That meant nothing. I’d do the same thing if I was guilty and wanted people to believe I wasn’t, but the look on his face stopped me from letting those words get past my lips.

“And I know none of that means anything to you.”

I flushed. There was no point in denying it. I folded my arms and glared at him.

“But I wish it did. Then you could see that my family isn’t against you.” He stepped forward, catching the edge of my sleeve. Only the tips of his fingers brushed my skin, but it felt like a thousand touches in one. “They’ve been watching over you for so long. My father wants to help you. He’ll do everything and anything to keep you and your sister safe.”

I unfolded my arms, and Hayden let go. He didn’t step back. My hands found the sleeve of his shirt. Mimicking his early movements, the tips of my fingers brushed the skin of his wrist. I closed my eyes, but I could tell the shadows in the room were breaking apart as the sun started to rise over the mountain.

“Please. Ember, you have to trust him. Trust me.”

The moment I opened my eyes, Hayden knew. Neither of us spoke. There was just too much that pointed at Cromwell for me to ever trust the man, and Hayden would always remain loyal to him.

Our eyes connected for the briefest moment. Then he left without saying a word. I turned to the balcony. The sun had crested the mountain, casting an orange, fiery glow over the woods, and in that second, everything burned.

* * *

“I spoke to Principal Hawkes,” Mr. Theo said, eyeing two students in the hallway who had their tongues shoved down each other’s throats. For a teacher, he didn’t seem to mind the PDA like every other adult did. “She said everything is being taken care, and you shouldn’t have any more problems.”

Feeling a strange pain in my chest, I pulled my gaze from the couple. The ache transferred to my temples. “Yeah.”

He looked at me sharply. “You don’t sound too convinced of that.”

I squeezed the coin between my fingers, wondering how things had gone from Hayden almost kissing me this morning to not even speaking to me. We’d argued before, but they’d been different. “I’m just tired.”

Mr. Theo turned and faced me. “You left school early yesterday. Was it because you wanted to, or were you made to?”

His question caught me off-guard, and between the pain in my head and lack of sleep, my brain wasn’t up for the challenge of lying or talking in general. I just wanted to finish this day and go to sleep.

“Ember?”

I blinked. “No. I think I’m coming down with something.”

“Well, at least you have Thanksgiving break to rest up and feel better.”