Spider

It’s not until I get there that I discover Spider isn’t coming. I eat my dinner, feeling disappointed and just . . . bereft. It’s that state of mind that prompts me to bring up the NYU issue again, this time with Robert present.

Anne’s back goes ramrod straight. “We’ve had this discussion already. I don’t want you so far away.”

“But why?” I need a freaking good reason!

Her lips tighten. “You need supervision, Rose.”

Her words sting me.

“I’m almost eighteen,” I blurt. “I can go to college in another state if I want to.”

She shakes her head. “I’m only paying for Winston. It only makes sense that you attend a school nearby so I can supervise you. Plus, that way you can still speak at the galas. Don’t you want to help those kids?”

My jaw tightens at her manipulations. “Of course I do, but you’re trying to make me feel guilty about wanting to go away to college, Anne.”

“I don’t like your attitude,” she says sharply. “Please use a respectful tone when you talk to me.”

Here we go with the manners . . .

I set down my dessert spoon and stand, needing to get out of here.

“You haven’t been excused,” she says, wiping her mouth.

Robert shoots her a soft look. “Rose probably has plans, dear. It’s a Friday night.”

She lets out a breath and nods. “Fine. It’s obvious you need some time to cool down anyway.”

I’m about to go but decide to turn back around, my anger too sharp to let go. “Make no mistake, Anne, I know exactly who I am—and I don’t need supervision. I lived a whole life before I ever met you. I took care of myself when Mama didn’t. I kept myself away from Lyle. By the time you came along, I’d seen things you can never imagine.”

Her mouth compresses. “Enough of that.”

I shake my head and clench my fists, trying to not raise my voice when all I want to do is yell. “And by the way, I’ve already applied to NYU and been accepted. Whether you pay for it or not, I’m going to New York.”

She inhales a sharp breath, her hand on her stomach.

I give them a brief look and stalk out of the dining room. I’m running on adrenaline as I get in my car then squeal out of the driveway and away from Highland Park.

Before I realize where I’m going, I’m headed to Robert’s penthouse in the city, where Spider is staying.

The doorman recognizes me from when I helped move some of Anne’s things and greets me warmly as he escorts me to the elevator.

With nervous fingers, I push the button for the penthouse, my eyes taking in the opulence of the mirrored walls. The elevator comes to a halt, easing open to a marble-tiled floor. I hear music vibrating through the steel front door.

I knock.

And knock again.

The music is turned down and I hear rustling sounds from behind the door.

“It’s me,” I say. “The girl you’ve been avoiding.”

The door swings open, and the guy standing there isn’t Spider. He’s around Spider’s age with scruff on his chiseled jawline and wild blond hair that flows off his face like a lion’s mane. He’s wearing a pair of athletic shorts and a tank top, and sweat drips from his forehead.

Ice blue eyes crinkle in the corners as they study me.

I give it right back and rack my brain, trying to recall why he seems so familiar.

I snap my fingers. “Sebastian? Lead singer of the Vital Rejects?”

“Yeah, angel.” He wipes at his forehead and leans against the doorjamb, sending me a cocky grin. “And you must be the girl.” He waggles his eyebrows.

The girl? With emphasis?

What does that even mean?

Has Spider been talking about me?

“Back away from my stepsister, douchebag,” comes Spider’s voice from down the hall, although I don’t see him. He must be in another room.

“Fuck off,” Sebastian yells over his shoulder. “You forgot to mention how hot she is.”

“Watch it. I’ll beat your arse if you touch her,” Spider warns him in a sharp tone, and I feel a blush coloring my cheeks. I guess that answers the question of whether or not he’s been talking about me.

Sebastian opens the door farther and nods his head toward the interior of the apartment. “Come on in. He’ll be out in a minute. He’s got to get gorgeous before we go out.”

“Oh?” They’re going out?

Probably to a bar . . . where there are older girls . . . and alcohol.

Activities I can’t participate in.

Suddenly I’m rethinking everything. I shouldn’t have come.

But, I’ve come this far, and I need to see him. I follow Sebastian into the apartment and stand uncertainly in the den as he gets me a soda from the fridge.

I pick at the sides of my jeans. “Where are you guys headed?”

Before Sebastian can reply, Spider saunters into the room, and my powers of speech leave me for a moment.

“Your hair . . . it’s white,” I whisper when I finally regain my faculties, my eyes greedily moving over his sweptback style. The bleached strands perfectly frame his face, accentuating the sharpness of his cheekbones, the darkness of his eyes, the long tan column of his throat. My chest squeezes at the sight of him. How can one guy be so dang hot? It’s not fair to the rest of the fucking world. “What happened to the blue?”

He touches it. “It’s a throwback, but always a favorite. You like it?”

“Yes,” I say, my voice breathless.

I take a step back, my legs bumping into the couch, causing me to suddenly sit. I don’t mind because I feel like something big is happening, and I just needed to grasp hold of it and own it.

“You okay?” he asks. “You look weird.”

I shake my head, thinking . . . about a boy with white hair.

The accent.

That devil-may-care shrug.

A distant memory reaches out and tugs me into the past. There I am, at the back of the Quickie Mart. I swallow, my head burdened by things I locked in a coffin with Mama years ago.

I see my mother on the floor, dark bruises on her neck.

I see . . . a beautiful boy.

HIM.

Sebastian and Spider are both eyeing me and then each other, but I ignore them as I pull my cell phone out of my purse and dial a number, one emblazoned on my brain and on my body.

I push in the digits, but like it always did before, the call goes to a disconnected line.

Even so, it must be him.

It must be.

Years may have blurred his face in my childlike memory, but it’s all coming back now. “What’s going on?” Sebastian looks confused. “Are you trying to call someone?”

I come to a decision and focus on Sebastian. “I don’t know you, and I hate to be rude, but can you please leave us alone for a bit?”

Spider sends him a quick nod and Sebastian straightens his tall form, his gaze reading me. Whatever he sees makes him act. “Gotcha. I’m outie. Call me later Spider.” He walks out of the apartment, the door shutting softly behind him.

“Is everything okay?” Spider asks me.

I shake my head as I shrug out of my sweater. I pull my silk tank up and over my head, tossing it on the hardwood floor. He inhales sharply, his gaze going straight to my white lace bra.

“Rose, put your shirt back on.” His voice is steady, but his eyes—oh God—those eyes are burning.