Page 31 of Whisper Pretty Lies (Lust & Liars #1)

EvanAnn

Mom walks with me upstairs. “I know this is a lot, but I think this will be a good change for both of us.”

I grabbed my backpack on the way up the stairs. Now I drop it inside the door to my new bedroom. What am I even doing here? How is this our life? How is this going to be a good change for me, when Damon’s already invaded my privacy even though I wasn’t living with him yet?

Mom’s gaze takes in my worn uniform. Her lips purse.

“I’ll get you some new uniforms. This one’s color is all faded.” Mom puts her hand on my shoulder. She’s never noticed when my uniforms are worn out or too small. Usually, I have to tell her. “Maybe a new backpack too. You’ll see, this will be a good thing.”

“I don’t need new uniforms, Mom.” I adjust my skirt. Mom doesn’t have the money to throw away on new uniforms. Maybe if I don’t take anything from Adam, Damon won’t take anything away from me.

His scent lingers in my nose. My ear still burns from the warmth of his breath.

My skin feels tight and part of me is nervous that as soon as she leaves, Damon will return and explain what everything entails. Why that thought doesn’t terrify me more is something I’ll have to contemplate later, when I’m alone.

“Nonsense, Evan.” She touches my hair. “You’re such a beautiful girl. We should get your hair trimmed.”

“I don’t need anything, Mom. What I have is fine.”

The bed is as obnoxiously large as I remember, but like Cam said, there isn’t a box in sight.

“Where are my boxes?” I glance around. The things that were on my desk at home are now arranged neatly on the desk here. Not exactly how I left it, but someone took the time to arrange things.

Mom goes to the closet and opens it. “The staff put it all away.”

I walk over and see my things hung from wooden hangers. My camera equipment is lined up on the shelves. I open a drawer and find my bras and underwear.

Mom keeps talking, but I can’t focus on her words. She’s saying something about how much we’re going to love living here.

The back of my neck pricks and I glance up in the corners. Does Damon have a camera in here? Or my room? Or our bathroom?

My stomach churns, remembering how humiliating it was to see those moments that were supposed to be mine displayed on his TV. What are his plans with those files? My skin crawls, imagining the whole student body laughing over those images.

When I asked him what he wanted, he was pleased I figured it out. I wish that didn’t make me proud. I’m as smart as he is. It doesn’t take a neurosurgeon to figure out that if he’s showing me the video, he wants to use it against me.

The feel of his hot hand is branded on my thigh. My body is still keyed up. All that potential energy brewing between us didn’t vanish at my mother’s voice, but it definitely cooled. The fire was banked, but I’m sure it’s going to burn me whole.

“I thought you’d be gone tonight because of the football game. Is everything okay with you and Chase?” She gestures to my backpack. “I saw your backpack and knew you were here. It’s so unusual for you to leave your stuff out.”

Thank fuck, Cam left it out. I could still be in that basement, staring down the god of our school. Me, a lowly ant.

I focus on her question. “Everything is good between me and Chase.”

At least for now. I still don’t know what Damon’s intentions are. Will he show it to Chase? If he wants Chase to dump me, he would, but how does that help Damon?

It really seemed like Cam and Hawk were surprised by the videos, but what if this whole thing was a setup? What if Cam didn’t do what he was supposed to, so Hawk made sure I had to ride with him that night, knowing he’d be able to get his leader something good to blackmail me with?

It doesn’t matter who’s at fault. I fell for it. I’m the one who will have to face the consequences.

“Oh, that’s good.” Mom smiles and touches her necklace, which glints in the room light. I noticed she wasn’t wearing what she normally wears around our house. It’s date night though. But now I clue in to the way she’s dressed. Her clothes aren’t anything I’ve seen before.

“New clothes?” I ask.

She touches the pants and smiles softly. “Adam likes to spoil me.”

I swallow. Maybe my mom and I are the real problem Damon wants to deal with. Our only option now would be the apartments we had to leave before. I swallow down the bile that rises thinking about what happened there.

I don’t want to go back, but we may not have a choice.

“Maybe we should have an option in case this doesn’t work out, Mom.” I sit on the edge of my new bed. “Just in case. I really hope you and Adam work out, but?—”

“Honey.” Mom walks over and sits next to me, taking my hand. “I know you don’t want me to replace your father. I will always love Jason and there’s no one who could ever take his place, but I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“You have me.” I blow out a breath. It’s a weak argument, but it’s the only one I have. “This feels like a lot. This house is... a lot.”

“You have your whole life ahead of you, Evan. This is barely a year of your life.” She takes my hand between hers and squeezes it. “How did auditions go?”

She’s changing the subject, and honestly, I don’t blame her. I’m worried about what will happen when she leaves me alone. Are the guys going to stay tonight or will I only have to deal with Damon?

I don’t know which would be worse. But for now, I have my mom’s undivided attention. So, I tell her about the play.

Mom leaves me alone after talking about going shopping this weekend. I don’t like any of this, but I’m happy for her. I don’t want to bring her down by telling her my new stepbrother might be trying to blackmail me.

For what? I don’t know. Everything isn’t a real clear statement of intent.

Things I don’t have are money, status, or beauty. I have nothing he can’t get somewhere else. My cheeks burn, thinking about the weight of his hand on my thigh. The way his heat seeped into my being, making me uncomfortably turned on and anticipating his next move.

Fuck. I run a hand through my hair. I can’t think of him like that. He’s my enemy. He broke into my house and planted cameras to watch me. Maybe he hoped for something more than he got. But what he has is enough to take me down.

If he wanted to get back at Chase or drive us out, all he’d have to do is show others those videos of me. Fuck, if he spread them around school I don’t know if I’d be able to finish out my senior year there.

Yes, they aren’t salacious, but he has one of me masturbating. He threatened to show the guys, but didn’t. At least not in front of me. My chest tightens. At least my thoughts are my own.

He doesn’t know what I was thinking while I touched myself, but I’m sure he could use his powers of deduction.

I glance at the door to the bathroom. I’ve searched my bedroom and closet for hidden cameras, but I don’t really know what I’m looking for.

Really tiny cameras exist, ones I may not be able to find.

I haven’t searched the bathroom yet. It’s weird to approach the closed door, but I knock just in case he’s upstairs already.

When there’s no response, I open the door. I didn’t notice a lot about the bathroom when Adam showed me. Now I walk in and hold my breath for a moment.

Okay, it’s a bathroom, except now my things surround the other sink and my bath supplies are in the shower with Damon’s. It feels weird, sharing this space with him.

Personal. Intimate.

Especially knowing he’s seen everything. My cheeks heat.

The door to his bedroom is closed. The toilet is in a water closet. I breathe a little easier and slip inside, locking the door to use the facilities before coming out to wash my hands.

When I turn off the water, the doorknob captures my attention. It’s smooth. There’s no obvious lock.

I dry my hands on a towel. Walking over, I shut the door to my room and try to figure out how to lock it. There’s no lock. Wait. I turn and go to his door. It’s the same knob. And there isn’t a way to lock it. I leave it open.

What the fuck? Panic flutters through me.

Neither door locks on the inside or outside of the doors. It’s not like Damon hasn’t seen me naked. My stomach churns. Him seeing an image of me naked when I wasn’t aware is very different than standing naked in front of him. Vulnerable, within touching distance.

I’d love to think it’s a fail-safe to make sure I don’t accidentally get locked out of my bathroom, but it seems intentional.

Everything.

His dark voice haunts me. A shiver runs down my spine. What does everything even mean? I glance at the open door to Damon’s bedroom. I bite my lip.

I shouldn’t. But he was in my room when I wasn’t aware. He invaded my inner sanctum and watched me for days. Like he said, he showed me his. Well he saw mine...

Fuck it. I walk into his room.

His earthy scent makes my head spin. I don’t know what it is about Damon that captivates me. His desk draws my attention. His calculus book is out on it and it looks like he was doing his homework. Unsurprisingly, all the answers are correct.

The surface of his desk is otherwise clean. I glance at the closed door to the hallway. He went through my room. And more. He stood over me while I slept, and what? Studied me?

It’s only fair I get to creep around his room. I have no idea where he is or when he’ll come back. Instead of fear, a thrill works through me.

I’ve never done anything like this before.

I’m sure his desk drawers are like mine, filled with supplies. Fuck that. I want to know what’s in his nightstand. I walk over and sit on the edge of his bed, with another quick glance at the door.

It’s shut and when I don’t hear anything, I pull open the top drawer of his nightstand and look up at the door, totally expecting the act of violating his sanctuary would have summoned him. When the door remains closed, I focus on the drawer and its contents.