---- claws out. The kind that didn't bother pretending. No one made a sound. "'s..sorry," I choked out, barely able to breathe. I didn't bother to explain. He wouldn't have listened. He never did. "Go apologize to Rhyn," he barked. '"'Grovel at her feet. Say it like you mean it. Or you can pack up your shit and get the hell out of my house for good! " My fever had blurred everything by now. The air felt heavy and unreal. But that last sentence cut through it all. Like music. I steadied myself. Pulled against the grip he had on my shirt. He thought I was heading toward the girl, so he let ---- go easily. "Alright," I said, smiling at him. "Then goodbye, Charles." And with that, I turned, straightened my back, and walked out of Room 1808, without once looking back. Behind me, his voice rose in a final roar, the sound of it muffled and buried the moment the door clicked shut. "Mindy! You'd better not regret this!"