CHAPTER TWENTY
Kalen
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I don’t want to hear what Luna has to say.
Hell, I don’t want to hear what Hailey had to say since she can’t be bothered to fucking babble in our presence anymore.
However, Dalton insisted I sit down and listen in case she had a message for us. Or maybe even had something to say about us.
But my mind is still fixed on the strange, old man who showed up and damn near walked into the house like he owned it.
The way he raised his eyes to the second floor, then back to me still haunts me.
Unlike Hailey, this man saw me, and unless it’s Dalton, I’m not used to that.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh?” I ask, glancing at my brother in confusion.
That’s when I realize that he and Luna are both watching me curiously, and I do my best to shake off the interaction I had outside and how she reacted to it. I’m damn determined to try to make something out of this miserable little powwow I’ve been forced to attend.
“You look like you’re a million miles away,” he remarks with a nervous laugh.
I know what has him bothered.
He’s so sure that I’m going to lose my shit, but if I’ve managed to hold it together so far, then he should know by now that it’s not going to happen.
At least not right now.
“I’m fine,” I assure him curtly.
Dalton tries his best to hold my gaze, but when I clear my throat and look down at my hands, gingerly picking at my fingernails, I see him shake his head out of the corner of my eyes.
“So, you said that you and Mom talked a little bit?”
Here we go.
“Yeah, it was mostly one-sided, but she was pretty responsive when I mentioned you two.”
“Responsive how?” I ask, focusing on my fingernails.
“A nod here, a roll of her head there. I mean, I’m sure she heard what I was saying because when I asked her questions, she would move.”
“Do you think she’s sick?” Dalton asks carefully. “Like maybe it’s some kind of disease and she’ll come to some day?”
I glance up at Luna and wait.
I’m interested to know what she’s going to say because while I hate being under Hailey’s roof, while I hate even thinking for a moment that she might actually be worth more than just some vacant bitch hiding in her room, it would be nice to have a present parent.
My temper wouldn’t have flared as badly as it did when I tried to talk to her about what I did outside of Luna’s room, and I think that honestly I’d be a lot less angry if there was some chance, any chance, that she’d acknowledge us again.
And even if not me, then Dalton.
He’s the one who still loves her.
He’s the one who takes care of her and does everything for her.