Addiction

Daniel didn't sleep that night.

Claire noticed it immediately.

The dark circles beneath his eyes. The slight tremor in his hand when he reached for his coffee. The way his attention snapped toward her whenever she got close to him.

It unsettled her.

Friday night had been a terrible, reckless mistake.

For a few hours afterward, she had convinced herself she had finally regained control. That she had exposed Daniel for what he was and ended the game on her terms. She had him in her grasp now, didn't she? He had to release her if he didn't want to risk Emily finding out about his slip-up.

Instead, the game refused to end.

Daniel looked as though something inside him had broken loose.

His gaze followed her constantly now, betraying him even when he tried to hide it.

Claire caught him looking.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Each time he seemed ashamed.

And yet he couldn't take his eyes off her.

By Saturday afternoon she realized something.

Daniel wasn't recovering. He was getting worse.

His downfall should have felt satisfying. Instead, it felt menacing. Like standing too close to a fire she'd started herself.

So Claire did what she always did when something frightened her.

She pretended it didn't.
She joked.
She acted normal.

And when that didn't work, she knew she needed an ally.

More often than usual, Claire sought her mother out. She asked unnecessary questions. Made idle conversation. Cracked harmless jokes.

The two of them laughed together constantly.

To Emily, they were wonderful mother-daughter moments.

To Claire, they became a way of measuring the danger.

And the danger kept growing.

Every time, Daniel's attention shifted toward them.

Listening.

Afraid.

Afraid of what Claire might say.
Afraid of what Emily might learn.

Afraid of losing everything.

If she wanted to free herself from him, she really had to make him see that he was on the verge of destroying everything that mattered.

Even if that meant crossing every line.