Page 91 of Crossed

Finally he snaps his head up, locking his innocent gaze on me.

“You know how when you were little, I used to read books about princesses moving into castles and knights turned into kings?”

He blinks at me.

My stomach squeezes.

“I found us a better place. Like a castle, with way more space and lots of room for you and all your toys.” “Lots of space,” he repeats.

I nod. “That’s right. You’ll get a brand-new bedroom too.

Would you like that?”

“Dalia gets a new bedroom too?” he asks, flicking his eyes to hers then back to me.

Sadness hits me right in the solar plexus.

Dalia cuts in. “Quin, I’m staying here so you can come hang out with me.”

His brows furrow and then he nods like he’s come to a conclusion. “I’ll stay here.”

I give him a watery smile. “No, baby boy. I want you to come with me. You remember Parker?”

I’m sure he does. They’ve only ever met a few times, when I couldn’t keep Parker at bay, but Quinten never forgets a thing.

He swings his gaze back to me.

“This will make me happy, and it will be fun! A new adventure.” I grin, trying to infuse as much optimism into my voice as possible. “How about next week?”

He’s silent for a few long, tense moments, and then I can see when the light bulb clicks on in his brain.

“Want to go to the new house next week with the new bed and line up your toys?” he says, kicking his legs against the legs of the chair.

Relief floods through me and I blow out a shaky breath. “That’s right, dude.”

And just like that, he goes back to his meal and his learning app, and I look at Dalia with a relieved grin. “See?” she says, smiling. “Was that so hard?” “Yes.” I cross my arms.

I can tell she’s relieved too. That went much better than expected.

Sighing, she chews on the corner of her lip, her eyes skittering around the room.

“Hey,” I say, leaning forward and covering her hand with mine. “You sure you’re okay to stay here? I mean…I can probably talk to Parker, get you set up in the hotel.”

“Parker’s already paying for me to stayhere, Amaya. I’ll be fine.” She scoffs, rolling her eyes, but I see the wetness lining her lower lids. “What are you doing today?”

I shrug. “Taking Quin to school and then heading to Phillip’s studio, probably.”

“Have you told him you’re officially off the Chapel’s roster?”

“I don’thaveto tell him. It’s not like I was his property,” I snap, defensive because the guilt makes me on edge. “It’s been weeks. I’m sure he gets the idea.”

She shakes her head. “Well, yeah, but it’s common decency, my dude. Let him know you’re done.”

Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes tight. “I don’t want him to take the studio away from me.”

“Maybe he won’t.” She shrugs. “You could always pay him for it instead.”

I bite back the retort, knowing that Parker wouldn’t ever let that fly. I doubt he wants me there in the first place as it is, and I’m constantly worried he’s going to find out and strip the last little thing I have left that’s just for me.