The whole family was.
Dean stopped smiling for a year, Parker stayed inside, and Preston…well, he didn’t change. At least not that I noticed, but he didn’t really hang out with the rest of us. It was more like he lurked. Even as a kid, he was creepy.
“Maybe our guest would like a drink?”
What?
“No—” I was too late.
Ava was up and over here, dumping water down my throat before I could say another word. No one could swallow that fast, so most of it ended up on my shirt. Sputtering and coughing, I tried to move my head out of the way. I never thought I’d drown from a cup of water.
“What the hell are you doing?”
I never thought I’d be happy to hear Preston’s voice, either. But I could’ve kissed him when Ava sang, “She was thirsty.”
She pulled the cup away from my mouth, and I turned my head. Everything else faded away.
All I saw was the deep crimson staining every inch of Parker. Literally, I couldn’t find a spot of clean skin. His face, arms, and hands were completely covered, and I could taste the coppery tinge surrounding him.
Parker looked like the personification of murder. Preston didn’t have a single speck of blood or dirt on his clean clothes.
This was why Riley called Preston ‘Death.’
“Son,” Dean tsked. “You need a shower.”
What kind of reaction was that? How about what the hell did you do? Who did you hurt? How many bodies are out there? Hell, I’d have settled for a firm, disappointed shake of the head—anything but that father-of-year smile.
I couldn’t hold back anymore. “You’re all crazy!”
“Hey,” Ava scolded. “Crazy isn’t a nice word.”
“No, it’s an accurate word,” I stated.
I didn’t think there was a more accurate word to describe this family.
“Calm down, Little Bird.” Preston walked over and began untying my binds. “It’s time to go home.”
My anger caused my vision to narrow. “You and I have very different definitions of what home is.”
Home was a place where one should feel safe to relax and unwind. The gilded cage he had for me hardly met those parameters.
“Uh-huh. What kind of home did you come from?” His cold gray eyes rolled up to mine. “Did mommy and daddy treat you well?”
My teeth gritted. “That’s none of your business.”
“Oh, but it is Little Bird. I don’t like other people marking my property.”
“I’m not your property.”
“You’ve always been mine.” He dropped his gaze back down my binds. “Despite all those scars on your back.”
Everyone in the room heard that comment. Parker’s face filled with sadness while Ava’s eyes widened, and Dean touched my shoulder.
“Did someone hurt you?”
The pit in my stomach dropped, and I was kneeling in the rain again back at my parent’s home. My father’s voice tickled at the back of my mind as my thumb grazed over the cross burned into my palm. I may not have had a place where I felt safe, but I had Trina. My sister was my home. I didn’t need anyone else.
“Get off me.” I shrugged Dean’s hand off my shoulder.
