Page 56 of His White Moonlight
She was quiet for a long moment.“You just got home and don’t know the area well.I would feel better if you waited until Bennett wasn’t busy.”
“And I would feel better if I were treated like an adult and not a child who has zero common sense.”
“Oh, sweetie, that’s not what?—”
I hung up on her, turned around, and walked out of his room.
Something crashed behind me, but I didn’t care about his poor, rich-boy meltdown.I was trying to avoid my own.
CHAPTER NINE
Mom tried callingme a million times.So did Grandma and Dad.Apparently, they hadn’t involved Aiden and Karter yet because they didn’t call.Not even once.Bennett knocked on my door countless times, though.Thankfully, he never came in, even when I didn’t respond to him.
Was I sulking?No.I was plotting.
They thought they could keep me caged…controlled…but I was done living like that.
I spent the remainder of Sunday making plans to meet up with Sophia for lunch on Tuesday.It was the only guaranteed time I would be able to get away without someone noticing I was gone.
Since I had no bed, I slept in Karter’s.It didn’t smell like the person I remembered, which made me sad and made me wonder if that part of my life was gone for good.
A soft repetitive sound brought me out of my sleep enough to recognize someone pacing.The low murmur of Bennett’s voice assured me who it was and lulled me back to sleep.
In the morning, Karter’s door was open, but the hall was empty.
I quietly crept back into my room and started to get ready for work.When I emerged from my room, I interrupted Bennett’s pacing in the hallway.
He was impeccably dressed as always, but the look in his eyes was unsettling.Not angry exactly.Definitely a little off kilter—understandable since he’d been pacing in the middle of the night and was probably only running on a few hours of sleep.
Which was why, when he took a step toward me, I retreated one and grabbed my door.
He held up his hands and took a step back.
“I just wanted to ask if we should stop to get something to eat on the way to work, and if you wanted to drive.”
“I can drive?”I asked, surprised.
“Of course.”
“You say ‘of course’ as if things are a given, but we both know they’re not.They literally have to be given to me.”
He bared his teeth for a second.I didn’t think it was at me, but more at what I was saying.I didn’t know why it mattered to him so much.Had Mom and Dad bribed him?Were they paying him to make nice with me or something?Make Wrenly happy so she’ll stay?It wasn’t going to work.
“I know you’re disappointed,” he said slowly.“I swear I’m trying to find ways to make things better.Please give me a chance.”
I wasn’t exactly sure what he was talking about, but I nodded anyway because he looked like he was two seconds from throwing something again.Since I was the nearest object not attached to the house in some way, I figured it’d be wise not to provoke him further.
“I’ll pass on driving to work, and I’m not really that hungry yet.”
“You didn’t eat much yesterday.”
“I’m aware.Are you telling me I have to eat?”
“No,” he said quickly.“If you change your mind, let me know.”
“Okay.”
The ride to work seemed more tense than it had the week before.The silence was the same, but his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel wasn’t.We rode up the elevator together, and Walt happened to join us again on the lobby elevator.
