Whatever had happened to her in his care... she'd changed. When she returned to the house, she'd gone—seemingly overnight—from a wardrobe of sweet and normal to Queen of the Damned.
“Looks like somebody played rough last night,” Mina said, pulling Shannon from her thoughts.
Shannon put her hands in her lap. It was hard to eat waffles that way, but it seemed like her wrists had become a neon sign of nosy inquiry.
“It's nothing,” she said, again.
“She won't say who,” Julie said.
“Bet I can guess,” Mina said with a sly smile and a knowing look in her eyes. She couldn't possibly be as confident in her sexual fortune-telling capabilities as she pretended.
“Bet you can't,” Shannon said. Nobody would ever guess.
The next word out of Mina's mouth less than half a second later was, “Lindsay.”
Shannon stared down at her plate, concentrating very intensely on chewing the imaginary food she'd forgotten to put in her mouth.
“Why Lindsay?” Julie asked. “I'm sure it's Jake.”
Shannon chanced a glance up and wished she hadn't. Mina was staring right at her, as though staring through her, or into her. Like she could see shit nobody else in the world could possibly see or know. She was as eerie as Brian these days—except that she would never hurt one of the girls like he did, and definitely none of the permanent residents of the house. If she threw her weight around with the girls, it was to protect them from Brian.
“Nah,” Mina said. Then she smiled again and winked at Shannon. “It's Lindsay.”
Julie looked to Shannon expectantly. “Well? Is it the doctor?” This new possibility intrigued Julie a bit too much for Shannon's taste.
“Of course not,” Shannon said.
“It's Lindsay,” Mina said through a mouthful of waffle.
“Stop saying that!” Shannon said.
“Then stop denying it.”
“Why do you think it's Lindsay?” Shannon asked.
Mina finished the bite of waffle, then dramatically laid her fork down. There was a lengthy pause while she seemed to be putting her words together.
“There is an electricity between the two of you. Sometimes, when he doesn't think anybody notices, I catch him looking at you a little longer than he should with this sort of wistful longing I've never seen on him with anyone else. For a long time I thought the look was regret. Then I knew it was. But it wasn't the regret of something done. It was the regret of something left undone. Also, I saw him earlier this morning and he was whistling. Lindsay never whistles. All that combined with your little temporary rope tattoos didn't leave very much to my imagination.”
“Oh. My. God. This is so romantic,” Julie said. “I think you two are just perfect!”
“I hate him.” The words were out of Shannon's mouth before she could stop them. Then the tears quickly followed. She wiped her face with the back of her hand and tried to pretend she hadn't.
“You love him,” Mina said.
“That's bullshit. It's his fault I'm here. These scars on my back are his fault. My life being completely destroyed and halted is all his fault!”
Several other girls had come down for breakfast. Conversation in the cafeteria stopped as they looked over to Shannon's table. She'd gotten louder and more animated than she'd intended.
Mina noticed this break in the din of noise as well and turned in her chair. “This doesn't concern any of you,” she said to the room at large. Ever since coming back from Japan, Mina had developed this cold regal vibe that she could turn on and off as easily as a faucet. The girls quickly turned back to their food then Mina turned back to their conversation.
“Careful, Shannon. There is a very thin line between love and hate. If some part of you didn't love him, you wouldn't hate him so much. I think you're hurt more than anything.”
“Why would I be hurt?”
Mina rolled her eyes and sighed. “I told you I've seen how he reacts to you. Make no mistake, he brought you to the house for himself. Who knows why he didn't act on that impulse, but it cost you both dearly.”
“Well, now I hate him even more.” The idea that his inability to act on what they both may have wanted had created eight years of pain and angst was enough to cause her to draw the wall back up around herself.
Lindsay had almost gotten through her defenses the night before, almost had her believing him and fantasizing about what could have been and what maybe could still be. But Mina's comment was like a bucket of cold water. So maybe Lindsay really did want her. So what? That didn't mean he should have her. Definitely not after everything that had happened. Why should he be rewarded for bad behavior?
62
Lindsay arrived back at the house later than he'd intended. Still, he'd expected Shannon to be waiting in his room when he arrived. Maybe she'd forgotten? No. And if she had forgotten, if she'd determined somehow that his orders were of so little consequence she need not remember them, then a lesson needed to be taught so this wouldn't become a poor behavioral pattern.
He'd had a late dinner at the office, so he felt sharp and more ready to deal with her than she could possible anticipate. He put his things down in his office and began a systematic search of the house. He was too angry to be fearful she might have done something. And anyway, he'd spoken to Gabe before leaving that morning. He would have called if she'd tried to hurt herself again.
Speak of the devil. Gabe appeared at the end of the hallway carrying a legal pad. He handed it to Lindsay.
“A full report of everything you need to know. I had a few of the trainers keep an eye on her and report back. I made notes for you.”
Lindsay hadn't asked for that much surveillance but couldn't say he was disappointed to have the information.
“Thank you.”
“No problem. I'm headed to bed.”
“Gabe? Do you happen to know where she is now?”
“She was in the pool with Julie and Annette last I checked.”
It took some of the edge off his anger. Maybe she'd just lost track of the time. Was that entirely unforgivable? Lindsay scanned through the notes as Gabe disappeared down the hallway. It looked like a normal day. Nothing jumped out as being off. He locked the legal pad in a drawer in his office and went out to the pool.
When Shannon looked up at him, he found himself moving quickly back to anger. She hadn't just lost track of the time. She wasn't scared or sorry or regretful. And she didn't bother to apologize. The look in her eyes seethed with resentment and distaste.
So. They were back to that, were they? She'd probably spent the entire day convincing herself he was as terrible as the look on her face announced.
When he spoke, his voice was measured and even, but it fooled no one. “I thought I told you to wait for me in my room. You knew what time I'd be back.” Lindsay noted the alarm on Julie and Annette's faces. Pity that Shannon wasn't wise enough to be alarmed herself.
“I've decided I don't want to play with you,” Shannon said, nonchalantly as she did another lap down the length of the pool.
“I don't believe I ever said anything about playing,” Lindsay said. “Julie, Annette, would you leave us, please?”