Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127146 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
With a weathered smile of her own, she pats my arm and walks off, probably to offer the others the same cookies. That seems to be her life mission: stuffing us full of her delicious food. Otherwise, besides laundry, stocking the fridge, and cleaning, she leaves us to ourselves, especially during Mill business.
I climb up the wide circular staircase two steps at a time. At the top of the stairs is a landing that leads down a long hallway. Each side of the hall has numerous doors that lead to a number of bedrooms and bathrooms. And at the very end of the hall is my room.
The first room I come upon is Sebastian’s. Sebastian prefers silence to conversation and usually keeps his door closed, so color me surprised when I see it propped open. I pop my head through the doorway and find him sitting on the edge of his bed, a cookie in his mouth as he turns the page of a paperback. One glance at him and you would assume he’s all looks, with his perfectly moussed hair, devilish smile, and haunting green eyes, but contrary to popular belief, he’s smart as hell. I assume it’s from all the reading he does. We’ve known each other since grade school, and there's never been a time when I haven’t seen him carrying around some type of book. If he doesn’t understand something, he researches it until he does.
I gesture to the book. "You can read. When did that happen?"
Without missing a beat, he launches the cookie at my face. I catch it midair and shove it into my mouth. His eyes promise murder and destruction, but all I do is shake my head. Sebastian is many things—monster, asshole, crazy son of a bitch, and believe me, he is all those things and more, but he’s also loyal, determined, and the closest thing to family I have.
“Thanks!” I say around a mouthful of food.
“If you spent more time spreading pages in books instead of spreading legs, you might be half as smart as me.” The murderous look disappears from his eyes, but the usual aura of depraved darkness surrounding him clings to the air.
Everyone thinks I’m fucked up, but no one knows fucked up like Sebastian. While my own childhood has been shitty as hell, it looks pretty damn great compared to his. Either way, showing pity or apologizing for the past doesn’t make sense. We can’t change it, but sometimes I wish I could tell him it will be okay. That he’ll come through all of this on the other side. His attention slips back to the book, and I meander into the room, dragging my fingers across the bookshelf near the door.
“Spreading legs is more entertaining,” I quip, tossing myself into an old armchair near his bed. I prop my feet up on the edge of the bed, my dirty boots resting on his gray comforter.
“Seriously? Where are your manners?” He shakes his head and glares icy daggers through me. “You might be my best friend, but you have five seconds to tell me what the hell you want before I toss you out of my room.”
Before I can mutter a response, he shoves my feet off the bed and wipes at the comforter like I’ve ruined it in some way. We have a washer for a reason.
“Sorry, I left my manners at the front door.” I laugh and continue. “I’m here on official Mill business. I need to know the specifics of the plan for tomorrow night so I can put some precautionary measures into place."
The muscles in his jaw flex and jump. "Weird. I thought you asked me to plan the events this year. I’ve made certain everything is done, and you’re either questioning me to see if I’ve completed everything or attempting to oversee my work. In which case, if that’s what this is, you can fuck off and jump down the cliffs. I’ve spent hours planning this event and sending invitations out. Friendship or not, I won’t be questioned by you."
The cliffs being the far edge of the property complete with our own personal waterfall. Joke’s on him—I've been jumping off that ledge since I was a kid.
"I’m not questioning you or trying to oversee you. Everything is fine, but my inner control freak needs more information. Especially since I found someone worth chasing for the event.”
He stares at me, studying me, no doubt seeing the gleam in my eyes that's been dead for a while. "Consider me curious, who is she?”
"Who she is doesn’t really matter. She wouldn’t even tell me her name. As soon as I'm done here, I’m going to talk to Lee and have him gather some intel for me. I’ll use whatever information I can find to keep her compliant. I just need some ammunition first.”