Chapter 26 #2
“I thought you’d bring your Key with you for this visit.”
There it is.
I gave him a smile that I knew was a little more mocking than indulgent. “I’d never bring her here.”
He prodded at the inside of his cheek with his tongue, then nodded before sighing as he took a seat in his pristine leather chair.
It creaked loudly as he sat back comfortably.
He looked as if he wanted to kick his feet up for a moment, then decided against it.
He’d created most of the furniture in this house using his earth affinity, as he liked to remind us when we were younger.
Any damage to the furniture was seen as a personal slight against him.
“You haven’t connected with her,” he said.
I shook my head.
“Why is that?” He kept his eyes downturned at some paperwork on his desk. He liked to believe his green eyes were so piercing that his gaze would intimidate anyone he stared at too long.
He wasn’t exactly wrong. For nearly my entire childhood, the weight of his full attention had been too much to bear.
But now, much like how Carissa’s prettiness no longer affected me, my father’s green gaze fell flat.
I’d been stared down by both an angry Skye and infuriated Zephyr in these past weeks. Their pale eyes were much more piercing and eerie than my father could ever hope to be.
“Wyatt,” he sighed heavily when I didn’t reply. “Wyatt, it is imperative that you connect as soon as possible.”
“I don’t believe that,” I started, but he shook his head to stop me.
“Something is coming. There’s unrest amongst the commoners. The Crown Princess is a joke. There are…others gaining momentum.”
“Others,” I repeated.
He began speaking again, going on and on about the importance of connecting, how much more powerful I could be, blah blah. I glanced around the office, looking for something that could help me disassociate, and holy shit did I find something.
There, on the wall, was a black flag. A black flag with two crimson triangles meeting in the center to form an hourglass.
The same symbol the attackers at the academy wore. The same symbol that Skye had seen right before she made the snap decision to teleport away.
Wait.
I forced my gaze to the ground, breathing in and out slowly so I didn’t arouse my father’s suspicion.
I needed to stay calm. I’d been too fucked up emotionally as of late, and I hadn’t been practicing my mind shields the way I should’ve. Rafe had been on me about it, and I’d waved him off. My father could obliterate me right now if I didn’t play this carefully.
“She wants to take it slow.” I said suddenly, deciding that was the best course of action. If my father found out I’d been rejected, he’d probably have Skye kidnapped.
“So convince her,” he replied, giving me a slightly horrified look. “Why let her dictate this? If she doesn’t understand the importance–”
“The important thing is that she accepts me,” I ground out. “I want this to work out naturally.”
“That’s not the point, son.” My father sighed deeply. “Your affinity could be leaps and bounds more powerful than it is now. Your memory distortion could actually work the way it’s supposed to. Don’t you care about that?”
“Obviously,” I muttered. He loved bringing up my failed affinity, as he called it.
He was endlessly disappointed over it. I was disappointed over my memory scrambling, sure, but my earth and healing affinities were much stronger.
Why my father never chose to focus on what I was really good at was beyond me.
“Then stop messing around,” he growled. “Look how much my earth affinity grew after meeting Lauren. Connecting is not to be taken lightly. It’s something the both of you should want. I could explain it to her. I could–”
I laughed, sudden and sharp. “Try again,” I said darkly. “You’re not meeting her.”
My father clenched his jaw.
“There’s other ways of handling this,” he said slowly, something about his tone setting me on edge. “You know, back in the old days, a female Key couldn’t formally reject her Links. The Links were entitled to her.”
“Entitled…” I said slowly, and my father nodded as it clicked.
What the fuck? Was he really suggesting–
“Are you kidding me?!”
My father dropped his head back as far as it would go before letting out a long, heavy sigh.
“Willow dear,” he started.
“No, what the actual fuck did I just hear you say?! Did you just tell him to force her?!” Willow stood in the doorway, looking absolutely furious.
“Watch your fucking mouth,” he snapped.
Willow pursed her lips, and my eyes widened while I stared at him in shock. I’d never seen my father talk that way to Willow before.
“No,” Willow said after a beat of silence. She straightened her back and crossed her arms. “You just told Wyatt to rape someone, so no, I will not watch my fucking mouth. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Get out,” my father snapped again, raising his voice slightly. “And change out of that ridiculous shit. You look like your mother.”
Willow clenched her jaw, tightening her crossed arms before looking to me. “Anything, Wy?”
“Willow,” my father barked.
“You’re a coward,” she muttered, looking me right in the eye. She stormed out of the office a moment later, her blonde hair flashing in the light before the door slammed behind her.
I sat back in my chair, absolutely dumbfounded.
I was used to my father talking to me that way, but I’d never ever seen him raise his voice at Willow. And what the fuck was that last bit about? She looked like her mother?
I’d always been afraid of my father, but now, I saw him in an uglier light.
I didn’t like that comment. Something was very wrong with that comment. And his lingering disgust only made my dread grow.
“Can you believe that? Where does she think she’s going, dressed like that?” My father waved his hand at the door.
“She’s in her home,” I said quietly. “She can dress however she wants.”
“Well, it’s not her home, is it? It’s mine.”
I blinked.
Something was very, very wrong inside this house.
I stood shakily.
“Thank you for letting me visit,” I said quietly, not trusting my voice at full volume. “I’ll see you again when I can.”
My father didn’t reply, instead letting his gaze burn through me as I let the door slam behind me.
I felt disconnected from my body as I made my way across the house, just wanting to get to Willow’s room. I had to say goodbye before I left. And I needed to explain myself, or…something.
“Oh, there he is.” Mia’s voice drew my attention. She hadn’t been here before, but she was now laying across Willow’s couch, holding a small gaming console. “Hey, Wyatt. I almost didn’t recognize you with your head out of the sand.”
I deserved that one, so I said nothing in reply. I turned my attention to Willow, who wasn’t even fighting off tears. She was still pissed.
“Willow,” I started and she shook her head.
“Leave, Wyatt. I don’t want to see you.”
I ignored her. Then ignored Mia, who had sat up slowly, looking between us. Willow must not have told her what’d happened yet, otherwise the little emo would have been trying to freeze my dick off.
“Willow, why didn’t you tell me?” I whispered. “I could have–”
“Could have what, Wyatt? What would you have fucking done?” Willow narrowed her eyes at me. “You just got to see it firsthand, and you did nothing.”
My mouth opened, but nothing came out. I didn’t know what to say.
She wasn’t wrong.
“He’s been this way for at least the last year. It started off with comments about my shorts, then my tank tops. Now I can’t even wear full lengths pants and a jacket without him getting hard.”
“Willow,” I said harshly.
“What?!” She shoved at my chest. “You know that’s what the fuck it is. I look just like my mom before she got sick!”
I scrubbed a hand down my face. An icky, oily feeling inside me was making my stomach churn.
I’d already known that was the problem, but it was something else entirely to hear it spelled out so clearly.
And if Willow was already aware of the problem, that meant my father had probably said worse things to her than what I’d just witnessed.
“You should go,” Willow said quietly. “No one here wants to see you, Wy.”
My heart cracked.
It was no secret I didn’t know how to interact with my sister.
It was no secret that our relationship was strained, with most of the strain on my end.
Now, I could clearly see how that strain had affected her.
Maybe if I’d been more present, my father wouldn’t have progressed this badly.
Maybe if I’d been here, I could have moved Lauren sooner, gotten her and Willow free from whatever hell existed in this house.
“Willow,” I started again, and she shook her head.
“I’ve never judged you, Wy.” She continued shaking her head as she spoke.
“I know why you act the way you act. I understand why you hold back from me, from my mom. I get it. And you know what? I’ve never once been disappointed in you.
I’ve never once been ashamed of you. I was proud of my last name.
Not because of dad, but because of you.”
My eyes stung from sudden tears. Willow had never told me anything like this. I’d always assumed she maintained a relationship with me out of pity, not any type of actual sibling devotion.
But that was my fault, too. I would’ve known all of this if I’d spent any time with her.
“That changed today,” she said, her voice shaking.
My heart cracked further.
Willow took a deep breath. “You just stood there while dad suggested Skye be violated.” Mia sat up pin-straight, gaming console forgotten as she glared at me with enough heat to melt the Earth’s ice caps.
“Forget her being your Key. Forget her being one of my best friends. She’s a human being, Wyatt.
You claim to hate dad, and yet you just stood there and let him speak that way.
What the fuck is actually wrong with you? ”
“I don’t know,” I said lowly, not trusting my voice with more volume.
She was right. I did just stand there. I always just stood there. How many times had I stood by and allowed him to insult Willow’s affinities? Or Lauren’s? How many times had I remained silent, only because I was glad it wasn’t me he was ragging on?
“No one cares that your mommy and daddy got divorced, Wyatt. They care that you’re a coward who’d rather roll over than stand up for something you believe in.
If you weren’t my brother, I’d be glad Skye rejected you.
If you weren’t my brother, I’d tell her to never forgive you, because it’s not worth it.
You, as the man you are now, would never be worth it. ”
Willow stormed past me, only leaving flowery perfume in her wake. I turned, my vision blurring from tears, just in time to catch Mia glaring at me so hard, frost was beginning to cover the coffee table in front of her.
My feet echoed along the marble flooring as I saw myself out, Jeeves having disappeared in preparation for his punishment. My vision blurred every so often, but no tears actually fell. I pushed open the door, cringing at the freezing cold breeze that hit me.
As I made my way toward the iron gate that enclosed the property, I shivered. I was completely soaked through with rain, my socks even squishing in my boots. I’d forgotten my coat at the house, but I wouldn’t be going back for it.
No, the only time I would come back to this place was to take my sister and her mother with me. I turned and looked back at the looming silhouette with new resolve.
It was time for things to change.
I glanced down at my phone and sent a text to Rafe.
Me
Come get me