Page 26 of Where He Ended

“What did he do?” I whisper, my nerves on edge.

The last color drains from her face. “There was no way he could know. I only told one other person, but somehow, Vahn . . .” She's trembling now. Her hands fly up, burying in her scalp, digging in as she grimaces. “Laiken, please, I'm not paranoid! I swear I'm not! But I was good, and sweet, and proper, and, and I did everything they asked me to. It wasn't that hard, they were allso nice to me.So nice, so caring.”

Tears boil from the corners of her eyes. “Kara, calm down.” I reach for her knee; she jumps, locking her stare with mine. She can't hide the trauma in her face. I've never seen her so exposed.

“It didn't matter how good I'd been,” she whispers, her voice crumbling. “Not after Bernard was gone. His uncle became a different person. It was just us in that house. It was a year of him alternating between ignoring me, then cornering me, abusing me. Sometimes he'd be sweet again, and we'd sit, and he'd talk about his son.” She smiles, but it's all the wrong shape. “It got worse before it got better.” Her fingers fan through her hair, teasing it. “I never told anyone but Bernard about our promise. How could Vahn know if he wasn't recording my every move?”

The world stops spinning. It has to in order for me to accept what she's said.

I finally know who chopped off her hair.

A shuddering breath rolls through me. My tongue is dry, while my palms are soaked. The pressure behind my eyeballs warns me I'm going to cry again, but it's like I don't have the strength anymore. There's nothing left in me.

When we were both little, our mother would slide our heads into her lap. One of us on her right, one on the left, and she'd play with our hair while she hummed a song. It was Heaven, lying in her warmth. Feeling so safe. So cared for.

“Laiken?” Kara asks, not fighting me as I press her down on the bed. Carefully I place her head in my lap, on top of Dominic's huge jacket, her body curled up beside my leg. She's shaped like a knot that can't be undone, and now I know that there are knots inside of her, too.

“Shh,” I hush. “It's okay. I'm so, so sorry you went through all of that, Kara. I really am. It's awful. We’ve both suffered more than anyone ever should but it's okay now.”Right now, you're safe,I think. I want it to be true. It almost feels like it is.

Her eyes shut. There's wetness on her cheek, but it dries, fades, the longer I stroke her hair. I play with the pieces, measuring them, imagining how long they were before Vahn cut them off. I wonder if her number of braid loops would have beat mine.

I don't know how much time passes. I think she's asleep, until she speaks under her breath. “I love you, Laiken.”

“I love you, too.” It's the easiest thing to say.

She puts her hand on the jacket zipper then looks up at me. “This is his, isn't it?”

“Yes.” I don't want to tell her what I did to the dress. Or what I did with Dominic after it was off of me.

Kara looks at it, touching the surface, dwelling on something. “He really did save you tonight.” She glances up at me. “I'm going to be honest. I still don't trust him.”

My hand stills on her head. “How can you say that?”

“Laiken . . .”

“Youjust saidhe saved me.”

I feel her resigned sigh through my bones. “One good deed doesn't erase his sins.” She reaches out for my wrist, but I yank my arm away. “Listen to me. Would you forgive his parents, after what they did to you tonight, if they helped you tomorrow?”

I can't look at her. I study the blanket instead. “It's not the same.”

“It is.”

“It's not! Kara, Dominic isn't like his parents.”

Sitting up, she moves away from me. Instantly, I want to go back to touching her hair, to comforting her. “I'm grateful to him for protecting you.” She shows me her profile, her single eye hidden by a layer of lashes. All I can read is her tight frown. “But I'll never be able to forgive him for what he did.”

I can't understand how we can go from reconnecting seconds ago, to this cavernous distance again. Is it really because of Dominic? If I rejected him, could I have the relationship I long for with my sister?

The mattress springs rustle as she stands. Opening my door, she waits a moment. Her shoulders aren't slumped. Her voice is cool and empty. You'd never guess that she was sobbing in my lap a little while ago. “I really am glad you're okay,” she whispers. “But I'll tell you this one last time. Keep away from Dominic. His kindness comes with a price.”

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