Page 16 of Isolation

I can't even fight back.No one speaks up against Milo, except for one person, the only person I need to see right now. But every time I ask for Reid, they keep changing the subject. Why?

Mia, who has been quiet this whole time, comes to my rescue. “Guys, I think Rave is still tired. We should let her rest. Let’s go to the split-level and put on a movie on the big screen.”

“Umm. Yes, yes, of course,” Tessa fusses.

“Of course, dear. I am sorry,” Uncle Reese joins in, clearly bewildered by my rude tone.

I open my mouth to apologize, but Uncle Reese puts up a hand.

“It’s the concussion, dear,” he softly explains. “It causes irritation and disorientation. All this talk is going to bother you and test your patience. You just need some rest and privacy.”

He turns to Milo and goes into doctor mode, firing off instructions as Milo writes it down on his phone.

The Sinclairs are already out of the room when I realize that Milo is staying behind. Now that I know he is not going to change, our proximity in an enclosed space is cause for critical alarm.

Milo shuts the door before I can call them to come back. Then he shuts down his laptop that’s sitting on my desk.

“I missed you today.” He turns his attention to me. “I feel like I haven’t had you alone for a single second.”

I turn to find Milo’s eyes fixated on my mouth. My eyes dart back to the door.

Milo shouldn’t be allowed here this late in the evening. In the Sinclair home, couples don’t sleep together unless they are married.

We used to get away with it because of our absentee parents. I might have been conceived out of wedlock, but our dads were both raised in the church.

How has Milo been getting away with sleeping in my room with both of our dads living in this house?

I turn back to him when the mattress dips under Milo’s weight as he bends his knee on it.

“You know, we have the all-clear from the doctor if you want to—”

My eyes widen in mortification. “You asked my father if you could have sex with me?”

“No. I asked my father if we should refrain from being physical. I wanted to know if there could be any complications before we had sex again.”

“Uncle Reese would never…” I waiver when I remember once again that this family does not deny Milo.

Instead, I ask the question that’s been lingering on my tongue all day. “Did you orchestrate the whole thing so our families would catch us together?”

I hold my breath for his answer.

Even Milo wouldn’t stoop lowenough toallow my religious father to catch us naked together and to put Reid through that trauma. There has to be some sort of decency left in him.

“You have a vivid imagination,” he replies dryly.

That’s not a yes or a no.

“Enough, Milo. Even if you didn’t stage it, you are still telling our families that we are together. I know you are trying to manipulate me through them. Fuck you!”

“That’s what I am trying to get you to do.”

I close my eyes and take a long breath. My migraine is coming back with full force, and I have no idea how to deal with Milo.

By the time I open my eyes again, Milo is standing by the nightstand. “Dad prescribed pain meds and anti-inflammatory pills for your leg. You don’t need to take them after tonight.”

Fuck.That reminds me of a different pill. I reach for my purse and rummage through the contents to find my birth control.

I took it on Friday, but not over the weekend. It’s Monday, so I have missed two days. However, I have heard that if you have been on the pills for long, you have to be off it for a while before it makes a difference.