Chapter 34
Wyatt
I scowled as I polished one of my rocks. There was a big, greasy fingerprint right in the center of it, and only one asshole would think to do something like that.
Rafe.
He was always messing with my little trinkets. Currently, a silvery-blue geode was missing, which meant he’d probably taken it when I was distracted over everything on my desk being glued down.
That little geode was special, and I wanted it back. The color reminded me of Skye’s eyes. I’d bought it right after meeting her, and I kept it on the shelf right in my eye-line so I could see it.
I shook my head, flopping down into my chair and eyeing my father’s court manifest. I’d read it front to back several times, and each time I reread it, I grew more and more certain that Rafe was right.
Regina Wilson had a meltdown when confronted with her lover’s past and ended up killing dozens of people as a result.
Jealousy was a vile thing. Wilson had destroyed countless lives because of it. My father had left my mother because of it.
I’d pushed Skye away because of it.
I needed my own therapist at this point, but there was no way in hell I’d be having a conversation with Carissa. My first feeling every morning when I saw her office door open was relief that I’d never have to argue with her again.
I was just about to check my schedule when there was a knock at the door.
I called for them to come in, then held in a sigh.
The door swung open, and one of the newer students, River Mac, strode inside.
He was tall, only slightly taller than me.
His dark hair was long on top, falling into his eyes in a way that women probably liked.
Today, he wore a deep blue hoodie, and his hair was a bit damp.
“Is it raining out there?” I asked, glancing through my windows into the overcast sky.
River looked at me like I was a complete idiot, smoothed his expression, then shook his head. “I was in the gym,” he muttered.
“Ah,” I replied.
Great. He was a dick.
The only thing worse than someone who discussed their trauma at too deep a length were people who didn’t want to discuss anything at all. River didn’t seem like the small talk type, so I decided to go right for the issue.
“So, you attacked a student,” I said.
River’s blue eyes practically glowed through the dark of his hair. “Yeah.”
“Okay. And you understand that was wrong?” I said slowly.
River worked his jaw before shrugging.
“What’s the shrug mean?” I asked.
“I guess it was wrong.”
I blinked back an eye-roll. Holy shit, this kid was going to be rough. Usually, I’d ask more guiding questions to get them to open up, but I could already see my usual tactics wouldn’t be working on River.
“Why do you guess it was wrong?”
“Because the rules say it was.”
“And…” I trailed off, and he only stared at me. “And you disagree with the rules?”
“Yeah.”
I ran my tongue over my teeth as I considered that. It wasn’t a wrong answer, exactly, it just told me a bit more about him. It wasn’t surprising in the slightest to see that he had his own set of rules to live by. I decided to try another approach.
“Why don’t you tell me what happened?” I asked.
River looked at the paperwork on my desk, then raised an eyebrow at me.
“Obviously this is Coach’s report of what happened,” I said with a sigh. “But he admits he didn’t see the whole thing, so just humor me.”
River muttered something that sounded a lot like ‘I don’t think anything humors you’, but then he shook his head. “He started shit with my gym partner. He was about to attack her, so I stepped in.”
I nodded. “That’s good information. Important. Who else was involved?”
“Uh,” he chewed the side of his thumb for a moment. “This girl, Skye. And this other girl Carla, but she wasn’t involved, really. She was trying to stop Anton.”
Nothing surprised me anymore.
Of fucking course Skye was involved. And of fucking course no one had told me about it.
I never thought I’d make a statement like this, but Rafe really needed to get back to stalking Skye. It was the only way I’d ever learn anything about her until we could patch up our bullshit.
Well. Until I could patch up my bullshit. Not for the first time, I really wished the only other counselor in this school wan’t my fucking ex.
Back to the issue at hand, though. Skye was always getting into trouble with the wrong people. It was a habit at this point.
I blinked hard, though. Rafe said Levi had said something similar about her, and I didn’t like that. Not at all. I vowed right then and there to stop comparing her in a way that resembled Levi’s comments.
“Anton,” I repeated, River nodding in confirmation. Anton was as brainwashed as Lana, if not more so. His parents were also involved in the same cult, as far as I knew. He wasn’t attending sessions with me, he was on Carissa’s roster, if I remembered correctly.
“What exactly led to Anton trying to attack Skye?” I asked.
“He was referring to the attack on the academy, I think.” River chewed his thumb again. “I didn’t hear too much, but he was pissed at her. She pushed him away with some air and he got even more pissed.”
I flipped open my laptop as he spoke, skimming through my files before I came to rest on Anton Davis’ file.
His red-tipped file.
Internally, I threw my head back and groaned.
Why did Skye keep starting shit with students that had classified affinities?
There was a small part of me that was glad to see I wasn’t the only one who found her utterly infuriating, but another part of me couldn’t believe she kept making so many enemies.
Especially since she should have been keeping a low profile.
I mentally slapped myself. I just vowed to stop thinking the worst of her.
“That was noble of you,” I said lightly as I scrolled.
River scoffed. “It was hardly noble. I only stopped Anton because his parents would have gotten in a lot of trouble. They’re already on thin ice as is.”
“Oh?” I was scrolling through Anton’s record, reading about his fucking laser vision that he had little to no control over. Apparently he was on some new drug that was supposed to keep his eyes from shooting off laser beams whenever he got angry, but–
“Wait, what? You know Anton’s parents?” I asked.
River chewed his thumb again, and I was starting to think this was his nervous tell. He dropped his hand when he noticed my staring, rubbing his hands down his thighs instead.
“Your families are friends?” I tried. Fucking fuck, if I had another student who’s parents were involved in this goddamn cult…
River scoffed. “Family? Don’t have one. Can I go?”
“No, River.” I sighed. “This is important. You have to talk to me about something.”
“Just lie on your report.”
“I can’t,” I sighed again. “It’ll be both our asses if I lie, trust me, I’ve tried it before. Just give me something. You’ve told me about the incident. Isn’t there anything else you want to talk about? Nothing is troubling you?”
River sneered at me. “Yeah, I knocked a dude out because I’m troubled. That’s predictable as fuck.”
“You clearly are, though.” I said, exasperated, immediately regretting the comment when River’s spine snapped straight.
“Clearly what?” he asked darkly.
I decided to go out on a limb. What did I even have to lose at this point?
“Troubled.” I said. “You’re clearly troubled.”
My heart pounded as River’s hands clenched into fists, but he made no move toward me, which was almost scarier than if he’d swung.
Several seconds of silence passed between us. I’d half expected him to get up and storm out, but since he didn’t, I had no idea what to say next.
I cleared my throat.
“So, you just appeared out of thin air one day? No family at all?” I asked, trying to lighten the mood. We still had twenty fucking minutes left in this session.
River didn’t answer for a long time, which meant the ticking from the clock on the wall ominously filled the silence.
It was putting me on edge, and I wasn’t sure why.
Students didn’t normally freak me out like this.
River had a dark, brooding aura that seemed to follow him like a storm cloud, but this was something deeper.
“They’re not my real family,” he said finally.
I almost jumped at the sound of his voice, I’d been so lost in thought.
When his words sank in, I fought with every fiber of my being not to react.
I cleared my throat again.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I’m…adopted.”
His eyes darted back to me, the piercing blue unnaturally bright from the overcast light spilling through the windows.
There was a challenge here, like he was expecting me to pity him, or react negatively, which was insane.
Even if I wasn’t bound by a certain level of professionalism, reacting negatively to a revelation of that level was just downright immature.
“Okay,” I said a little slowly, but evenly. I let the silence grow after my reply, hoping he’d elaborate. When he didn’t, I asked, “And…you don’t like that you’re adopted?”
River chewed his thumb again before blowing out a breath. He buried his hands in his hoodie pocket before speaking. “It’s…irritating.”
“I’m sure,” I replied, but he shook his head.
“My parents are nuts, and they’re not even my parents. I didn’t ask to be adopted, but I’m supposed to be acting so grateful, and for what?” He scrubbed a hand down his face. “I shouldn’t be telling you any of this.”
“It doesn’t mean anything, River. I’m not going to share this with anyone. Whatever you tell me stays in this room.”
River looked at me for a long, long stretch of time. His gaze didn’t show whether or not he found me lacking, but then he blew out a breath and I sagged in relief. For whatever reason, he’d decided to trust me.
“My fake mom is nuts. She thinks she’s my real mom.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “An adopted mom is still–”
“No,” he cut me off. “Don’t do that. I mean, she’s convinced herself she gave birth to me.”
“Oh,” I reared back. That was…
“It’s fucking deranged,” River said, speaking faster as if he couldn’t keep the words in any longer. “It fucking kills me, too. Like, I remember my actual mom, and this woman tries to convince me I don’t. Isn’t there a word for that?”
“Gaslighting,” I answered. “When someone tries to manipulate your reality, sanity or perception, it’s called gaslighting.”
“That!” River snapped. “She does that. And my fake dad is all, ‘listen, son, she is the way she is’. So I just play along so she doesn’t lose her fucking mind and cause a cyclone.”
I furrowed my brow.
“I’m speaking figuratively, obviously,” River muttered, slumping back in his chair.
“Obviously,” I replied. “Well, it’s not your responsibility to manage her emotions.”
River looked at me, then blinked a few times. “It’s not?”
“No,” I said slowly. “They adopted you. They’re the parents. It is never a child’s job to manage their parents emotions, relationship, etc.” God, I was such a hypocrite. Even as I spoke, part of me knew I was referring to myself. “Her mood is not your problem.”
River nodded, his expression finally softening in a way that told me I was getting somewhere.
“Is that all your not-father has to say?” I asked.
River’s lips twitched, but he didn’t smile. “He knows she’s nuts but he’s obsessed with her, or something. I don’t really get it.”
I nodded. “He loves her.”
“Fuck that,” River scoffed. “If that’s love, count me out.”
“Agreed,” I muttered, staring at the empty place on my bookshelf where my geode had been.
There was a knock at the door, and River sprung to his feet.
“Am I good to go, doc?” he asked, already backing toward the door.
I nodded with a heavy sigh. “Yes, River. You’re always welcome here, remember that. Any time, any topic, we can talk.”
River’s lips twitched again, but he only shrugged before opening the door and freezing.
“Oh, God. Not you,” the most wonderfully bitchy voice sneered.
River’s face changed from shock to a scowl before he dramatically flattened up against the door frame to sneak past Skye without brushing against her. Skye rolled her eyes dramatically before slamming the door behind her. She stopped just inside the door, looking at me with wide eyes.
“Hello, Mr. Craig. I’m here for my state-mandated appointment,” she said in an overly-formal voice. She was definitely mocking our first encounter in my office.
I gave her a dry look.
“Come on, Skye. We don’t have to talk like that.”
“Oh, good,” she said brightly before teleporting so that she stood right in front of me. “Because I have a fucking bone to pick with you.”