Page 131 of Broken & Bound

I threw my covers over my head. Silence stretched once more. By several minutes this time. He should have known better. I was doing good, disassociating enough to not be reactive. That was until he launched into his next tirade.

“Tell me, is the plan to spend the next eleven years hiding away, like before? Just want to know what we’re dealing with here? Shutting down won’t help.”

Was he fucking serious right now? Did he just expect me to bounce back?

The level of hypocrisy this man lived on a day-to-day basis was astounding.

“You should leave. I’m dangerously close to speaking my truth. And once I do, there will be no taking it back. I’m not looking to fracture our relationship further.”

“I’m not leaving. I just want to give you some brotherly advice is all. I know you’re hurting. But you can’t hide in this room forever and avoid us.”

My jaw tightened. I counted under my breath to calm my nervous. This was exactly the reason I didn’t want to talk to him.

“Come out from under the covers, Bella.”

With a frustrated exhale, I threw the blanket back. My hair had become a tangled mess, strands clinging to my cheeks. I dragged my fingers through it, pushing it away from my face before fixing him with a long, unimpressed stare.

“Let me ask you a question, Sebastian James. Do you really think you’re the best choice for advice here?”

His brow drew together. “What is that supposed to mean?”

I searched his face, genuinely wondering if he couldn’t see it.

“Please tell me you are not this blind.”

He looked offended. Actually offended. I slowly shook my head, equal parts disbelief and disgust settling over me. The audacity of it stole what little patience I had left.

It looked like we were going to do this after all. At least I could soothe my conscious later that I’d tried my best to avoid it.

“So, in your professional opinion, all I have to do is just move on?”

He nodded once. “Exactly.”

I snapped my fingers. “Like that?”

“Yeah,” he said, softer and a little more uncertain this time.

“Just like you have?”

“Sissy.”

The warning was there, but two could play this game. He’d blown by boundaries, so it seemed only right I give back in equal measure. I sneered, the anger rising inside me like a tidal wave.

“The audacity you have, brother, is otherworldly. You give advice that you, yourself, refuse to take and I’m just supposed to what? Be thankful. Appreciate it. Cherish it?”

Frustration surged through me, hot and relentless. He had no room to lecture me on moving on. None.

“Go on, big talker. Got any advice on what I should fill this gaping hole with? Maybe I can follow in your footsteps. Get a membership to a fancy sex club and lose myself?”

His head jerked back.

“No, I genuinely want to know, ole wise one, what I can fill my days with. Control? Domination?” I laughed at the look of horror on his face. “Worked for you, right?”

“That’s not what I meant. Not what I was going to say.”

“That’s the real problem here. Like usual, your mouth is moving but you aren’t saying shit.”

He flinched, his mouth dropping open. Whatever was left of the confidence he’d carried into my room disappeared. Uncertainty crept across his face in waves.