Chapter 9
NINE
CLARA
“I’m not fucking my brother,” I snap.
I know I sound defensive as hell, but Luke is not my brother… at least not biologically. The girls arch a brow at me, obviously not believing me. I throw my legs over the side of the bed and stand up tall.
Sarah and Barbara are still staring at me in disbelief. I take the moment to snatch one of the phones out of their hands and look at the screen. That’s when I see what they’re talking about.
It’s a headline, not just on some girl’s social media. No, this is one of the biggest celebrity gossip sites in the country. And it’s a cropped picture of us. Of last night, in that closet. If you could see the whole thing, you would see my skirt pulled up to my waist and him inside of me.
I’m horrified.
Not only because I know exactly what was happening in that photo but because it’s plastered all over the Internet for the world to see. My entire body stiffens at the sight. Slowly, I lift my gaze to meet Sarah’s. I know without a doubt that I look as horrified as I feel on the inside.
She presses her lips together, her eyes wide as she watches me, waiting for me to say something. The headline says it all, though. And I know she believes those words more than anything else right now.
VALENTINE TREAT: HOCKEY STAR CAUGHT WITH SISTER.
“He’s not my brother,” I whisper.
Barbara is the next to speak, and I know she’s attempting to be nonjudgmental, but how can you not be judgy when you see something like that?
“Who is he, honey? We only know him as Luke Sullivan.”
Nodding my head a couple of times, I don’t answer immediately. I’ve kept this secret for so long that I don’t want to confess it. Saying it out loud changes everything. I can’t take my horrified gaze off the image on Sarah’s phone. The image of me and Luke. The picture that is going to ruin everything I hold close to me.
“Our parents got married when he was eighteen and I was sixteen. He was already playing semiprofessional hockey. I didn’t meet him until their wedding day.”
Slowly, I lift my gaze to theirs and wait for the rest of the judgment. I brace for impact, but it doesn’t come. Instead, Sarah takes a step toward me and wraps her arms around me in an embrace.
“Okay, so you’re stepsiblings.”
Pressing my lips together, I nod as I take a step backward. “We are stepbrother and stepsister,” I say.
Those words should be liberating. I’m finally telling someone the truth. But they aren’t. The rest of the world thinks that sexy professional hockey player Luke Sullivan is screwing his sister. And that is one of the many reasons this was a secret between us. A secret that was supposed to remain that way.
“What are you going to do?” Barbara asks.
That’s the question, isn’t it? Chewing on my bottom lip, I look down at the image and the headline again and let out a heavy sigh. I know Luke is famous, at least when it comes to hockey, but it’s not like paparazzi follow him around, so I can’t help but wonder how this story broke as quickly as it did.
Those girls must have already known who he was. That’s the only explanation I can think of. God, this is my worst nightmare come true.
“I don’t know,” I confess. “I guess just wait to see what Luke has to say.”
They give me a single nod, and then Sarah wipes her tears away and jerks her chin in the air. “Let’s get you something to eat,” she offers.
Food is the absolute last thing I want right now, but I don’t argue with her, mainly because I don’t have the energy. Handing Sarah her phone back, I hold up my finger for them to wait and walk back to my nightstand to grab my own phone.
Holding my breath, I chance a look at my notifications. I have fifteen missed calls. All from my mother and none from Luke, which means he either doesn’t know or doesn’t know what to say to me, so he’s avoiding me completely.