39. Chapter 39

Chapter thirty-nine

Fenella

I can't bring myself to say goodbye to Silas.

I don't even tell him I'm leaving.

After the party, I go back to the castle.

The next morning, Gunnar arranges for cars to the airport and for flights to get everyone where they need to go. He flies a group back to New York and then continues to Costa Rica, with a few stops on the way.

Ashton, Milo, and I take a flight to St. Johns, and then onto London so I can talk to my father.

My brother takes the seat beside me in first class. He falls asleep instantly and I stare at the screen where some movie is playing, trying to decide if this is really what I want.

I keep thinking of Silas and the expression on his face when he finds out I'm gone.

Ashton wakes up as we begin to circle Heathrow. "Hey," he mumbles.

"Wakey, wakey, Sleeping Beauty. "

"Yeah." He yawns and I hand him my bottle of water to help with his morning breath. Afternoon breath. I'm not even sure what time it is in London. "That was a cool party last night."

"Why don't you ever want to have a party?"

"Why bother, when I can let you do all the work—" He yawns again and gives his head a shake. "I need some of that coffee your boyfriend makes."

"Silas isn't my boyfriend."

"Sure looked like it last night."

"I don't know what he is."

Ashton glances sideways at me. We've always been close, despite our different lifestyles. It's always been him and me together on one side, and our parents and Evan on the other. "But you want him to be something."

I don't say anything.

Ashton shrugs. "He's a better dude than Tiger, that's for sure. What about that Sophie girl?"

"What about her?" I ask suspiciously. Other than a brief fling with Coral, Ashton has never been interested in one of my friends. And it is interest in his voice that I hear—just like he knows there's more I'm not telling him about Silas.

I'm not sure how I feel about this.

"What's her story?"

"You'll have to figure that out by yourself," I tell him curtly. "I'm not about to play matchmaker."

"Yeah, you're not very good at it."

"I am so. "

We don't say much else until the plane lands. "You going straight to see Dad?" Ashton asks.

I nod, already trying to pull up the Fenella I need to be to deal with our father. That Fenella seems very far away from the Fenella I've been for the past two weeks.

The Fenella I've become. In only two weeks, too. Battle Harbour has been good for me, in my opinion.

Let's see if my father agrees.