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“No, Mom, I don’t—”

She holds up a hand to stop me. “You’d be right, Ezra.” And when I try to protest again, “No, you would be. Because I am. I know that.”

Despite her words, she smiles at me.

“I think…for a long time now, I’ve felt like I deserve this. Every choice I’ve ever made has only hurt you or your brother.”

“That’s bullshit, you’ve—”

“Let me get this out,” she says with more force than I’ve ever heard her use. “Every choice I’ve made has caused you pain. Has pushed your brother away from me. Those are my burdens to bear. But I can’t let you take on any more for yourself. Not because of me.”

“It’s too late,” I tell her. “I quit. I quit, and I’m not going back. You and I both know that it’syouhe’s going to take it out on. Thatyouwill be the one who suffers, just so that he can make me suffer.”

“Ezra…”

“Come with me,” I beg. “Just leave. I’ll keep you safe. We can fight this together. I won’t ever let him hurt either of us again if you’ll justletme.”

She considers this, her eyes thoughtful and sad. “He won’t allow it. You know that. He’ll come after us both. He knows too many people, Ezra. There’s nothing we can do to him.”

“We won’t know unless we try,” I urge. “I’m just asking you to give me the chance totry.”

“And what happens when he starts making your life worse? It won’t be just you he’ll come after, Ezra. It will be your friends. Anyone you care about.”

I wince at the thought of Dani, grateful at least that it seems like there will be no chance now that Alexander will ever know what she means to me.

I huff out a humorless laugh. “I don’t think that will be an issue. Not anymore. There’s no one in my life close enough to me for him to use.”

“What about the woman you were seeing?”

I shake my head. “That was nothing, Mom. It’s done.”

“That was her, wasn’t it? The woman I met the night of the party?”

I consider lying to her, but I’m so fucking raw that I just don’t have it in me to do so. “It was,” I admit hoarsely.

“She seemed nice,” my mother offers.

“She is,” I agree. “But it doesn’t matter. It didn’t work out. It’s better that way, honestly. It means that there’s nothing Alexander can do to me. There’s no reason for you not to say yes.”

Her thumb traces lightly back and forth across my jaw, her eyes as lucid as I’ve ever seen them. I can see the moment she comes to a decision; her spine goes a little straighter, and her shoulders square, and for one brief moment, she reminds me of the woman she used to be. The one who I believed could do anything.

“All right, Ezra,” she says softly. “I will come with you.”

“Good.” I kiss her hand, rising to my feet. “I want you to go to your room and pack some clothes. Just the essentials. I want to be gone in ten minutes.”

“Okay,” she answers just as quietly, nodding as she starts to push up out of her chair.

I don’t wait for her, moving back through the house as I hear her heading toward the stairs, deciding to wait by the door so I can watch and make sure I don’t miss it if Alexander decides to come home early.

“This is stupid,” a voice sounds from behind me, making me jump.

Eli is leaning against the entrance to the sitting room just off the entryway, his arms crossed and his eyes hard. “You know that Dad will never let you get away with this.”

“I would like to see either of you try to stop me,” I say inwarning. “She’s not going to suffer for one more second in this fucking house. Do you understand?”

“Suffer,” Eli scoffs. “Because being pampered around the clock by nurses while having every comfort at her beck and call issuffering.”

“She’s aprisoner, Eli,” I spit. “Your own mother has been locked up in this house with no say about any part of her life, and you’ve never lifted a finger to help her. You’ve never said aword.”