22. Lennie #2
“But you asked Elijah to help get rid of the monster. So did he?”
“I think so.”
Her brow lifts. “I haven’t heard of him dumping any bodies in the harbor lately.”
Okay, so maybe she would fit in with Isolde and Ren. “Getting rid of and killing aren’t mutually exclusive.”
She ponders the idea, running her hand through Albert’s fur. “You know not freaking Mom out about this Leopold guy is one thing. Dating Elijah and hiding it from her is another.”
“You know Mom.”
“I know Elijah too,” she replies. “He’s letting you keep him as a dirty secret. Why?”
“Because I asked him too.” I frown. “He’s respecting my wishes.”
Her brow wrinkles slightly. “You’re wearing his T-shirt.”
I glance at the shirt.
“You really like him?”
“Yes.” I’m completely sure of it.
“Like like?”
“Yes.” I roll my eyes this time.
“You love him.”
A silence stretches around us. Adeline’s face stays blank, but I can’t understand if there’s a tinge of sadness or yearning underneath.
Whatever it is, it’s not confusion. She states my feelings like they’re facts.
Mom says she knew Dad was the one for her the moment she laid eyes on him. All around us, other couples divorced or remarried. Lia’s dad has about five mistresses and he’s not the only one.
I’m a naturally cautious person. It’s easy to get swept up. Of course, someone who comes in and wrecks my life—wrecks my body—will have a profound effect on me.
As much as I tell myself to be careful, there’s a gentle wave of calm and peacefulness. I know if I mention it, no one will believe me. This is Elijah Zimin. He’s made a name for himself by twisting those around him for fun.
But I could sit with Elijah and watch paint dry and I’d be happy. Just sitting near him, talking or not, I feel better.
And when I get annoyed, I escape to the bedroom with a book. He brings me water and a snack and leaves me alone. Though, he does wander back in after a while and ends up doing wicked things with his tongue to me.
“It’s new,” I tell her. But the path is set. I know it and so does my sister.
“You should tell Mom.”
I gear myself up for a fight.
“I’m not saying it to annoy you,” she says. “But it’s obvious you’re dating someone. You’re gone all weekend. You don’t come home for dinner on the weeknights. She’s already nagging Dad about your security team. She doesn’t like that you don’t have anyone on you.”
“Because I don’t want anyone on me.” I wiggle my legs, Albert picking his head up in response. I should mention Ivan is around, but I can’t. It feels like that proves her and Mom’s point.
“We all get annoyed with the amount of security we have, but it’s better to talk to her than flat out lie,” Adeline says. I’m taken aback by how mature she sounds. This is the same baby sister who wreaked havoc our whole lives?
“I’m not flat out lying,” I grumble under my breath. “Which of Elijah’s stories finally made you figure it out?”
She holds up her phone. She screenshotted Elijah’s story from yesterday, the one where he pretended to read my dark romance. “Mom’s going to catch on soon. And she’s going to be pissed she’s the last to know.”
I grab for her phone.
She dodges. “I understand now why he’s posting. He never posts about his dating life on social media. These are discreet, but if Leopold already thinks you’re dating, they’d help confirm it.”
“I just thought he was being a simp,” I say under my breath.
Her shoulders fall for the first time. “Oh, big time.” She scrolls to a story from a couple of weeks back. It’s a snapshot of snickerdoodle cookies. My favorite.
“He likes to bake,” I defend, blushing.
“Who knew,” Adeline teases. But she grows serious again. “I noticed you acting strangely after your date with Leopold.”
My baby sister is taking better care of me than I am of her. It should be the other way around.
“Yeah, I freaked out a bit,” I admit. Ren, Isolde, and Janis keep telling me not to minimize my fear, but I keep wondering if I overreacted. Yes, it brought me to Elijah and I wouldn’t have it any other way, but what if it’s all in my head?
It’s not.
I hate how I have to keep reminding myself of this fact.
“It’s not just that,” Adeline admits. “You stopped reading.”
All I can do is stare at her.
“When you’re sad you don’t read,” she says softly. “But then you started reading a lot and Elijah began posting things that made me think of you. Finally I decided to call your bluff and show up here. I staked it out for an hour waiting for a sign of you before I texted.”
“You were outside for an hour?” A swell of laughter lifts my chest. I’d rather think of Ads outside while I read on the couch than think about her earlier statement.
She’s right, though. I don’t read when I’m sad and I’m surprised she noticed.
Books are my favorite comfort, but when I’m truly sad, when the dark gray turns completely black and the swirls overtake me, I don’t want to read about happy people in books with happy endings.
It’s too hard.
When life is going okay, it gets easier to read about good things. I’m not as bothered about all the main characters living amazing lives. Having incredible experiences.
I bite the inside of my lip. I didn’t realize my sister saw through me so much and it’s scary. How do I explain that I never talked to her because she’s one of those people with all these great things in her life? Boys and friends and a pretty face and body.
Except the way she stares at me now, I can’t help but understand that I’ve miscalculated my sister all this time.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She pets Albert, not speaking right away. “Lying about a fling is one thing. But I don’t ever want you to think that you need to hide important things like a potential stalker from me, your own sister.”
“From now on, you’re the first person I’ll go to.” Lord have mercy on the person because hell hath no fury like Adeline Akatov.
“Promise,” she demands.
“Promise.”
“And tell Mom before it bites you in the ass.”
I sigh, but agree. “She’s the next person I’m going to tell. I promise.”
I’m not sure it fully satisfies her, but she takes it. “He’s really okay? Elijah.”
I nod, happy to confirm. “No one will believe it but he’s a total sweetheart.”
She levels me with a look but her voice is almost shy when she asks, “He hasn’t forced you into anything you don’t like?”
“No," I say evenly, but I understand why she asks. It shouldn’t be necessary, but unfortunately it is.
But I’m also not prepared to dish out all the ways he’s taken my body willingly. His dark voice curls my toes in a way that’s the very opposite of sweetheart. He makes me happy and she has the Instagram stories to prove it.
“Okay.” She picks herself off the floor. Her pale face looks ten years older than twenty-two.
“Thanks for checking on me.” I sling an arm around her shoulder.
She holds onto me, squeezing tight. “Go ahead and call me mom, but I don’t ever want anything to happen to you.”
I open the bedroom door, my heart ten sizes bigger.
“Is he watching hockey?” she asks confused. Two guys start wailing on each other, sticks flying. “Oh, no never mind. That makes sense.”
Elijah’s on the couch, watching a recorded game. He nods at Adeline but adds nothing. She narrows her eyes.
“Your body will be in the harbor if you do anything stupid,” she promises on her way out.