Page 10 of Eternal

For Violet’s sake, I bite back the urge to immediately answeryes. “He’s complicated. Anyone growing up in that house would be.”

“Because of his father.” Violet’s eyebrows pinch. “Myfather…”

I swallow hard, wishing there was something I could say that would be comforting. But if she thinks Declan is bad, she has no idea what she’s in for regarding her paternal bloodline.

“They aren’t a warm and fuzzy family. Declan’s proof of that.”

“What do you mean?”

I lean back, pinching the bridge of my nose, trying to decide the easiest way to approach this. “You know how Declan’s the Sigma House president?”

She nods.

“Well, so was his father. And his father… You get the idea.” I sigh. “He didn’t just become an asshole because of one terrible thing that happened to him; he was raised to be exactly like Ian Pierce. That’s all that matters to men like them. Generations of Pierce men conditioned only to care about power and money. And they’ll do anything to get it. Blackmail, manipulation. Declan had those beliefs ingrained in him since birth. So, as much as I hate him, I do understandwhyhe is the way he is.”

“That reminds me of Kole.” Violet’s voice is nearly a whisper.

“The Pierces and the Christiansens have a lot in common for a reason. They value a lot of the same things.It’s why their families are close and why Declan and Kole have been friends since birth.”

“I see.” She frowns. “Thanks for being honest with me.”

“Of course.” I reach out, squeezing her hand. “Declan wasn’t always terrible, if that makes you feel better. But Violet…”

Her gaze snaps to mine.

“Whatever good there was in him is gone. I get he’s your brother, and so you want to try to find something redeeming in him but be careful. There isn’t anything. Trust me on that. If you let him get close, he’ll make you regret it.”

Declan’s threat last night revolves through my mind.

Trust.

He seems to think I’m going to need him while I sit here warning Violet not to do the same.

“I’ll be careful.” Violet spins, climbing off the bed. “Thanks for talking to me about this, Teal.”

“Anytime.”

“Can we just”—she stands, biting her lip—“keep this to ourselves for now? I know I need to tell Patience and Mila, but Patience is already being weird with me for dating Kole, and I don’t want to add more to that.”

“Of course.”

“Thanks.” Violet smiles, but it’s sad.

And when she walks out of my bedroom, I wonder if what she really needed was honesty in that moment. Maybe I should have tried to offer her comfort instead.

This is why I’ve never been good at having friends.

Growing up, I was always the awkward kid in class with the multicolored hair and the paint-splattered clothes. The girl who my classmates calledcrazywithout realizing that word was the edge of the razor biting through my skin.

They couldn’t define me, so they ostracized me. And after long enough, I stopped caring.

I became the rumors. The whispers. The girl whodoesn’t play well with others.

Becausefuck them.

My phone buzzes, and I reach for it on my nightstand, seeing a text from an unknown number. Opening it, my grip tightens at the image on the screen.

Unknown: Same time next week?