declare.
He chuckles. “A reasonable claim. But false, I think.”
“No,” I challenge. “I really, really hate you.”
Stonehart smirks and leans back. “You find me fascinating.”
“Stop flattering yourself.”
“I don’t need to when you do it so well for me. You’re curious, Lilly. Inquisitive. You want to know what makes me tick. Put that psychology education to use. Tell me what you see in me. Your analysis on the ride here was quite compelling.”
“I don’t have to do anything of the sort,” I say.
“Oh, but you do, sweet Lilly. Did you forget the terms of our contract?”
And there it is again. The Contract . Of course it never disappeared. It was just buried somewhere in the background.
“Right now,” Stonehart continues. “That is what I ask of you.”
“Fine. You want to know what I think? I think you’re manipulative and sadistic. Everything you told me yesterday… the things you said after Rose and Charles left… those were all lies, weren’t they? Lies meant to butter me up. So that I would lower my guard and be vulnerable for the surprise visit you had in store for me today.
“Because that was the true purpose of this trip, wasn’t it, Jeremy? It wasn’t to show me your ‘trust’. It definitely wasn’t to show repentance. It was to bring me to Portland… to show me Paul.”
He tilts his head slightly to one side and fixes me with that dark, penetrating stare. I’m suddenly glad for the table separating us.
“You’re right,” he says quietly. “The visit to Cedar Woods did guide my intentions. But you cannot mistake my honesty with you yesterday. The things I said last night were true. I am a man of my word. I would not lie to you outright.”
I scoff. “Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”
“Then you know much less about me than you assume.” Stonehart looks out over the water. “Really, Lilly, has this trip been so unbearable for you? I let you meet your father. I brought you with me to a public outing. We may have missed the gala last month. But, there will be opportunities to make up for that in the future.
“Yesterday, I allowed you out of the sunroom. Today, I have given you unprecedented leeway in speaking your mind. I have not been angered once, though many of your comments were clearly meant to incite me.
“No, Lilly,” he continues. “I told you the truth when I said I valued your spunk. And, against all my original intentions, you have become… precious … to me. You are a wonder the likes of which I have never experienced before.”
“And you’re an absolute madman,” I counter. “How can you speak that way? How can you say those things after what I saw you do to my fa—”
I cut off. I don’t want Stonehart to have any clue of my growing attachment toward Paul. That is a weakness he will have no qualms about exploiting, as he’s already shown me.
“After what I saw you do to Paul,” I correct.
“Again, you misplace blame. I am not the one responsible for what happened to you father .” He emphasizes the word. “You are. As you will be every single time it happens in the future.”
“You put him there,” I say. “He wouldn’t be in that mental institution if it wasn’t for you. And you expect me to be grateful? Hah!”
“He would, Lilly,” Stonehart tells me. “Either that, or he would be dead. I am not the one who broke his mind. The drugs did that. Besides…” he picks up his wineglass and peers inside, “…you heard him yourself. I saved him. He owes his life to me.”
“Lies!” I hiss, slamming one hand on the table.
Stonehart’s gaze snaps to me. “No. They are not. I found him when he was in the darkest place imaginable. I helped him recover. Almost five years of sobriety, owed entirely to me.”
“You slapped the collar around his neck!”
“A necessity,” Stonehart says. “And a precaution. You saw how it became useful today.”
“You’re sick.”
“I think we’ve already
He chuckles. “A reasonable claim. But false, I think.”
“No,” I challenge. “I really, really hate you.”
Stonehart smirks and leans back. “You find me fascinating.”
“Stop flattering yourself.”
“I don’t need to when you do it so well for me. You’re curious, Lilly. Inquisitive. You want to know what makes me tick. Put that psychology education to use. Tell me what you see in me. Your analysis on the ride here was quite compelling.”
“I don’t have to do anything of the sort,” I say.
“Oh, but you do, sweet Lilly. Did you forget the terms of our contract?”
And there it is again. The Contract . Of course it never disappeared. It was just buried somewhere in the background.
“Right now,” Stonehart continues. “That is what I ask of you.”
“Fine. You want to know what I think? I think you’re manipulative and sadistic. Everything you told me yesterday… the things you said after Rose and Charles left… those were all lies, weren’t they? Lies meant to butter me up. So that I would lower my guard and be vulnerable for the surprise visit you had in store for me today.
“Because that was the true purpose of this trip, wasn’t it, Jeremy? It wasn’t to show me your ‘trust’. It definitely wasn’t to show repentance. It was to bring me to Portland… to show me Paul.”
He tilts his head slightly to one side and fixes me with that dark, penetrating stare. I’m suddenly glad for the table separating us.
“You’re right,” he says quietly. “The visit to Cedar Woods did guide my intentions. But you cannot mistake my honesty with you yesterday. The things I said last night were true. I am a man of my word. I would not lie to you outright.”
I scoff. “Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”
“Then you know much less about me than you assume.” Stonehart looks out over the water. “Really, Lilly, has this trip been so unbearable for you? I let you meet your father. I brought you with me to a public outing. We may have missed the gala last month. But, there will be opportunities to make up for that in the future.
“Yesterday, I allowed you out of the sunroom. Today, I have given you unprecedented leeway in speaking your mind. I have not been angered once, though many of your comments were clearly meant to incite me.
“No, Lilly,” he continues. “I told you the truth when I said I valued your spunk. And, against all my original intentions, you have become… precious … to me. You are a wonder the likes of which I have never experienced before.”
“And you’re an absolute madman,” I counter. “How can you speak that way? How can you say those things after what I saw you do to my fa—”
I cut off. I don’t want Stonehart to have any clue of my growing attachment toward Paul. That is a weakness he will have no qualms about exploiting, as he’s already shown me.
“After what I saw you do to Paul,” I correct.
“Again, you misplace blame. I am not the one responsible for what happened to you father .” He emphasizes the word. “You are. As you will be every single time it happens in the future.”
“You put him there,” I say. “He wouldn’t be in that mental institution if it wasn’t for you. And you expect me to be grateful? Hah!”
“He would, Lilly,” Stonehart tells me. “Either that, or he would be dead. I am not the one who broke his mind. The drugs did that. Besides…” he picks up his wineglass and peers inside, “…you heard him yourself. I saved him. He owes his life to me.”
“Lies!” I hiss, slamming one hand on the table.
Stonehart’s gaze snaps to me. “No. They are not. I found him when he was in the darkest place imaginable. I helped him recover. Almost five years of sobriety, owed entirely to me.”
“You slapped the collar around his neck!”
“A necessity,” Stonehart says. “And a precaution. You saw how it became useful today.”
“You’re sick.”
“I think we’ve already
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