted, he’s just a big enough bastard that he could make me doubt whether or not grass is actually green, so why should this be any different?
TWO
SMILE LIKE YOU MEAN IT
MAGNOLIA
Oh my god, I am so fucking nervous.
Nervous, and really excited.
Reynolds Memorial is huge but it’s been renovated and modernized so many times it’s almost hard to tell that it’s the third largest building in Raevenwood, and it does not even touch the same vibe as the monstrosity before me.
The academy is definitely a close second, especially since both that and the asylum were built within a decade of each other, and by the Blackhurst family, but it doesn’t feel the same, either.
Blackhurst Ridge Asylum was founded right here in this very spot a couple decades after Illinois became a state.
The patriarch of our family, Langford Reynolds, eventually settled and named Raevenwood about five years or so before the asylum was on anyone’s radar. There wasn’t a hell of a lot on the land at the time, mainly just a few small houses and farms, and when Elijah Blackhurst blew into town from New York, he immediately proposed his idea and asked to break ground here.
The asylum and everything that came with it was intimidating at first, Langford was hesitant even though heagreed, but he didn’t want Raevenwood to end up with a negative reputation. Once both alphas saw how construction alone doubled the town’s population, hence increasing taxes that went right into the Reynolds’ accounts, they joined forces to speed things up, and no one worried about much of anything anymore. They went all in together to establish a medical academy, and eventually, a teaching hospital. All of these buildings were initially constructed out of a good place, one to benefit the current members of the community as well as help it prosper, but that didn’t last. Not when the money kept rolling in hand over fist and turned two semi-wealthy men into millionaires.
After it was opened, Blackhurst Ridge was primarily used as a place to dump unwanted family members. Hysterical omegas, a rare, sickly alpha. Anyone with a developmental or physical disability. Even people who, by today’s standards, wouldn’t get state benefits because they wouldn’t come close to meeting current qualifications, but back then it was easier to pawn your family off instead ofdealwith them.
