Page 59 of Broken by my Bully
He chuckles. “Oh no. New York originally. Then the west coast for a while. But it always felt like I was surrounded by strangers wherever I went. So many people stream past you on the street, day in, day out, but you’ll never see the same face twice. Never get to learn their stories. What makes them tick.”
“Never thought about it like that,” I murmur.
“You don’t know what you don’t know, Haven.” He inhalesanother deep breath, huffs it out with obvious enjoyment. “Never thought I’d like small-town living until I got here. But this place? All these lives, so tight-knit. Like a tangle of wool. Everyone’s connected. It’s fascinating.”
Is that why he offered to bring me to his house to pick up a textbook? Because he’s fascinated by me?
As if.
The only interesting thing about me is how I’ve managed to survive this long without slitting my wrists.
We turn onto a smaller single-lane road. This one cuts straight through the trees like an arrow shaft until a sharp turn takes us out of sight of the road.
Bastian’s done a lot to make me feel comfortable, but unease still trickles down my neck.
Nowhere to run. Not that I’ll need to.
No one to hear me scream.
Just me and Bastian.
The road takes another sharp bend. A house emerges from the forest.
Bastian stops the car, and I lean forward to take it in.
Whoever built it was a genius. Despite harsh geometric lines, gleaming reflective windows, and its pitch-black solar panels, the dark concrete seems to blend with the pale trunks of the trees forming its backdrop.
The darkening sky draws deeper shadows between those trees, helping the house blend in. Rainy days always held a strange fascination for me. They were always so intense. Moody and magical. Me and Kai would find the thickest patch of scree and hide out under its dripping canopy, playing at shipwrecked sailors, or soldiers hiding in a trench.
The shadows between those trees look so inviting.
I could just slip into them and disappear forever.
“So? Did I pass the vibe check, Miss Lee?” Bastian asks in a hush.
“For now,” I murmur, snapping out of my dismal thoughts. I lean back, nodding.
“Sit tight. I’ll be right back.”
It’s not a request. The casual authority in his voice makes me want to both rebel and obey. I choose obey only because my legs feel too shaky right now.
Anyway, I should be relieved that I’m not pushing my stupidity to a whole new level by going inside with him.
So why do I feel so insulted, then?
He’s barely taken two steps from the car before he stops, hesitates, and walks back to the driver’s side. Ducking his head inside the car, Bastian leans his elbows on the rim of his window as he studies me.
“Feels rude not to invite you inside,” he says, flicking his hands.
I swallow.
Don’t do it, Haven. Don’t you fuckingdaredo it.
“What if I go in there and you have a hundred animal heads on the walls?”
“No taxidermy, scout’s honor.” Bastian smiles.
Like truly, widely,warmlysmiles. That’s when I know I’ve fallen so far down this fucking rabbit hole, the only way I’m getting out is if someone tosses down a ladder.
