Chapter 47 #2
I’m about to speak when I hear footsteps behind me. Quick walking at first, then slowing because this person obviously didn’t expect to find us here.
I turn, and instantly my lungs forget what they’re supposed to do.
Those eyes. His eyes. Same impossible sapphire blue, but not burning wild like Tom’s. Hers are calm, with a hint of something pure. They have a magnetic pull on me and it throws me off. Comfort isn’t supposed to come this easy to me, especially not in a place like this.
“Hi, I’m Effy,” she says with the softest voice. She gives me a friendly smile, but underneath that tone I feel guarded cat energy. She’s reading me the same way I’m reading her.
She shifts the plate of pastries to her right hand, offering me her left.
“I… I’m Yosh,” I manage.
“Nice to meet you, Yosh. Welcome to Heatherfell, my home.”
My home. Not our home, despite all the people in the room that grew up here. Interesting.
Effy turns and walks back to the group.
Tom described her exactly like this, modest. A wallflower. But the thing is, she has this golden glow around her. She isn’t chasing the spotlight like her sister Joan does, she is the spotlight without even trying, or wanting to.
Amber curls, loosely braided over her shoulder—she’s Tom. Same eyes, same hair, same expression and features. This is so bizarre.
I search Tom’s face for a reaction. Nothing. The idiot shuts her out like she isn’t even in the room. And I know right then, this is going to be rough.
“Come, come, I’ll introduce you to everyone!” Joan grabs my hand, guiding me into the living area.
Tom follows, but his face is numb and distant.
Names start firing at me and they all find a place in my head.
Luca. Eli. Janice. Alex. Mary. Sergei. Neutral greetings mixed with the more distant why on earth are you here?
Finn leans in for a cheek kiss. I clasp his slender hand tight, perhaps a little painful, but I need to make a point; I do not appreciate scratches in my palm.
My bro hug with Calvin goes much smoother, and for the first time since stepping through that door, I feel relief. I’m happy to see a familiar face from my world.
“Hey Cal, straight in from Miami?” I ask. He tugs me aside, steering us out of the crowd.
I glance back at Tom. He’s working his way through greetings, everyone he hasn’t seen in months. When he gets to Effy, it’s just a quick hug.
“Dude, what the hell?” He slicks a strand of hair back into his bun. “Get out of here. Now. Tiffy’s going to kill me if something happens to you!”
I lean back a little, folding my arms. “What do you think’s going to happen to me?”
His eyes dart sideways, scanning for eavesdroppers.
“Listen. There are tools in the shed. Take a pair of scissors, go into the forest by the South House, and cut your way through the fence. Keep going straight into the woods. After like twenty minutes, you’ll find a road.
Follow it west until you get into town. From there you can take a train back to Amsterdam. Fucking run and don’t look back.”
Clear instructions coming from Calvin, the master of escape routes. It makes me wonder if they all have their own exit plan.
Everyone’s smiling, laughing even, but I feel tensions simmering. Are they putting on a show? Are they really happy to be here?
Some maybe. Not all.
Janice gives Calvin a quick nod to come over, like he’s not supposed to be talking to me. Her name clicks the moment I notice the burn scars along her neck. She shoots me a look before draping an arm over Calvin’s shoulders and steering him back to the group.
Beside me, I catch Finn grabbing Tom’s wrist. My hearing sharpens.
“Why did you bring him here?” Finn hisses. “You know the rules. You looking for ways to kill yourself, mate?”
My eyes slide to the window. To Tom’s car.
Sprint. Engine. Gate.
Could I crash through if I had to?
Why does this feel like a Scandinavian noir where someone won’t make it to morning and every person in the room has both motive and opportunity?
Fuck, what did I get myself into? The things you do for love.
I glance back at the door. Okay, it’s now or never. I’ll sling Tom over my shoulder if I have to.
Before I can make my move, the doors beside me slam open.
Everyone stops talking.
They turn.
Heels on the wooden floorboards. It’s not even that loud, but the clicks sound dramatic in the silence.
Here they are.
Of course my eyes find Jay first; he’s tall. More than that, it’s how he presents himself, sleek copper hair slicked back perfectly, not a strand out of place. His hazel eyes scan the room.
I think he’s checking not only who’s here, but how they’re here. If anyone’s different. If anyone’s weak or hiding something.
His whole energy reminds me of my military days. Projecting authority was something drilled into me aggressively back then. With Jay, it’s simply who he is.
Beside him must be Cheryl.
She’s an elegant woman, auburn hair pinned up, pearl earrings, wearing an emerald-green dress. She looks soft to me, like a mother figure. A counterweight to Jay’s dominance, or at least the role she plays.
Because I remember everything Stella said about this family, and it shows.
Jay is exactly what he looks like, a predator.
But Cheryl? She could be dangerous in a different way.
Jay takes a step toward Tom, his strong, muscled hand landing on Tom’s smaller shoulder.
“There he is,” he says. “Our lost little brother.”
My shoulders tense at the way he speaks to Tom, dripping with disdain. Tom stands rooted to the floorboards, eyes searching for me.
Pineapple cookie. Pineapple cookie.
Say the words, Sapphire. Or even give me a nod and I’ll get you out.
Nothing leaves Tom’s lips.
Meanwhile, Jay has turned his gaze on me.
“Sorry,” he says, a cynical laugh, a scoff. “Who are you?”
This is the moment where I need to give it everything, or Jay will eat me alive. That said, manipulators aren’t exactly new to me. I know a few tricks about how to play this game.
“Jay.” I call him by name deliberately. “I’m Doctor Yoshiro Aoki. I’ve been guiding Tom during his time in Arcadia.”
I step forward. I don’t extend my hand. That’s his move to make.
I wait.
He leaves me hanging. His eyes snap back to Tom.
“WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU!?”
“Jay, please, listen…” Tom tries. I watch him crumble in front of his big brother.
It’s happening right before my eyes. His confidence, that playful puppy energy that became mine to love, the endless puns, even the spark in his eyes; it’s all disappeared.
My Tom isn’t standing there anymore. Jay has erased him.
Fuck.
“Jay!” I shout his name louder than I intended, but I have his attention. Oh boy, do I have his attention now.
My heart pounds. I force myself to stay upright. Don’t bend. Hold your ground.
“Here,” I say calmly, handing him the bottle of whiskey. “For your hospitality.”
I keep my gaze fixed on him, determined not to look away.
Jay takes the bottle while staring back at me. His lashes lower to the present in his hands. The corner of his mouth curls upward as he rolls the bottle between his palms.
“Bourbon,” he says with a nod, “… from Kentucky.” Eli huffs a laugh, others start laughing too.
Only when I see Tom beside me, looking like he wants to dig a hole and disappear, do I realize I’d fucked up big time.
Tom had still been in an antique shop when I walked into the liquor store. The owner had praised this bottle as the best whiskey to impress someone, and I—stupid, stupid, stupid—just took it without even paying attention to what I was actually buying.
Jay sets the bottle on the side table; now he’s totally done with me.
Mary comes over, taking the bottle from the side table in one quick sweep. Without a word, she carries it to what I assume is the kitchen. Probably to get it out of Jay’s sight, pouring it straight down the drain.
Oh fuck. It’s worse than that. I hear an outside door open. Glass clinking as the bottle is thrown far, far away. Meanwhile I try my best to suppress a nervous laugh.
Did I just curse their house?
Jay clears his throat. “The two of you, in my office.”
Everyone stays quiet. They’re allowing Jay’s terror to happen. All of them.
This is challenging on so many levels. I feel a darkness that I’ve carefully suppressed for years bubbling up from the depths of my mind, ready to take me over.
Not now. Please, adrenaline, do your damn job.
And then, someone does stand up.
“Dad, please. Don’t do this.”
It’s Effy.
“Princess, let me discuss this with Tom and the outsider.”
I scoff at those words; it’s immediately noticed by everyone. My umpteenth mistake in this short time.
“Go ahead, Tom knows the way. I need to disinfect my hands.”
Tom’s lips are on me before I even manage to close the door. Greedy hands clutch my waist, sliding down to grab my ass and slam me against his thickening cock.
“The fuck, Yosh? I can’t believe you—” He cradles my face, kissing me hard. “Fuck, love… I get so hard when you go rogue. That fucking creek water, in this house.” His tongue is in my mouth, wet and sloppy, groaning between nips at my lips.
“Jay…” Another sharp nip, “…He’s so fucking offended. You’re driving me crazy, the way you stood there. You—”
He devours me, and I kiss him back just as wild and greedy. But then I hear a sound and push him away.
“Love, please…” he begs, fumbling with his belt.
“Are you insane!? Jay could walk in any second.”
“You make me so horny. I won’t even last ten seconds. Please, please.” He throws in those precious sapphires eyes, and that’s low, because he knows I can’t resist them.
My eyes check the office: art deco, emerald and gold. There”s antlers over the fireplace, whiskey glinting in crystal carafes, and a massive mahogany desk in the center of the room.
Fuck it. I lift him onto Jay’s desk before jabbing my finger into his chest. “Ten seconds, Tom.”
And with that, I’ve got no time to waste. I drop to my knees, shove his jeans down just enough. His cock springs free, already hard and dripping.