Alice’s threat followed me long after she left my room.
“If we don’t go back by tomorrow, I’ll leave this damned place and damn all the consequences.”
Most people made threats emotionally. Recklessly. Alice made them with terrifying sincerity. That was the problem.
I stood shirtless on the upper balcony overlooking the private shoreline below while night settled heavily over the ocean. The thin robe hung loosely around my shoulders and moved softly with the wind. Somewhere farther down the property, waves crashed endlessly against the rocks beneath the cliffside.
Usually the sound calmed me. Tonight it did nothing. My mind kept replaying her voice instead. Angry. Hurt. Accusing me of turning her into some temporary distraction I touched whenever convenient before disappearing again.
A
