“You’re acting like Dad.” I shake my head, throat tight.
He turns his head slowly toward me, jaw locked, eyes full of fire.
“Don’t say that shit to me ever again.” His voice is ice. “Go pack your shit. You’re on a flight tomorrow morning.”
“I’m not leaving,” I snap, stepping toward him. “And if I have to, I’ll go live with Jace.”
That gets him.
“Live with Jace?” He laughs—loud, dark, and ugly. He throws his hands up. “You are so delusional. You really think he wants you in his house when he brings women there?”
This is how I know Dom doesn’t actually know his best friend that well. Either because Jace just hasn’t opened up about the topic the same way he did with me, or because Dom was too focused on winning games… but Dom doesn’t know.
I open my mouth to tell him what Jace has told me, but close it again. This isn’t my story to tell, and it’s not my trauma to share.
“That man has had more pussy than ice time. He’s not going to stop, Melody. You’ll go back home, let Mom and Dad find you a nice guy, and live happily ever after, away from men like Jace.”
I blink at him, everything inside me going still.
This isn’t Dominic. This… this is our father’s voice coming out of his mouth—my mother’s words. And I can’t fucking breathe.
I escaped the gilded prison of our family home only to get sent back to it because my brother has clearly not matured enough to see past his nose.
And I can’t fucking breathe.
I straighten slowly, my heart cracking open in my chest.
“I thought you were my sanctuary, Dominic. I thought you were my pillar—the only person who knows how I felt in that house. You’re the one who escaped. You became my hope that I could too. And now? Now you wanna ship me back there?” My voice rises with each word.
He blinks at me, his lips parting and his eyes finally losing that cold fury.
“Have you forgotten what our parents are like? You want to send me back so they can marry me off against my will? Go ahead.”
“That’s not what I wanted to say, Mel,” he tries, taking a step forward, but I cut him off.
“You hate our parents for all the things they’ve done. But, Dom, it took you getting angry to become them.” My voice wavers, but I push through.
His face goes pale, his throat bobbing as he swallows.
“Fuck,” he chokes out, and that’s when I see that his eyes have gone glassy.
“I…” His voice falters. “Melody, I didn’t bring you here to control you. I brought you here because I wanted to be that pillar you need. I wanted to be your goddamn support system. And instead…” He runs a hand down his face. “I was so happy when you told me you’re coming to live with me. I told myself I’d be your big protector and your safety. That I’d never treat you like they did.”
He lifts his eyes again, and they’re red-rimmed. He’s trying to hold back the kind of pain he’s never let anyone see.
“I’m not putting you on any damn plane, Mel. You’re not going anywhere.” He exhales like the words rip out of him. “This is your home. You’ll always have a place here.” He hesitates, then says, quieter, “And I’ll work on being the kind of brother you deserve.”
I swallow, stepping toward him.
“I wouldn’t have kept talking to Jace if I wasn’t sure about him.”
He looks down, nodding once. He’s clearly not willing to talk about Jace right now, so I let him sit on it and watch him. He stands there like he’s ready for me to hit him and walk away and never speak to him again. And for a moment, I want to. I want him to feel it. But then I see something else. Not our father, but my brother—who’s terrified of losing the only family he gives a damn about.
“You want to be my older brother?” I whisper.
He lifts his eyes.
“Then start acting like one, Dom. Not my father—my brother. You don’t get to decide for me. But I am going to need you by my side. And so is Jace.”
