I hissed as I stepped under the cold spray of the shower, my overheated skin sensitive to the sudden temperature change. I hadn’t intended to tease Bambi like I had, but after I’d gotten that first reaction out of her while she was inside trying to draw… I couldn’t help myself. I wanted more of them. 

And I had to admit that it felt good being able to get a rise out of her. Not because I wanted to torture her, but because, for the first time since she’d arrived, I didn’t feel like I had to hold myself back. 

I’d done enough of that already thanks to Caroline. 

I tilted my head back under the water and exhaled a long, slow breath, the tail end of it tapering off into a chuckle.

As much as I’d enjoyed watching Bambi squirm from across the kitchen table, I’d loved those little micro-expressions and subtle cues she couldn’t hide even more. That tiny hitch in her breathing? I felt it down to my bones. The way her cheeks flushed, turning my favorite shade of pink. Hell, even the way she glared daggers at me. She thought she was being tough when really it just made her look cute as all hell. 

Ah, shit. I was so fucking done for, wasn’t I?

I squeezed shampoo into my palm and rubbed my hands together. The scent drifted around me, but something about it was off. 

My brows pulled together as I picked up the bottle again, squinting at the label. 

It was the same shampoo I’d been using for the last four years. Why did it all of a sudden—

Bambi. 

I’d gotten so used to my scent clinging to her that now my own shampoo smelled wrong. 

I shook my head and chuckled again.

Yeah, pal. So fucking done.

Once I’d dried off and changed, I found Bambi in her usual spot in the living room. Her chin rested in her hand, her gaze fixed beyond the window. The notebook sat open on the table in front of her, the page blank. 

As I moved closer, she turned her head, her thoughtful expression softening into a smile when she saw me. 

I had only taken a few steps when my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket, grimacing at the screen before answering. It was the rehab center where Caroline was staying.

“Graham speaking. Wait, what?”

Bambi’s brows furrowed when I glanced over at her.

“Sorry,” I mouthed to her and headed into my office, leaving the door ajar behind me.

“What do you mean she’s refusing treatment?” I asked.

“Exactly that, sir. I’m afraid I can’t say more over the phone. It’s best that you come down immediately.”

My fingers tightened around my phone. “I’m not sure that my presence will have the effect that you’re hoping for. I’m sure it’ll only serve to make matters worse.”

“I’m sorry, sir, but your mother is insisting she see you.”

“She can insist all she likes, but I’m sorry, I’m going to have to decline.”

“But sir!”

“You should go.” Bambi’s soft voice drifted into the office. She lingered in the narrow opening between the door and the frame, concern written across her features.

The advisor continued speaking, but I barely registered a word he was saying. Bambi’s voice was already looping through my head.

She had no idea what she was asking. 

And how could she? Caroline was the one topic I avoided speaking with her about. How was I supposed to tell her that the one person in her life who hadn’t abandoned her was the reason I’d walked away from Bambi in the first place?Caroline may have been a shit parent to Bambi, but she never treated her the way she treated me. Despite everything she had gone through because of Caroline, there was no denying that Bambi still cared for her. I couldn’t bring myself to ruin that.

“Sir?” The advisor’s voice cut through the phone. 

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I told the advisor. I hung up the phone before he could respond and tossed my phone onto my desk.

Bambi entered the office and stopped in front of me. “I can go with you if you’d like.”

“No,” I said too curtly, making Bambi flinch. 

“I’m sorry,” I said, softening my voice. “I didn’t mean it like that. What I meant to say is that this isn’t something you should have to deal with.” 

“Alright.” She reached out and took my hand. “I’m here if you need me.”

Bambi gave my hand a squeeze, then left the office.

Fuck. Was I really about to do this? I hadn’t seen Caroline since that night in the alley. I’d gotten her admitted, gone down to the clinic to finish the paperwork, but not once had I seen her. 

I gave myself another minute to collect myself before heading out for the thirty-minute drive to the clinic.

Tim, the advisor I’d spoken with on the phone, met me at the front desk. “Glad you could make it, sir.” He gestured toward a long white hallway. “Follow me, please.”

I followed him down the hall, the echo of our footsteps bouncing off the walls. There were no windows, no photos, no corny inspirational posters. Just stark white walls and a hallway that seemed endless. 

Tim stopped in front of a large metal door with a single narrow window and punched in a keycode. The lock released with a mechanical whirr. 

“Here you are,” he said, opening the door for me. 

“Thanks,” I said, stepping past him. 

My eyes immediately landed on Caroline. She sat at a table in the center of the room, her hands folded together on the tabletop.

She smiled the moment she saw me. I couldn’t help but notice that it lacked any sort of maternal warmth one would expect from a mother who hadn’t seen her son in over four years. 

To anyone else, it would have seemed perfectly normal. I recognized it for what it was. A mask. 

I didn’t return it as I crossed the room. I took the chair opposite her and folded my hands in front of me, mirroring her posture.

“Caroline.”

Her smile vanished. “Nice of you to finally show up,” she said. “You dump me in this godforsaken facility and couldn’t be bothered to visit once?”

“I see we’re done with the false pretenses, then,” I replied. Figures she couldn’t keep up the act for more than a minute.

“Why am I here, Caroline?”

“Is that really any way to speak to your mother?”

“You’re not my mother. Haven’t been for years. Now I’ll ask you again, why am I here?”

Caroline sat a little straighter, one corner of her thin lips twitching upward.

“Where is she, Graham? You have her, don’t you?”

She. Her.

She spoke of Bambi as if she were nothing more than a possession. Like she had no value beyond being a pawn she could use against me. 

“Is this why you’ve asked me here? Why you’ve been causing problems for the staff? Why you’ve refused treatment? To talk about Bambi?”

“I knew you wouldn’t have shown up otherwise.”

“You’re right. I wouldn’t have. We have nothing to say to each other. We both know that.”

“Does she know where you’ve stuck me, hmm? Does she know that you’ve had your own mother committed?”

“Bambi’s safe. And yes, she knows.” 

“Safe?” Caroline scoffed. “She was safe with me.” She leaned across the table, her tone sharpening as she continued. “You did this on purpose, didn’t you? You put me in here just so you could have her all to yourself.”

I dropped my hands to my lap, clenching them into fists below the table. 

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve done, Graham. I know you took possession of the apartment. I know that you’ve got Hazel.”

“Bambi,” I corrected. 

“You’ll ruin her,” she said, her nose wrinkling. “I saw how you looked at her when you two were kids, how she followed you around like a little puppy dog, hung on your every word. You never discouraged it. You liked it, didn’t you?”

“Enough, Caroline.”

The corner of her mouth twitched again, satisfaction flickering in her eyes.

“I know you did,” she sneered. “She was an innocent little girl and you took advantage—”

“Enough!” I slammed my hands down on the table and stood, the chair toppling to the floor. 

I leaned across the table, both hands planted firmly on the tabletop. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. If you only brought me here so you could spew your bullshit, then I’m leaving.”

Caroline’s laughter echoed behind me as I left the visitation room. It stayed with me all the way back to my truck.

I slammed the door shut and dropped my head to the steering wheel.

Coming to see her was a mistake. I should have known better than to expect she’d do anything but attack me. 

That vicious fucking bitch.

I started the truck and pulled away from the clinic. As I headed down the main road, my mind drifted to the past.

Bambi standing in my doorway, a stuffed animal clutched in her arms, unable to sleep because our parents were fighting. Bambi hiding behind me, her hands clenched in my shirt as Caroline screamed at us for breaking something. Sitting with Bambi’s all night after her dad had passed and holding her until she’d cried herself to sleep. 

My hands trembled with anger as I pulled into the driveway and killed the engine.

This was what she wanted. To get under my skin. To corrupt the innocent moments of our childhood. 

I caught movement at the edge of my vision, and when I looked up, I saw Bambi standing on the front porch. She was leaning against the railing, smiling at me. 

The moment our eyes met, the anger that had followed me home loosened its grip. 

I got out of the truck and headed toward her. 

“How’d it go?” she asked.

I walked up the porch steps, pulled her against my chest, and locked my arms around her. 

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” I said, resting my cheek on top of her head. “Not yet.”

Bambi’s arms closed around me, holding me tightly. “Whenever you’re ready.”

The clinic, the conversation with Caroline—if you could call it that—all faded into the background. In Bambi’s arms, all I felt was peace.

Bambi’s arms loosened and she looked up at me. “What do you need? How can I help?”

“Nothing,” I said, reaching up to brush a few loose strands of hair back from her face. “You’ve already done enough just by being here, Bambi.” 

I kissed her forehead lightly, breathing in her familiar scent.

“Let’s go in,” she said. She slipped her hand into mine and led me inside. 

As the door closed behind us, I realized that all this time, I’d thought I was saving Bambi. Turns out, she’d been saving me right back.

I stopped short. I pulled Bambi back toward me, cupped her face in my hands, and kissed her. 

“Thank you,” I said after breaking the kiss.

Bambi smiled up at me, her thumb tracing the curve of my bottom lip. “I’m beginning to like the way you thank me.”

She rose onto her toes and pressed her lips to mine again. 

And just like that, everything that had happened earlier vanished from my mind. 

All that existed was us.

Chapter Thirteen →