Page 88 of Atone

A floorboard creaks behind me, and I jump, slamming the book shut, which only reveals my guilt.

“When are you not getting into trouble?” Alex smirks, striding across the room.

“Who said I’m getting into trouble?”

He hums, peering over my shoulder at the Sigma Sin logo on the front of the book sitting in front of me. “Looking for something?”

“Answers.”

He leans down to plant a kiss on my forehead, pausing to breathe me in. If I didn’t know better, I’d think Alex is gentle and sweet. But when his fingers wrap over my collarbone, trailing my bare shoulder like a threat, I know better.

Every touch has lethal precision. Each movement a warning. And I crave more.

Alex’s fingers pause at my pulse, and I’m curious if he knows it strums for him. He rests there for a heartbeat, then pulls away, leaving me wanting as he drops into the seat beside me and leans back.

His knees are casually spread, but his scarred hand flexes. It’s the only hint that something is bothering him.

“What kind of answers are you looking for, Mila Bianchi?”

“It’s not important.”

He’s too smart to believe the lie, but he doesn’t bother wasting his breath arguing. He simply tilts his head and waits for me to answer his question honestly.

“Fine.” I break when he won’t stop staring. “Itisimportant, but that doesn’t mean I want to talk about it.”

“Fair enough.”

My eyebrows knot in confusion because I expected him to push me harder than that.

Alex steals the book from my hand and flips it open, skimming the pages. He pauses on one about his great-grandfather. A bloodline of monsters, and I’m falling for one of them.

“Is it weird being from a family that’s important enough to have a whole section in the town archives?” I ask, watching him flip the page again.

He shrugs. “I don’t know any different.”

Alex doesn’t pause long enough to read anything. But Isuppose he doesn’t need to. While most children grow up hearing fairytales, Sigma Sin has its own lore to pass down. Influence that was strong enough to convince Alex to continue his trials even after what happened to him.

Whether his scars were a direct result of the House’s actions or not, they’re the ones who left him in that vulnerable state. Who allowed someone to gain access to him. They aren’t innocent, so why does he seem to forgive them?

“Ask me what you’re thinking, Mila.” Alex doesn’t look up, but his attention is clearly on me.

I swallow hard, twisting the hem of my shirt with my fingers. “You still chose to become a legacy for the House even after they sent you to Montgomery. Why?”

His fingers pause on a page, and he slowly closes the book. Alex turns his face to me. His knees are tipped open so that mine are caged between his, but he doesn’t reach for more. One hand strums the wooden table, while the other relaxes on his thigh.

“There is no stopping the initiation process once it starts unless Sigma House decides they’re done with you.”

“But you weren’t even at the House anymore.” My eyebrows pull. “I’ve heard the rumors. They’ve let initiates go for much less. And after what they did?—”

“What one person did,” Alex corrects me. “NottheHouse. Not even a member of it.”

“Still. At what point is enough, enough?”

“I guess that depends on the situation.”

I try to digest his words. “You really wanted to become one of them that badly? You were willing to just forgive the part they played in it?”

“Would it make you feel better if I said they forced me to do it?”