Chapter 39

Miles put his phone away. He had better things to do than argue with Julian and Adrian.

The physics teacher had covered the board in formulas and symbols. Miles couldn't make sense of any of them, which was why he'd taken out his phone to see whether his sister had messaged him.

Adrian clearly had too much time on his hands. What was the point of posting something like that just to show off? Ellie praised Miles for studying every single day. Did he go around boasting about it? Of course he didn't.

And Julian used to be so busy that they barely saw him, let alone anything he'd posted. Now he found an excuse to update his feed every few days, all because he wanted Ellie to leave a like. Did he think Miles hadn't noticed?

Neither of them stood a chance.

As soon as class ended, Dylan tossed a notebook onto his desk.

“Here. Today's.”

Miles opened it, found the page with the neatest handwriting, and took a picture. A moment later, it was on its way to Elise.

He sent her pictures of his notes almost every day now. She never seemed to get tired of them. Somehow, she even found something different to praise each time.

Dylan watched him settle back with a look of complete satisfaction.

“Seriously, Miles. Do you have to send her one every day?”

He'd met people who doted on their little sisters. Miles was in a category of his own. Studying for her sake was one thing; going to these lengths for a few words of praise was something else entirely.

Dylan shuddered at the thought.

Miles raised an eyebrow. “Would you complain about getting praised too much?”

His new dedication to school gave him an advantage the other two couldn't match. Why else had Ellie been so stern with Adrian that morning? She hadn't wanted him to discourage Miles from studying.

It worked. He intended to keep it working.

Dylan clicked his tongue and shook his head. Only Miles would have the nerve to pull this off once and decide to make it a daily habit.

Elise seemed like such a sweet girl. What would happen when she got angry? Would getting down on his knees to apologize even save Miles then?

Dylan rather wanted to see him try.

That evening, the three brothers were still competing for every bit of their sister's attention.

“Ellie, I've booked us a table for tomorrow night,” Julian said, his expression gentle. “Come out to dinner with me?”

At home, his two younger brothers were always making a nuisance of themselves. Taking her out would give him a little peace.

Adrian gave a dismissive huff. “If we're going out for dinner, we can all go. Why do you need to take her on your own?”

“You go,” Miles said. “I'm staying home to study.”

He turned to Elise, expectation barely concealed in his eyes. Even on the weekend, he was giving up the chance to go out and have fun. She could see how hard he was trying, couldn't she?

She'd been about to speak, but that made her pause.

“You're not going out at all?”

Miles shook his head solemnly. “Too much fun makes you lose sight of what matters. I could spend that time doing a few more problems. There are some I don't understand, actually. Could you help me with them later, Ellie?”

If he was willing to work this hard, she would gladly help. She nodded at once, thoroughly pleased. He really was making more of an effort every day.

Julian and Adrian exchanged a look. They might as well sit back and enjoy the performance.

With Miles apparently out of the running, they returned to the more pressing question of who was taking Elise to dinner. Each had an answer for everything the other said. When their remarks began to turn personal, she hurried to interrupt.

“I can't go anywhere with either of you tomorrow.”

All three fell silent.

“Why?” Julian asked, frowning.

If she meant to spend the entire weekend studying, wouldn't that be too much for her?

“I'm helping Mom and Dad move.”

Just after school, the salesperson who'd handled her condo purchase had called. All the paperwork was finished. She could move in the next day.

Her parents' old address had been posted online, and curious strangers still turned up from time to time to bother them. They'd been staying with neighbors, afraid to sleep at home. They couldn't keep imposing on someone else indefinitely.

With the weekend coming, Elise had called on the way home. She'd come up with an excuse for the new place and spent a long time coaxing them before they'd finally agreed to live there. Tomorrow, she would help them move.

The brothers all knew the doxxing had involved her adoptive parents. Over the past few days, Miles had also learned quite a bit from Daniel.

After the bankruptcy in their previous life, the Bennetts had looked after the brothers, too. They'd never forgotten that kindness. Since coming back, each had wanted a chance to see the couple again and thank them properly.

“I'll have Daniel find a few people to help you,” Julian said.

Elise waved that away. “You don't need to. I've already hired movers. They'll take care of it.”

They were her parents. They had no real connection to her brothers, as far as she was concerned. This was her responsibility. How could she ask her brothers to do it for her?

“There'll be something else that needs doing,” Adrian said softly. “Let me come and help.”

He wasn't comfortable with the thought of her going alone to deal with a crew of big, burly movers.

Miles looked serious, too. “I'll get Dylan and the others to move everything for you.”

At the prospect of Dylan being recruited as unpaid labor, Elise shook her head even harder.

“No. None of you are coming tomorrow. I can manage on my own.”

The three of them gave her enough of a headache at home. Tomorrow was her chance for a quiet day. Besides, her parents were getting older. They shouldn't have to put up with this much commotion.

Her refusal left no room for negotiation. For several seconds, no one at the table spoke.

Adrian broke the silence. He glanced at his brothers and smiled.

“If Ellie doesn't want me there, I won't go. I listen to what she says.”

The implication was clear enough. He was the brother who respected her wishes. Anyone who turned up after being told to stay away would be the one upsetting her.

Julian looked at him, then smiled in a way Elise couldn't quite read.

“Of course. If that's what you want, Ellie, I won't go.”

Half reassured, she turned to Miles.

He stayed quiet for a few seconds. “...All right.”

At last, she could relax. With none of her brothers interfering, tomorrow ought to be peaceful.

She missed the thoughtful looks on all three faces as they lowered their heads. A chance to make a good impression on her adoptive parents? They weren't about to let that slip away.

The condo was downtown, close to Northbridge High. Her parents were particularly pleased about that part.

Once the moving truck had parked outside the building, Elise took them upstairs and showed them around.

It wasn't especially large: two bedrooms and a living room. But the rooms had plenty of light, the interiors were nicely finished, and some of the appliances came with the place.

Without her story about a special rental discount, neither of them would have agreed to move in.

“How much does this cost a month?” Mrs. Bennett asked anxiously.

Now that she was standing inside, it looked even nicer than she'd expected. How many days at the produce stall would it take to afford a place like this?

Elise hadn't told them she owned it. Years of being careful with money had made frugality automatic. Her parents would rather live somewhere smaller and farther out than spend on a spacious home.

In her previous life, their cramped, dark rental had made her father's rheumatism worse. She wouldn't let them go through that again.

She linked her arm through her mother's.

“It doesn't cost much. About the same as your old place.”

The Bennetts walked through the rooms, visibly ill at ease. They hardly dared touch anything. As soon as the movers began bringing in their belongings, they hurried over to help, embarrassed to stand by while other people worked.

There were things they'd used for more than a decade and couldn't bear to throw away: tables, chairs, little ornaments. They'd wanted to bring all of it. Some pieces were so worn and shabby that they looked completely out of place against the new interiors.

Elise knew how attached her parents were to them. She let them bring whatever they wanted.

There were three homes on the floor. The door to one of the other two stood open, and the repeated trips past it finally alerted the occupants that someone was moving in next door.

A young woman came to her entryway and peered out. At first she was simply curious. Then she saw the battered furniture among the boxes and the old, inexpensive clothes the Bennetts were wearing. Her mouth twisted, and she shut the door.

She kept watching through the peephole.

Her name was Melissa Hart. She and her boyfriend had only recently bought their own condo and moved in.

Ryan Shaw came over when he saw her looking out.

“What are you watching?”

“Our new neighbors.” Disgust sharpened Melissa's voice. “Renters, obviously. They've dragged every filthy pot and pan they own along with them. Who owns that place? You'd think they'd check who they were renting to. Apparently they'll let anyone in.”

Ryan took a look through the peephole, too.

“This is a decent building. How did people like that end up here?”

“Who knows? Maybe they've never had anything nice and decided to rent somewhere they can pretend to afford.”

Melissa was thoroughly annoyed. They'd finally bought a home of their own, somewhere they would live for years, and these were the neighbors they got?

“We should put a camera by the door,” she said. “And say something to building management. I don't want our things disappearing. Some older people have sticky fingers. They see something outside someone else's place and decide it's theirs.”

They agreed they ought to get a camera installed sometime soon.

The Bennetts had brought well over a dozen pieces, enough to fill the back of the moving truck. The crew worked in a steady relay, loading one elevator, sending it up, and unloading it on their floor.

Elise went downstairs to direct them, deciding what should go up first.

A little later, Melissa and Ryan came out to walk their toy poodle. There were two passenger elevators, but the movers had taken over one of them, and the other seemed to be taking forever.

Melissa glared at the men going back and forth.

“Are you still not finished? Do you have to keep hogging the elevator? Some people have no consideration for anyone else.”

Mrs. Bennett was tidying the living room when she heard. She hurried to the doorway.

“I'm so sorry. We're moving in today. There's another elevator over there. Would that help?”

She was used to getting along with her neighbors. At their old home, everyone liked her for being kind and ready to lend a hand. An apology came naturally to her.

Although she was much older than Melissa, she even bent forward a little as she spoke. Melissa remained rigidly upright.

She followed Mrs. Bennett's pointing hand. Besides the two passenger elevators, there was a service elevator. Wooden panels protected its interior from scrapes, and the surfaces were scuffed and dirty.

Melissa had no intention of getting into that. She rolled her eyes and turned sideways, ignoring Mrs. Bennett as if she weren't there.

The smile on the older woman's face faltered. She tried to replace it with another, smaller one, but her embarrassment showed.

Perhaps she'd been wrong to let Elise talk them into moving here.

They'd spent their whole lives being poor. That was how they thought of themselves. Moving into a nice building didn't mean their neighbors would want them around.

Ryan concealed his feelings better than Melissa. He looked down on them just as much, but at least he offered a smile.

“It's fine. Go on with what you're doing. We'll wait for the next elevator.”

Mrs. Bennett fidgeted with her fingers. She'd seen them come out of the home next door. These were people she would be living beside, and she'd always believed it mattered to get on well with your neighbors. A relative far away couldn't help as readily as someone just across the hall.

Then she noticed the little dog at the end of the leash. Her expression brightened.

“Is this your dog? What a good little thing!”

Ryan wasn't interested in chatting with a woman dressed like that. He managed a thin smile and a vague sound of agreement.

Mrs. Bennett bent down. The poodle sat watching her curiously, quiet and apparently gentle. Delighted, she reached out to pet it.

Before her hand could touch it, the leash snapped tight. The dog was jerked backward.

Ryan had pulled it away. His brows drew together as he held the leash taut, keeping the poodle well beyond her reach.

“Don't touch!” Melissa shrieked. “I've only just bought my baby that outfit!”

The movers all looked over, startled by the noise. Anyone would have thought something terrible had happened.

Melissa scooped the poodle into her arms and inspected it from one side to the other. She checked the outfit for dirt. Only when she found none did she breathe out and raise her eyes to glare at Mrs. Bennett.

With everyone looking, Mrs. Bennett felt as though she'd committed some dreadful offense. Her face turned scarlet.

“I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't know I wasn't supposed to touch...”

“You don't go putting your hands on other people's dogs!” Melissa's voice grew shriller. “Were you never taught any manners?”

Mrs. Bennett stood helplessly in the hall, burning with embarrassment. She'd never been good at arguing. Even when someone spoke to her like this, she couldn't bring herself to answer back. She kept apologizing.

“My hands are clean, honestly...”

Melissa had no patience for another word. She stabbed the elevator button again, willing it to arrive.

A chime sounded. Relief lit her face, then disappeared. The elevator that had arrived was the service elevator, not the one they were waiting for.

Its doors slid open to reveal a group of young men.

None of them looked very old. Every one of them, however, carried himself as though trouble was something he dealt out rather than avoided. They might have walked straight out of a street fight.

The one at the front looked worst. His brows were drawn into a fierce frown, his expression impatient enough to suggest he might pick a fight at any moment.

“This floor, Miles?” Dylan asked. “You're sure?”

He'd spent a whole week being forced to take notes. Now that the weekend had finally arrived, Miles had dragged him out again, this time to help his sister's adoptive parents move.

Dylan had made the mistake of asking what her adoptive parents had to do with Miles.

Miles had given him a beating for that.

“My sister's parents are my parents,” he'd said coldly. “Understand?”

Before they came, he'd also ordered the boys to leave their usual swagger and aggression behind. They were supposed to be well-behaved kids. He wanted the Bennetts to have a good impression of them.

Dylan had nearly wept. Miles could spoil his sister all he liked. Why did the rest of them have to help put on an act?

This was the same Miles who'd beaten his way through the troublemakers at every nearby school. Sending someone to the hospital had once been routine for him. He'd changed completely.

Miles looked around the landing.

“This is the floor Ethan told me.”

Melissa and Ryan exchanged a wide-eyed look.

The other boys followed that one's lead without question. And the way they all carried themselves... Had they just run into a gang?

They'd never heard that anyone in the building had connections like that. Were these boys here to settle a score?

Both began desperately searching their memories. Could they have offended someone? Were these people looking for them?

Then there were the clothes. The boys wore designer labels from head to toe, and these were luxury labels, a world beyond the brands Melissa and Ryan could afford.

Dangerous boys with serious money behind them.

They hurriedly looked away. Staring might draw attention. If the boys decided to beat them up right here, Melissa and Ryan doubted even calling the police would get them anywhere.