Obsession Falls(98)

“You had to come back, didn’t you?” he said, his tone dripping with venom. “You couldn’t just move away and stay gone. You had to be as big a failure as I always knew you would be.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but he kept talking, his voice rising with every word.

“I was fine. I was normal, just living my life. I didn’t need to be a big fish in any size pond. I wasn’t you, I didn’t need to have people adore me. I had a good job and a decent life and I never thought about you. You left and it was like the weight of the world left my shoulders. I could finally fucking breathe. You didn’t even exist.”

His fury made my heart race.

“I left Pinecrest so I didn’t have to see the sperm donor and your bitch of a mother and everything was good. Do you know what I did when he died?”

I shook my head.

“Nothing. I didn’t celebrate and I certainly didn’t mourn. I just went to work because it didn’t fucking matter to me.”

“It seems like it matters to you now.”

“Because you should have stayed away. None of this is my fault. If you’d just stayed away like you were supposed to, I wouldn’t have had to do all this.” His eyes grew wilder by the second. “I was a normal guy before you moved back. I never hurt anyone. I never would have. You came back and you made me do it.”

“I didn’t make you do anything.”

“Yes, you did.” He stepped backward, closer to the edge. “I don’t know how you did it, but you broke me open. You unleashed the darkness that was always inside me. The sperm donor gave that to me, by the way. So it’s his fault too. But it would have stayed dormant if you hadn’t come back.”

“I didn’t know who you were, Hayden. I never knew.”

“Don’t pretend you would have cared.”

“You don’t understand. I always wanted a bro—”

“Don’t call me that!” Spittle flew from his lips. “Don’t fucking say that word. I’m not your brother.”

Max whined with fear. Hayden took another step back.

A part of me wanted to tell him that I’d never been our father’s golden child. That everything he’d seen had been for show. He hadn’t been throwing rocks at the house of a happy, perfect family. We’d been broken too, just in a different way.

But I had a feeling that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. And he wouldn’t believe me anyway.

“I’m sorry for what happened to you and I’m sorry he treated you like that. It isn’t right.”

“Too late now. What’s done is done.”

“Can you please move away from the edge? I don’t want you to fall.”

“Oh, no. That’s not what’s happening here.” His lips curled in a cruel smile. “I’m not going to end as the sad, pathetic bastard son of a crooked politician, throwing himself off a cliff because he can’t go on. We’re not out here because I’m suicidal.”

I swallowed hard. I already knew the answer, but I asked anyway. “Then why are we here?”

“I’ve thought about this long and hard, I want you to know that. I liked my life before you showed up. I’d finally found peace. I just want my life back.”

“You have your life. It doesn’t have anything to do with me.”

He shook his head, almost sadly. “No, I don’t. I was in control before, but I’m not now, and I won’t be if you’re here. I thought it would be enough to make you go away but that just leaves the door open for you to come back again. Besides, I’m smart enough to realize I don’t want to grapple with that mountain man you’ve been fucking.”

Josiah. His name ran through my mind, almost like a prayer. Tears sprang to my eyes at the thought of leaving him. There was no doubt in my mind Hayden wanted me dead and the pain that would cause Josiah was more horrible than the possibility of being murdered.

“He did me quite the favor by leaving you alone today. I thought I might have to wait longer for this opportunity. And if you’re wondering whether you’ll survive the fall, I can assure you, you won’t. It’s nothing but rocks at the bottom.” His lip curled again. “I’ve tested it.”

I didn’t want to know what poor creature, or creatures, he’d thrown off that cliff.

Could I outrun him? I was in flip-flops and probably had a broken toe. He was taller than me and undoubtedly faster. And would he push Max over the edge if I ran?

“So you’re just going to throw me over?”

He reached behind him and pulled a knife out of his back pocket. “After I kill your dog in front of you.”

“You’re crazy.”

“No, I’m thorough. Trust me, the suicide note is very convincing, as is the journal confessing all the mental health problems you tried to hide. And no one will find Max’s body. They’ll come to the conclusion that you jumped and your dumb dog ran off and probably got eaten by a cougar.” His eyes narrowed and he held up the knife. “If you run, I’ll kill him slowly—make sure it hurts.”

“Why are you telling me all this? Why didn’t you just do it?”

“I like seeing the fear in your eyes. It’s quite a rush. You unleashed the darkness, Audrey, and I don’t know if I’ll ever put it back.”