He doesn’t have to specify which classroom or when she was in it. We both know the truth.
“Yeah.”
“That is how he punished Lillian. The only difference is it was just Lillian, Malakai, and me in that room. He reenacted what he made me do to Lillian, and he used you and the other guys to do it. If my assumptions are correct, Malakai Harris is trying to turn Aria into her mother, but worse. I think he wants her to be completely dependent on him—brainwash her. He's not going to stop until he destroys who she is and turns her into who he wants her to be."
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
KAI
My jaw has been ticking uncontrollably since I walked out of the hospital. A part of me wants to turn around and beat the shit out of Rowe but there's the nagging voice in the back of my head keeping me on my path.
Aria is safe in the hospital. The nurses and doctors won't let her leave with anyone.
Tom is probably busy spending time with his daughter.
I have my weekly visits to make—my rounds, so to speak.
I drive through town and make my way to the seedy neighborhood of Sugar Cove, the slums of Royal City. I hate this neighborhood, but it's my responsibility to keep Delaney Kade in check. If not me, she'll explode and her kids have to deal with the fallout of that crack whore.
I park in front of the decrepit house with yellow shutters. There's trash all over the lawn as if she hosted a house party last night.
Fucking basket case.
She needs to get her shit together or she'll deal with my wrath. No one wants that.
I don't knock. I push the door open and step into the living room—just as trashed as the front yard. Delaney lifts her head from her seat on the couch, looking as loopy and drugged out as possible.
"Malakai, I should've figured," she grumbles before pushing the fake blue hair out of her face. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"You need to clean yourself up," I growl as I kick the door shut, irritated by her dismissiveness.
She knows why I'm here. It's been a constant cycle since I moved back to Royal City. Every Monday I stop by to make sure there's food in the house and no douchebag haunting around.
"Fuck off, Harris. I'm doing just fine. I just got laid off. I'm allowed a few days before getting a new job." She's such a liar.
"You haven't held a job for more than a few weeks since you got pregnant the first time. You think I don't know that you whore yourself out in exchange for drugs? You get your weekly check so you continue living for your habit instead of taking care of your kids."
I really don't like who she has become. She was once a vibrant woman with drive and a lot of spunk, but one abusive husband seems to be all it took to break her.
"Don't judge me, Kai! Like you're so fucking perfect. You're so fucking obsessed with my dead sister that you've remained a cold fish for over twenty years. At least I just numb my emotions. You don't feel anything at all."
I wish that were true. I wish I never felt a single thing, but there are things that bring my humanity back. Things like Aria, and every once in a while, Rowe.
Delaney was once Delaney Harper, Teigan's little sister. Not only that but she's also Rowe's mother.
It messed with Delaney when her sister died, and she went on a downward spiral until she got pregnant with Rowe. She got better for a while, met a guy who turned out to be abusive, and descended back into hell.
"I'm not completely heartless," I admit spitefully. "I'm here, aren't I?"
"You're here because you feel guilty that my sister is dead, and you knocked me up eighteen years ago," she states with venom in her voice.
She's not wrong. We were both drunk that night, and it remains one of my most regretful moments—I screwed my dead girlfriend's little sister. It didn't faze me much when she told me she was pregnant, but I took care of her the best I could. She got a bank deposit every week to care for her and Rowe.
I wasn't involved at all for years … until I moved back to Royal City and Rowe ended up on one of the teams I was coaching. I knew exactly who he was when I saw him. The apple didn't fall far from the tree in looks or talents.
If I could've felt anything, I might've been proud.
"I also pay your bills and got rid of your dickwad ex. Show some fucking gratitude, alright?"
