Chapter Eight

Hannah

“So, have you eaten?”

I rolled over on the hotel bed. “Nope,” I said into the phone. “But before you start ranting at me, I will.”

“Hannah, you’ve been avoiding food all week.” Layla’s concern was clear in her voice. “I’m sorry I had to bail on you tonight.”

“What are you doing?” I asked, sitting up. She had been very cagey about it. All I knew was on Saturday night she had to do something for Cyrus.

“Trust me, you wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

“I have to sit down with your dad and talk numbers.” The dread was clear in her voice. “Do you have any idea how terrifying your dad is?”

I laughed. “He isn’t that bad.”

“Yes, he is. And your brother is just as bad. I swear Tyson’s favorite thing to do is glare at me.” Layla seemed to really dislike my brother at the moment. “I don’t know what his problem is!”

“You sat together on Monday last week in English, right? Was he okay then?”

“Nope. All I got was short answers and his normal rude behavior.”

“Maybe he is jealous.”

“Of what?!”

“From what I’ve heard, you got on with Cameron.”

She groaned into the phone. “I gave him a black eye!”

“Yeah and he is telling everyone he got it from someone else.” I laughed. I’d overheard Cameron explain his black eye to Dad. Something about a bar fight, which normally would score the attention of police and if there was one thing Dad hated, it was his members scoring the attention of the police.

But Cameron didn’t have the police’s attention. He just copped a black eye for touching Layla. The girl could punch.

“So, are you just sitting down with Dad or will your boyfriend be there?” I smugly smirked, knowing how much she would hate me referring to Tyson as her boyfriend.

“Real mature, Hannah.”

“Well, I’m ordering room service.”

“Good. I want you eating. But I still don’t see why you can’t go home.” Her normal concerns about me not being home were clear in her voice. It had been my first week of radiation. I had been at the hospital twice a day. I was glad it was just a once a day occurrence from now on.

I was waiting to get sore or break out in a rash. But so far I hadn’t encountered any problems. It was painless.

“I just can’t lie to them tonight.” I didn’t have the strength. I knew the exhaustion would hit me. Being tired from radiation was a common side effect. I couldn’t say I was fine one more time. I don’t know why, but it seemed I was attracting everyone’s attention right now.

Tyson had for some reason today made it his mission to keep asking me if I was okay. I wanted to know who put the sign around my neck saying I wasn’t!

“Fair enough. Look, I have to go. I’ve just pulled into hell on earth.”

I grinned. “So you’re at my house then?”

“Yes, it’s a fucking mansion. Why couldn’t he talk to me at the clubhouse?”

“He’s making it more personal.” I kept grinning, knowing Dad. “Feel honored. No one is allowed in our house. Not even members.”

“Guess I’m just lucky,” she scoffed, hating her luck right now.

“Have a good night.”

“Like that is going to happen if your brother is involved.”

“Don’t be too hard on him. I really think there is a reason behind his behavior.”

“Yeah, he’s a self-absorbed human being,” she snapped. “Seriously, if he has a problem with me, he should just say it. Not being so childish that he ignores me, and this is after he made an effort to be nice at that party.”

Layla explained what happened at the party. Honestly, I’m surprised Tyson had the self-control to let her out of his sight.

“I have a feeling your night is going to turn around,” I said as there was a knock on my door.

“Doubtful. Very doubtful.”

“My brother is known for picking up a girl’s mood,” I sniggered, knowing Tyson.

“Well, he puts me in a foul mood. Honestly the second your dad is done with me, I’m out of the haunted mansion.”

“Hey, that’s my house you are calling haunted!”

“Any house that has Tyson Wilson living in it is haunted.”

I laughed. “With ex-girlfriends maybe.”

When I thought about it, though, Tyson never let a girl come back to our house. He would always drag them to his dorm room.

In fact, he had never brought one girl to the house. I was going to tell Layla that so she didn’t feel like one of the many but there was another knock on my door.

“Okay, I’m going to face my fate. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Layla said into the phone and then hung up, not giving me a chance to tell her Tyson didn’t let girls come over to our house.

There was another knock on my door. Who could it be? I hadn’t ordered room service yet.

I opened the door with a forced smile on my face, ready to be nice to whatever staff member had decided to annoy me. Then my smile fell. It wasn’t a staff member of the hotel.

It was Brad.