Page 26 of Dirty Monsters

I should have never dragged her ass into the closet, but I did. Now, I had to wonder if it was what caused my world to spin into hell today.

For starters, Wren didn't seem to heed my warning of staying off the beach. She made her way down there just as she promised, and I had to pretend not to notice so if she was caught, I could play the "I didn't even see her" card.

I surfed all morning, releasing the adrenaline I had pumping through me. I was hoping Wren would leave the beach before I was done, but no such luck. If you can't beat them, join them, right? So, I made my way to her and gave her the lamest form ofget lostin the world.

Truthfully, I didn't want her to leave. Even as kids, I always had a soft spot for Wren Carrington. A part of me assumed it was because she was my kid sister, and I was supposed to love her. Another part of me believed, as we grew older, I felt sorry for her because she had to deal with the scary side of my brother.

Mostly, I assumed I cared for her out of guilt. Guilt that sometimes haunted me to this very day. She was my little sister, and I let her down continually each time my brother deemed her worthy of his menacing attention. My biggest regret was not stopping him.

Another part of me didn't want her anywhere near me. My sixteen-year-old self still held a grudge, and I wasn't sure I could let it fade away. The foster family who adopted us after I left the Carrington house taught us forgiveness was weakness. If you had a grudge, you held on to that motherfucker until your dying breath.

Every fiber of my being begged to drag words from her lips. I wanted all the bits of information from her I could get by whatever means necessary—what happened over the years, how had she been, what she remembered.

She said she had a thing for coke, but did it stop there? Was everything an addiction for her? A lot of times, patients came here with an addiction to a substance, but their addictions spread far and wide.

Gambling, sex, money, power, cigarettes, alcohol.

Not all were as heinous, though. Some people had addictions to scents, foods, and colors.

The bottom line was, an addict was an addict, and sometimes, they replaced one addiction for another—usually a lesser medium.

I wanted to know all of Wren’s details and addictions, but it was Molly's traded addiction that was the star of the day.

I was sitting in a conference room, my head on the table in defeat as I said for the millionth time, "I have no idea what would possess Molly to do something so harmful. She probably has a crush. It isn't uncommon for patients to attach themselves to their caretakers."

"She was cut up and said you attacked her, Ro. This is much bigger than a crush."

"Maybe it's her new addiction," I scoffed.

“Rohlen!” I pulled my head up at the fierce voice of my boss, Mrs. Tessier. She was the head of the entire facility. "Take this seriously. Where were you this morning? Tom said you were not in your room."

"I told you, I was on the beach surfing like I am each morning."

"Alone?" I balked at her sharp question.

This is the part where I am supposed to say,"Another patient, Wren Carrington, I believe, was down there. She can vouch for me."

But I didn't. Not only to protect Wren but also to protect myself. Wren wasn't supposed to be down there, and it would be on her, but I didn't want to risk Wren getting kicked out of Orange House. Coming to me was the only way I could keep a proper eye on her.

"Yes, I was alone," I repeated for the millionth time.

She raised an eyebrow, "You realize that means you have no alibi, right?"

"I know," I shrugged. "It is her word against mine. Who do you believe?"

She took a deep breath and leaned back in her chair. "Ro, I need proof. Molly’s family is loaded, and they could bankroll this place twenty times over and fire us all with one word. We need to tread carefully.”

I chewed on my lip, debating on telling her about Wren so she had proof, but she spoke first and made the decision for me.

"We have a new patient coming to Orange House." She had my attention, but I knew it was Wren. She shuffled through some papers on the long table and found what she was looking for. “Ah, yes. Wren Carrington. Her father sent her here after an overdose. She is a wild one, not very inclined to follow the rules and protocol. Gut instinct tells me she isn’t ready for Orange House yet, but I don’t have a choice in the matter.”

“I can handle it,” I said, maybe too quickly. Telling her Wren was on the beach was officially not an option, not if she was already on the tip of the scales.

She took a deep breath and nodded, “It’s why we were sending you to escort her and tend to her personally. This mess today ruined our plans for both houses. So here is what’s going to happen. First, go get her.”

I perked up, half surprised she wasn’t firing me on Molly’s word alone, and half surprised she was sending me back into the house before the case could be closed.

“You want me to get Miss Carrington and bring her to Orange?”