Chapter Four: No goodbyes
736 Words
Chapter Four: No goodbyes
The inside of the mansion was quieter than Kylie expected.
Too quiet.
Her sneakers echoed against the dark hardwood floors as Nolan led her through the massive entryway. Everything looked expensive without trying too hard — stone walls, towering windows, black iron railings, leather furniture that probably cost more than her entire house back home.
It didn’t feel warm.
It felt controlled.
Like him.
Kylie glanced back toward the front door where her father still stood outside near the truck.
He wasn’t coming in.
Of course he wasn’t.
Anger curled tightly in her chest again.
Nolan loosened the cuffs of his sleeves as he walked, completely relaxed like bringing strangers into his house happened every day. “You can leave your bags there. Someone will take them upstairs.”
Kylie stopped immediately. “I can carry my own stuff.”
His blue eyes flicked toward her.
There it was again — that calm expression that somehow felt more intimidating than yelling.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t.”
God, she already wanted to punch him.
A woman appeared from the hallway ahead before Kylie could respond. She looked to be in her fifties with dark curly hair and warm brown eyes.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she breathed, smiling softly at Kylie. “You must be exhausted.”
Finally.
A normal human being.
“I’m Maria,” the woman said kindly. “I help run the house around here.”
“Help run the prison, you mean,” Kylie muttered.
Nolan walked past her without reacting. “Maria will show you your room.”
“I’m not staying long enough to unpack.”
Still nothing from him.
Not even annoyance.
Which somehow made her irritation worse.
Nolan stopped near the kitchen entrance and turned toward her fully for the first time since they walked inside. Morning light spilled through the windows behind him, outlining his broad frame in gold.
Unfairly attractive.
Infuriatingly calm.
“You’re free to leave whenever you want,” he said evenly.
Kylie blinked.
“What?”
“You’re eighteen. I’m not keeping you here against your will.”
Her eyebrows pulled together suspiciously. “Then why am I here?”
Something shifted in his expression.
Gone almost instantly.
“That conversation can wait until you’ve slept.”
“No,” she snapped. “I want answers now.”
For the first time, Nolan looked slightly irritated.
Not angry.
Just tired.
“You’ve been in a truck for almost sixteen hours,” he said. “You’re exhausted, angry, and looking for someone to fight with. I’m trying to give you a chance to breathe before this gets harder.”
The words hit her harder than they should have.
Because part of her knew he was right.
Which only made her defensive.
Kylie crossed her arms tightly. “You don’t know anything about me.”
Nolan’s gaze held hers steadily.
“No,” he said quietly. “But I know enough about your father.”
Silence filled the room instantly.
Kylie’s stomach tightened.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Before he could answer, the sound of tires crunching outside broke through the tension.
Her head turned sharply toward the front windows.
Chris’s truck.
Leaving.
Kylie moved before she could think.
She rushed toward the front door, yanking it open just as the truck started backing down the driveway.
“Dad!”
The word tore out of her chest.
The truck paused for half a second.
Kylie’s heart jumped hopefully.
Then it kept going.
Dust kicked up behind the tires as Chris drove down the long ranch road without looking back once.
Without saying goodbye.
Without even rolling down the window.
Kylie stood frozen on the porch, breathing hard as humiliation and anger burned through her chest at the same time.
He really left.
Behind her, the screen door creaked softly.
Nolan stepped outside but kept his distance.
Smart choice.
Kylie wiped angrily at her eyes before he could see anything. “Don’t.”
His voice stayed low. “I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“That makes one of us.”
The mountains stretched endlessly around them, silent and massive beneath the morning sky.
Kylie hugged her arms tighter around herself.
For the first time since arriving, the reality finally hit her.
She was completely alone here.
And somehow, standing beside Nolan Hayes only made that feeling worse.
- Writer
