CHAPTER 6:THE LOOK

I almost made it to the stairs.

Richard’s voice stopped me in the hallway.

“Eliana. Come here for a minute.”

He was standing in the doorway of his office, one shoulder leaning against the frame. The late afternoon light coming through the blinds cut across half his face. He had taken off his jacket at some point. His white shirt was open at the collar, sleeves rolled to the elbows. He looked calm. He always looked calm. That was what made it worse.

I walked over, keeping my expression neutral. “Yeah?”

He didn’t move aside to let me in. He just studied me for a moment, then stepped back and gestured toward one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“Sit.”

My stomach tightened, but I did as he said. The leather chair felt cold through my leggings. Richard closed the door with a soft click and walked around to his side of the desk. He didn’t sit. He remained standing, looking down at me.

“You’ve been quiet the last few days,” he said.

“I’ve been busy with school.”

“Have you?”

The question was mild. The way he watched my face was not.

I kept my hands still in my lap. “Midterms are coming up. I’ve been studying a lot.”

Richard nodded slowly, like he was considering whether to believe me. His eyes moved over my face—my eyes, my mouth, the faint shadow under my jaw where Josh’s teeth had been two nights ago. I had covered it with concealer, but under this light I suddenly wasn’t sure it was enough.

“You look tired,” he said.

“I am.”

“And nervous.”

My pulse jumped. “I’m not nervous.”

Richard’s mouth curved slightly, but it wasn’t a smile. “You’re fidgeting with the sleeve of your sweater. You only do that when you’re uncomfortable.”

I forced my hands to stop. “I’m fine, Richard.”

He was quiet for a few seconds. Then he came around the desk and leaned back against the edge of it, only a few feet away from me. Up close I could smell the faint trace of his cologne and the coffee he must have been drinking earlier.

“Is Josh bothering you?” he asked.

The directness of the question knocked the air out of my lungs for a second. I recovered as quickly as I could.

“No. Why would you think that?”

“Because the two of you have been… different. He watches you when he thinks no one is looking. You avoid looking at him at all. And this morning at breakfast you flinched when he passed behind your chair.”

I hadn’t realized anyone had noticed that.

“We’re just not getting along as well lately,” I said carefully. “That’s all. Sibling stuff.”

“Step-sibling stuff,” he corrected quietly.

I met his eyes. They were a darker brown than I usually paid attention to, steady and unreadable.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” he asked.

My throat felt tight. “No.”

Richard held my gaze for a long moment. Then, slowly, his eyes left my face. They traveled down—over my neck, my collarbones, the shape of my breasts under the soft sweater, my waist, my hips, my legs crossed at the ankle. It wasn’t a quick glance. It was deliberate. Heavy. The kind of look that felt like a hand.

My skin prickled.

I shifted in the chair, suddenly too aware of how little space there was between us. The air in the office felt thicker. I told myself I was imagining the intent behind it. Richard was my stepfather. He was just looking. People looked.

But the way his eyes lingered on the place where my sweater met the waistband of my leggings made my stomach twist with something I didn’t want to name.

I cleared my throat. “Was that all?”

Richard’s eyes lifted back to mine. For a second something unguarded flickered there—dark, interested, almost hungry—before it vanished behind the usual calm.

“For now,” he said.

The silence that followed was awkward enough that I felt heat rise in my cheeks. I looked away first, focusing on the edge of the desk.

Richard exhaled quietly, as if deciding to let whatever he was thinking go. He straightened and walked back around to his chair, sitting down this time. The shift in his posture made the moment feel slightly less dangerous.

“How are your classes going?” he asked, voice lighter. Almost normal.

I latched onto the change in subject with relief. “They’re fine. I’m doing well in most of them. Statistics is harder than I expected, but I’m managing.”

“Do you need a tutor?”

“No. I’ve got it under control.”

He nodded. “And your friends? Chloe and Maya? They were here the other night.”

“They’re good. We just hung out. Nothing special.”

“You seemed distracted after they left.”

I gave a small shrug. “Just tired.”

Richard watched me for another few seconds, then leaned back in his chair. “All right. I won’t keep you. If anything is going on that you don’t want to handle alone, you know you can come to me.”

The words were fatherly. The look that accompanied them still wasn’t.

“I know,” I said, standing. “Thanks.”

I walked to the door as evenly as I could. My hand was already on the knob when he spoke again.

“Eliana.”

I glanced back.

Richard was still watching me, eyes moving once more from my face down to my legs and back up, slower this time. The weight of it made my pulse stumble.

“Get some rest,” he said quietly.

I nodded, stepped out into the hallway, and closed the door behind me.

Only when I was halfway up the stairs did I realize my hands were shaking.

I went straight to my room, locked the door, and sat on the edge of the bed with my heart still beating too fast.

Richard had seen more than I wanted him to.

And the way he had looked at me—

I told myself it didn’t mean anything.

I almost believed it.