Casing ✔️

Chapter 6

Nina narrowed her eyes, and opened her mouth, but dad started speaking again before she could get out even a sound. "You remember Orlov? The guy who took Michael's wife, Damian's mother? He would take you too, if you got too close. I can't have that happen."

"I'll keep her away from him," I said, my mouth still full of food. Dad turned towards me as I swallowed and nodded, not really sure where I was going with it. "I can go out with her, and we keep each other away from the danger."

Nina nodded eagerly. "Yes, that's an amazing idea, sis!" She walked over to me and put her hand on my free shoulder. I was now trapped between her and Hank, clutching the plastic container against my stomach. "We can keep each other safe. Together."

I wanted to disappear now.

Instead, though, I decided to put more chicken into my mouth so I couldn't ruin this any more. The look in dad's eyes told me he was disappointed, yet he was thinking about it.

"They're grown ups, Kevin," Hank said, squeezing my shoulder as if to say something to me. I didn't know what, though, and I was afraid he was going to tell dad what James really did here tonight. "I'm as scared as you are that something'll happen, but...damn it, you can't lock them up in here anymore."

Dad's eyes widened, but he shook his head after just a second. I was confused, and I'd already eaten enough cold chicken to make me throw up if I walked too fast up the stairs—yet I put another piece into my mouth. Just to shut me up.

Nina clutched my shoulder and placed a kiss on my cheek that reeked of alcohol, and I did my best to send dad a smile. I was a damn grown up, just like Hank said, and if I had to convince dad I kept Nina away from Damian to get free of this castle, I could pretend to do just that. She would probably forget I existed if he turned up somewhere anyway, and I'd be free to roam the city as I pleased.

It was a great plan. And, honestly, we needed to back each other up more. We were sisters, and lately we'd been bickering a lot more than normal. I wanted to change that.

Dad groaned. It rumbled in my chest, and I carefully lifted my gaze to look at the thin line his mouth had formed. "Fine," he muttered. "I can't force you to do anything you don't want. If you promise to keep an eye on each other and never seek out Damian or any of the other members of the family, I'll lift the house arrest."

My ears rang with shock. Nina jumped around the island and hugged him, thanking him profoundly and with a lot of kisses, while I nodded to the promise. I didn't dare open my mouth, in fear of something completely and utterly dumb coming out.

Hank leaned down and whispered, "That promise includes James, Elina." Then he squeezed my shoulder again, and joined dad as he made his way out of the kitchen.

Nina winked at me. "Thanks. We'll regroup in the morning. I need to sleep off this buzz."

As she, too, disappeared, my tub of chicken and I slowly made our way upstairs so I could get some sleep too.

My head had never hurt so much before in my life. It was almost impossible to focus on the words in front of me. Almost. But, I mean, it would have to be the apocalypse to keep me from reading a good, spicy story about a tall, dark and handsome man and the love of his life.

I didn't even read the words on the pages in front of me—I lived them. I saw it all happening, forgetting that I was still sat by the window in my once-tower, a tissue in my hand, ready for the inevitable heartbreak between the two main characters in the story. They were together now, finally, after being ripped apart by bad men who swore to destroy them both. But love conquered.

The worry I still had was the thickness of the pages still left unread. How on earth could there be a straight path to their happily ever after with over a hundred pages still left? So I had my tissue ready. And I was ready to love having my heart broken by fictional people—fictional men. The only real love I'd experienced so far.

The two characters embraced and shared words of affection for each other, quickly making their way to a bed. The hero didn't waste another second before he went down on his knees and gave the heroine all the pleasure she'd craved while they weren't together, and my insides tingled. I started imagining another face on the man. And my body moved from being a bystander, to leaning my head back and moaning.

I'd always had an active imagination, and I was punished for it now, having involuntary fantasies about James.

I closed my eyes and let the book slide down to the floor, my mind conjuring the low grunts of approval James would give if he was here.

My eyes flew open as I heard footsteps outside my door, and I picked the book up as fast as I could, finding my page again.

I had to still be drunk.

"Elina?" My sister's voice reached my room before she did. The door flew open and she barged in, a black skirt so small it could qualify as a headband around her hips. She wore a lacy bra, and held up two tops for me to see. One was pink with puffy shoulders, the other was white and most likely see-through. "Which one?"

"Pink," I said, mostly because the pink one would look ridiculous, and I was not a fan of her interruption.

"Alright," she said, dropping the pink one on my bed, and moving to put on the other one. I rolled my eyes and put my bookmark into the book, uncoiling to my feet.

"What's up?" I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.

"The Gold Rose, you and me, and Ava and Hennie." She pulled her blonde locks free from the back of the top, and smiled widely.

I wasn't in the mood for another night out; I'd already found my limit yesterday. I wanted to just finish my book and live in my own world for a little while.

Ava and Hennie were good girls, but they were as fond of parties as Nina, and I wasn't like that. There was a reason I let myself be sheltered for so long.

"Oh, come on," Nina urged, walking over to open up my closet, "you can see your new friend again. He's usually there."

"I want to stay in, Nina." My voice was sturdier than I expected, which made me smile.

"I want to go out, and you're the one who said you'd keep an eye on me." She chuckled. "Like your big sister needs that. Chop, chop. I'll wait downstairs."

And then she turned on her heel, leaving me alone in my room to probably change and do as she said anyway. Because I did want to see if James was there. Just out of curiosity—nothing more. If he was at that club, drinking, several times a day, dad might've been right on some parts. Drunk men rarely said no to willing girls, but I was living proof James did.

Maybe I could prove that again.

Or I could see if the real thing would be as good as my fantasies.