Chapter 18: Monster you made
Chapter EIGHTEEN
**Kieran Morrison**
I spent the next several days at the parties with Vince - underground fights, rich kids getting wasted in penthouses, the kind of shit that made my parents’ fake world look even more pathetic. At least there, nobody pretended to give a damn about anything.
The alcohol burned, the fights bled real blood, and for a few hours I could forget about green eyes and broken promises.
But it was only delaying the inevitable. I couldn’t avoid going home forever.
It was past miday when I finally returned to our mansion. I expected the house to be empty, my parents either visiting some friends or pretending I didn’t exist like usual.
Instead, I found Mom sitting on the sofa, perfectly posed even at this hour. A magazine dangled from her manicured fingers, a steaming mug in her other hand. Like she was staging a photo shoot called "Concerned Mother Waiting Up."
Her eyes snapped to me the moment I walked in, and I saw the fury she was barely containing behind that practiced smile.
"Finally," she said, her voice saccharine sweet but with an edge sharp enough to cut. "You weren’t returning my calls, so I thought maybe you’d finally run away for good this time."
The passive-aggressive bullshit hit me immediately. "Would that make your life easier?"
Her smile faltered for just a second before she plastered it back on. "Don’t be ridiculous, Kieran. I was worried sick."
"Right." I started heading for the stairs. "Worried enough to actually come home instead of staying in Milan for another month."