“Apart from me.”
“Why don’t you try to be there willingly?” I asked. “The sex has just … happened. We haven’t instigated it. Sian has. She’s the one who has been ready, not us. She controls it all.”
There was so much more I could say, but William and Sian chose that moment to enter the dining room.
“Hey,” she said. “I’m starving.” She had a post-sex glow, and it looked good on her. “Do you guys want a sandwich?”
“Me,” William said.
“Sure.”
“What about Mateo? Do you think I should make him one?”
“Yeah, I do.” I looked at Gideon. “Why don’t you go and help her?”
Gideon glared at me and then got to his feet.
“What’s his problem?” William asked.
“He’s not getting any.”
“Not getting any what?”
I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, right, oh, I see. Well, he just has to be patient.”
“Yeah, but I fear his patience will run out and then he’ll run her out.”
The smile on William’s face dropped. “You don’t think he’s going to do that on purpose, do you?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I was tired now. Stifling a yawn, I gave my body a stretch. “What do you think Mateo’s got?”
“Not a clue.”
There was no point in talking about that then. William wouldn’t even speculate.
“Do you want to tell me what you were doing in the library?” I asked.
“Reading.”
“I’ve never seen you read.”
William glared at me. “Just because you’ve never seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. You haven’t seen me masturbate, but I do it.”
“I have seen you masturbate,” I said. “You’re very vocal about it, and I walked into the bathroom while you were doing it.”
“Shit, man, I’m sorry.”
I snorted. “It’s fine. You masturbate. I paint.”
William lifted his arms above his head, bringing them down to rest at the back of his neck. “Do you think we can convince her to stay?”
“Do you want her to stay?” I asked.
“Yes. I do. Don’t you?”
Resting my hands on my stomach, I looked at William. “Yes, I do.”
“But?”
“There’s no but. I don’t want to think of a life without her. All of this shit with The Society. With the rules, it wears thin, you know?”
William nodded. “I want to give her a happy life.”
“No. I’m not waiting to know the truth. Let’s get it over with.” I had to be ready for all of this. If Heather could handle this and be the genius she was in high school, then I could handle this.
For the next thirty minutes, pain, anger that turned to rage, horror, and finally acceptance washed over me as I watched and heard everything. My father had known Heather was tracking him. She’d discovered the truth and now we had the evidence.
“Do your dads know about this?” I asked, wiping the tears from my eyes. I couldn’t believe Chloe did that, and yet at the same time, of course she did. She was a spiteful bitch only after what she could get for herself.
I felt sick.
Placing a hand on my stomach, I tried to calm my nerves, but nothing was happening. There was no way to calm this riot of emotions. They rushed through my body like a speeding train, hitting me left, right, and dead-on center.