Queen of Hawthorne Prep

His anger evaporates as his body deflates. Maybe my brother is reluctant to acknowledge it, but he realizes that what I’m saying is the truth. It’s a shit situation we’ll have to figure out on our own.

When Austin doesn’t immediately come back with an argument, I take a cautious step toward him before reaching out and squeezing his arm. “For right now, it’s the only solution. At the very least, it’ll buy us time to figure out our next step.”

“Fuck,” he grumbles before plowing a hand through his hair. “I don’t like it.”

Does he really think I do?

Nothing could be further from the truth.

“Me, neither.”

“As much as I hate to admit it, maybe you’re right.” His body vibrates with barely restrained agitation. “We agree to the terms for the time being and figure out something else. Dad had a team of lawyers working on this. Hopefully, they’ll come up with a solution. It’s not like Keaton is forcing you to marry his asshole son tomorrow.”

I gravitate toward the window and stare up at the inky sky. It’s too early for the stars to be visible. And even if they were, there wouldn’t be any solace to be found in the tiny pinpricks of light.

“Summer?” Austin’s voice turns sharp, piercing my thoughts.

Now I have to finish it. Much like ripping off a Band-Aid, it’s best to do it quickly. I exhale and push the rest out in a rush. “One stipulation is that I live at their house.”

“With the Rothchilds?” he asks incredulously.

I swing around to face him. “Yup.”

“What the hell for?”

I shrug and force my expression to remain bland. “I would imagine they don’t want us plotting and scheming against them.” I give him a thin smile since that’s exactly what we’re intent on doing.

Austin growls before spinning away and slamming his fist into the plaster wall near his bathroom door. “Goddamn them!”

I stifle a sharp yelp before slapping a hand over my mouth. Austin has always been the more volatile twin while I’ve been the calm, pragmatic one. “Are you—”

“I’m fine,” he barks, shaking out his hand with a wince.

My teeth sink into my lower lip to keep silent. Coddling him won’t do a damn bit of good. He needs to work off his anger or it’ll fester like poison beneath the surface and then he’ll blow like a geyser. And more than likely do something much worse than damage a wall.

He stabs a finger at me. “Over my dead body are you living there!”

“What choice do we have?” My shoulders fall under the overwhelming weight of the world that attempts to press me down. My reservoir of strength is quickly being depleted. At this very moment, I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel. “Mom can’t handle a lawsuit. And we have no way to fight this by ourselves.”

Concern fills his eyes. “Are you really going to be able to deal with living over there?” There’s a pause before he adds, “Interacting with those bastards every single day?”

Definitely not.

Rather than admit how frightened I am, I lie through my teeth, “I’ll be fine. They won’t hurt me.”

Much.

A shiver scampers down my spine as I recall the look of hatred that had filled Kingsley’s eyes.

Austin slumps onto the bed before cradling the sides of his skull in his hands. For a sliver of a moment, he reminds me of the child he once was. “What am I supposed to do, Summer? Tell me how to make this better.”

My heart lurches painfully under my breast. It’s always been difficult for me to glimpse Austin’s pain. If given the choice, I’d put myself through hell to ease my brother’s way. We’re family, and that’s what family does. They take care of each other.

In three swift steps, I eat up the distance between us and wrap my arms around his shoulders. “There’s nothing you can do to change this. Just take care of Mom.”

“Fine,” he murmurs brokenly.

I draw in a deep breath, relieved this conversation has been put to rest. “I need to get over there.”

“Tonight?” His head snaps up. “They’re making you leave tonight?”

“If I’m not standing on their doorstep with my belongings at precisely nine o’clock, Keaton will call his lawyer and start the proceedings.” It takes effort to separate myself from him before heading to the bedroom door. I don’t want to leave anymore than he wants me to. Unfortunately, the Rothchilds have other plans. “I’ve already packed everything up.”

“Summer?”

Austin’s voice has me halting over the threshold before swinging around to face him. “Yeah?” It takes every bit of strength I have to keep the turbulent emotion from breaking loose.

“I love you.”

I press my lips together and jerk my head into a tight nod. A thick lump of emotion clogs my throat as wetness gathers in my eyes. “I love you, too.”