Chapter 55 - Verity
Verity
Saoirse: I’m sorry
Saoirse: I said some horrible shit. You didn’t deserve any of it.
Saoirse: I’m a bad friend.
Istared at my phone, not sure what to think.
Not caving and messaging my best friend had taken a lot of willpower, but I’d decided shortly after arrival that I had to stop being a people pleaser.
While I should have told her about my relationship with her brothers, she’d had no right to unleash hell on me when she found out.
The stuff she’d screamed at me had been hurtful and completely uncalled for. I would never have said those things to her had the tables turned. Not in a million years.
Reading her messages and knowing she felt bad about what happened was a head fuck. I missed her and wanted our friendship back more than anything, but she wasn’t getting off the hook that easily.
Instead of replying straight away, I closed the app while I took a shower and got changed for bed. Thea and I had spent all day by the pool, playing volleyball and wearing the kids out. My skin was now a few shades darker, and I could barely keep my eyes open.
Although it was only 9 PM, I planned to read for a while and then catch some sleep. Switching time zones had fucked me up once again, even though the last week had gone by in a flash.
Saoirse: please talk to me!
Her message flashed up on my lock screen as I combed my wet hair and twisted it into a braid. Once I’d finished my bedtime routine, I sat back against the pillows and stared at Saoirse’s messages. Ignoring her was tempting. She deserved it for being such a bitch to me.
But I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t that person.
Me: You hurt me.
Saoirse: I know and I feel terrible. Conal said what happened in Sicily. How you could have died! And then you’d have died thinking I fucking hated you!!!
I snorted at her dramatic over-use of exclamation marks.
Me: I don’t hate you but I’m not ready to forget about the shit you said. I’m sick of being a doormat and taking all the crap people throw at me. From now on, I choose me.
She didn’t reply straight away, but I could see she’d read my message. Well, good. As much as I loved my friend, she was as guilty as everyone else for taking advantage of my good nature.
I’d lied and covered for her many times when we were teenagers and she wanted to sneak out and meet boys under her brothers’ noses.
We could still be friends - and I hoped she wanted that - but from now on, she needed to respect my boundaries.
And if that meant I said no to her stupid schemes, she either accepted it or jogged on.
Saoirse: Good. You deserve the best things in life, Ver. My brothers are dickheads, but if they make you happy, I won’t stand in your way.
I rolled my eyes. She still didn’t get it.
Me: We’re all adults. I’m not asking your permission. If we choose to be together, it’s our decision.
Saoirse: I know. And I love you, but seriously, Ronan is a manwhore of the worst kind. Please get tested for literally every fucking STI known to man.
Saoirse: He wasn’t fucking that influencer btw. I DMd her and asked for proof and the bitch blocked me. Lying ho only posted the photo for clout!!!
Of course she had. Girls knew how easy it was to claim they’d fucked Ronan and then brag about it online. Knowing what kind of man he was, very few people would call them out for it.
I tried not to let my jealousy get the better of me. That was all in his past, and besides, I hadn’t yet decided whether we had a future. Conal had done nothing wrong other than treat me like a bird with a broken wing, but I couldn’t let him in without accepting Ronan. They came as a joint package.
A very sexy package.
Saoirse: Can we talk? Like proper talk not message?
I thought about her request. The last time I’d tried to talk to her, she’d slammed a door in my face. Ugh. It was hard to say no to Saoirse. She had been my first proper friend, and despite our problems right now, I still loved her.
Me: OK.
Almost immediately, my phone vibrated with an incoming call.
“Hey ho bag.” The sound of music and laughter told me she wasn’t home. Since Ireland was five hours ahead, she was likely out in a bar or club.
“I’m sorry, Ver. I fucked up,” she slurred in a thick voice. “I miss you.”
“It’s late, Saoirse, I need to sleep.” Now I knew she’d been drinking her apologies didn’t seem quite so sincere. And because of the loud music, I could barely hear her.
“Please, let me talk. I have nobody to talk to about Cian!”
“Cian?” The name meant nothing to me.
“I love him, Ver, but Dec is gonna—” The line went dead. I waited for her to call back, but she didn’t. Knowing her, she’d dropped her phone down the toilet or something equally dumb. That was the kind of stupid shit Saoirse did when wasted.
If it had been anyone else, I’d have panicked, but it was late, and I didn’t have the energy to worry about her.
She’d be with friends. They could take care of her.
There wasn’t much I could do from the other side of the Atlantic.
If this Cian was someone Declan didn’t approve of, well, that was between them. It wasn’t my place to get involved.
When I woke the following morning, nice and early thanks to my messed up circadian rhythms, a new message had appeared on the lock screen. This time, it was Ronan.
He’d been quiet since I left them at the airport. Not a peep. I guessed he’d run out of patience.
Ronan: I’ve bought a Kindle. What should I read?
I snorted as I snuggled down under the comforter. Ronan didn’t read for fun. He spent his spare time in pubs and clubs, drinking and fighting.
Me: Try a John Grisham novel.
Not my thing, but the crime angle might appeal to him.
Ronan: what are you reading?
Me: nothing you’d like.
I was currently half-way through a smutty monster erotic romance.
Conal: What’s the title?
Oh dear lord.
Me: A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor
A few minutes passed with no messages from either of them. Were they shocked? Disgusted? Impressed??
Conal: wow.
Ronan: I read some of the look inside on the app. Have a massive boner now. Will carry on reading and deal with boner problem later.
Conal: TMI
Ronan: I can send pics ;)
Conal: Please don’t. I’m in a meeting.
Ronan: So am I…
Conal: I know. I’m sitting next to you.
I giggled. They were such idiots.
Ronan: Fuck, Dec is pissed at me now. Pray for me pixie girl! *skull emoji*
Conal: RIP bro.
Now I full-on laughed. Declan took his meetings very seriously. If the twins were messaging me instead of paying attention, he’d be furious.
I waited to see if he’d message, but the thread stayed silent. Once ten more minutes had passed with no new messages, I shut the chat down and crawled out of bed. Knowing him, he’d be yelling obscenities at Ronan.
Declan had never messaged, other than a few terse emails related to school or travel stuff. If he wanted to talk to me about something, he typically called.
But he hadn’t called me since he’d said goodbye in Catania.
I tried not to feel sad about that.
The ball remained in his court.
“So, which one of you bitches is going to spill the tea?”
Auntie Eden, my sister’s best friend and the guys’ cousin, rested her chin on her hands, her sharp gaze flicking between me and Thea.
“She’s refusing to tell me a fucking thing,” Thea grumbled before pouring herself a large glass of chardonnay.
We had the rare luxury of the house to ourselves, as my brothers-in-law were all off doing guy things or working, and Landon had taken the kids to the beach with Petal acting as an unofficial bodyguard for Ferg.
None of us worried about the kids with Petal in charge. Landon was flaky as fuck. Thea often complained he couldn’t be trusted to keep a goldfish safe, but the dog he’d brought home from the shelter took child protection duties very seriously.
So seriously that people crossed the street to avoid her.
“Verity, I’m your favorite aunt. The person who gave you the sex talk when you came of age.
Sweet girl, you can tell me anything.” I watched as she downed the mojito she’d mixed less than five minutes earlier.
Damn, that woman could drink. “No need to spare my blushes,” she added.
“Thanks to your sister’s unconventional lifestyle, I’ve heard it alllll before. ”
“There’s nothing to tell,” I lied, but my blush gave me away.
Eden grinned knowingly. “Are you pregnant? It’s OK if you are.
Not so OK if it’s twins and the baby daddy is awaiting trial for mass murder, but we can deal if he is.
Why…” She cocked her head and smirked at Thea.
“I remember when your sister told me she was pregnant with Clemmie. How we laughed when she admitted she had no clue who the father was!”
“Yes, thank you for the reminder.” Thea scowled.
Eden turned back to me. “So, Verity, aside from a run-in with your psychotic father, is there anything you want to get off your chest?” She blinked innocently.
I suspected she knew more than she was letting on.
Saoirse must have mouthed off to Aoife, who in turn had told Eden. I doubted she’d heard it from the guys.
“Not really.”
“No wee flings with, say, an Irishman… or three?”
My cheeks burned as I choked on my wine.
Ignoring my sister’s scandalized expression, Eden hopped off her chair and sauntered over to the wine fridge. “Shall I open a fresh bottle of chardonnay, bestie?”
Thea fixed me with a furious glare and nodded, which told me there would be no escape until I’d ‘fessed up everything.
“Bring two bottles. One won’t be enough,” my sister spat.
I inwardly groaned. This would not be a fun conversation.
“All three of them?”
Thea had her game face on. The one that gave nothing away. Not even the tiniest smidgen of emotion.
Eden splashed more wine into my sister’s glass and pushed it toward her.
“Drink that while you’re processing. It’s a lot. I get it.” She hummed thoughtfully. “I remember when you told me you were fucking Landon. Honestly, I thought you’d had a brain aneurysm. I mean, what kind of idiot got down and dirty with that man slut, amiright?”
“Don’t be rude about my husband. He’s a reformed rake.” Thea gulped down her wine, hiccuped, and refilled the glass.
“Who’s saying rude things about me?” Landon sauntered out onto the terrace wearing his usual shorts and sliders combo.
“Talking about you, not to you.” Eden grinned up at him. “This conversation isn’t for your ears.”
Naturally, Landon ignored her. He scooped up my sister and sat down with her on his lap. I grimaced in disgust while he and Thea indulged in some serious PDA. Gross. It made me want to vomit.
“Be grateful, sweetie.” Eden winked. “Between the wine and her boo, your sis won’t remember much of this conversation in the morning. It might save you from more lectures.”
“What’s Ver done?” Lan broke away from sucking my sister’s face off and looked up with interest.
“Formed her own harem.”
His eyes widened in surprise before he chuckled. “Let me guess, the Irish bastards?”
“The soon-to-be-dead Irish bastards!” Thea abruptly turned to face Landon in alarm. “Where are the kids? I thought you had them?”
“I left them at the beach.” When he didn’t elaborate, Eden and I exchanged worried glances. All of us were drunk but not drunk enough to overlook child abandonment.
“What the actual fuck, Lan!” Thea yelled before trying to strangle him.
“Calm down!” He choked and laughed, not at all concerned about imminent death. “Dario finished work early and joined us. He said he’d keep the kids and Petal for a while so you and me could have some quality time, wifey.”
We all heaved a collective sigh of relief. Thea’s attention turned back to me, and I cringed.
“But…”
Landon silenced her with a kiss and then tugged her to her feet.
“You’re welcome,” he whispered in my direction before carrying her inside. Knowing they were about to bang like horny little bunnies made me queasy. And also, jealous that my guys were an ocean away. I missed banging them.
Still, I had to admit, he’d done me a solid.
With Thea gone, the interrogation about my love life was officially over.
“My cousins aren’t so bad,” Eden remarked, all traces of amusement gone. “But if they hurt you, I’ll make them pay.” From the evil glint in her eye, she wasn’t joking.