Page 53 of Blood Ties
IKNOW KNOX WAS DOWNin the basement today. I’m scared of facing it. Facing her. But it’s not fair to Riley to avoid her because of my own guilt. So at night, once the house is quiet and I’m sure Knox is up in his room, I head down to the basement with some food and water.
I stop short at the bottom of the stairs. Riley’s backpack is upturned on the floor, her stuff scattered all over the concrete. Makeup ground into powder, books overturned with pages ripped out, clothes everywhere. Everything out of reach of where she sits on the mattress, looking very small and alone with her arms wrapped around her knees. Her head rests on top of them, her hair falling forward to obscure her face. She doesn’t even look up as I approach. There’s a defeated slump to her shoulders that I haven’t seen since those early days when she refused to eat.
A lump forms in my throat as realization strikes: Knox came here, just like he promised, and he did something even worse than I thought.
?Chapter Twenty-Seven
Riley
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“KNOX DID THIS?” KAIasks.
I slowly lift my head to peer at him through my tangled hair, and dip my chin in a nod. I’m afraid the anger will boil over if I speak.He did this, and you weren’t here.
Kai sets a bowl of stew on the edge of the mattress. Then he bends down and starts wordlessly gathering my belongings. He folds the clothes, closes the books, places everything carefully in my bag. But even when he hands it to me, I can’t bring myself to fake gratitude. The most important thing is still gone.
He pauses, crouched beside the mattress, staring at me. It takes me a moment to realize he’s looking at the bite mark Knox left on my neck. It’s only gotten uglier, my skin painted in purples and blues.
“Yeah, he did that too,” I say, flatly.
“Fuck,” he whispers. He clenches a fist on his lap, knuckles going white. “Sorry. I wish... I wish I could help.”
You can, I want to scream. I fucking hate the way he looks at me with those big puppy-dog eyes as if he’s helpless in this scenario too. He acts like he cares, but if that was true, then he would let me out of here. He thinks he’s better than his brother just because he doesn’t hurt me, but he’s the one who put me in the basement in the first place.
But I swallow back the urge to claw his eyes out. Force myself to be soft and gentle the way he likes me. “Thank you,” I whisper. “If... if you really mean it, then there is one thing.” I bite my lip. This is a risk, but it’s one I have to take. “Knox stole something from me. My birth control. Could you maybe... see if he’s keeping it in his room or something? And bring it back to me?”
Kai hesitates, his brow furrowing.
I don’t have to fake the tears welling up in my eyes. I just have to let out the emotions I’ve been struggling to keep down. “Please,” I say, voice trembling. “I can’t get pregnant down here. Ican’t. I’d rather die, Kai.”
He sucks in a deep breath, and finally nods. “I’ll try.”
Tears spill down my cheeks. “Thank you.”
“What’s it look like?”
