Chapter 24 #2
I shake my head angrily. Now that I think about it, Markie's first comment about Miles makes even more sense. He uses them. He doesn’t give a shit about the relationship—or would know them if he passed them on the street—yet he’s okay to utilize their “family status” for whatever he feels is beneath him.
It’s no wonder Miles keeps this place as a rental as it’s never any skin off his nose to keep it running. His sisters do that for him for free.
“You keep the lines of communication open because you use them when it’s convenient for you, right?” I ask, lobbying my accusation his way with no fucks given.
“You just met Markie a month ago. Don’t talk to me like you know anything about our relationship.”
“Ditto, motherfucker.”
“Oh, so that’s where we are now? We’re at motherfucker?” he asks with equal parts surprise and fury. “Okay. Okay, good to know.”
“You’ve been one of my closest friends for years, and I’d hate to lose that, but who the fuck are you, man?
Who is this guy who uses his sisters and talks about them like they’re trash?
Because this isn’t the guy I met in college.
You’re not the guy who used to float me cash so I could buy food and gas for the week.
” I sigh. “I don’t know this person, Miles.
And if you’ve always been this person, I guess I never really knew you at all. ”
He exhales loudly into the phone. “Yeah, I knew she’d get in your ear. She’d act like I’m so mean and such a terrible person, so you’d have sympathy for her.” He chuckles. “If you’re that easily fooled by a piece of pussy, then good for you.”
He didn’t …
“That’s your sister, you piece of shit. Listen to how you’re talking about her. I’ll ask you again. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Rage floods my body as every muscle locks. My jaw aches from clenching my teeth, and I’m ready to put my fist through the phone and take Miles by the throat.
I’ve always thought I was seeing the real Miles, while his family was seeing the edited version. Turns out that I had it backward. Somehow, the egotistical asshole that I knew was the best version of him, and his family got the true man.
And that breaks my fucking heart.
“I’ll tell you what,” I say, rolling my head back and then side to side in a futile attempt at loosening the tension held there.
“You’re a grown-ass man who can make his own choices.
But as someone who used to respect you, this is bad, Miles.
I don’t know what the hell happened to you, but you need to check yourself. ”
“You need to stay out of my family’s business.”
I recoil at the suggestion—at the insinuation that I’m not her family.
It stops me in my tracks like a bucket of ice water over my head. And every cell in my body rejects that conclusion.
Technically, Miles is right. He’s her brother, and I’m the guy who showed up a month ago. Technically, he wins.
But family is more than biology. It’s checking in with the people you love. It’s following through on promises. It’s showing up, being vulnerable, and treating each other with respect.
And when you put it like that, she’s a hell of a lot more my family than his.
“You’re right,” I say. “Your relationship with Markie isn’t mine to fix. It’s not my problem.”
“You’re damn right, it isn’t.”
“But when you upset her—when she has tears in her eyes when she gets off the phone with you—it becomes my problem,” I say, my tone steady and controlled. “I make it my problem.”
“What are you saying?”
My grip tightens around the phone. “I’m saying that your sister is in my life, Miles. So, when you hurt her, don’t expect me to pretend I don’t see it.”
“Fuck you, Plath.”
He ends the call.
I stare at the wall for a minute, letting my heart rate return to normal. But the longer I go without moving, the more I wish that my next movement was toward Markie.
If we lived in the same town, if our lives were more aligned—if I didn’t think that approaching the conversation about us would scare her off—I would’ve already taken steps to be her forever pickleball partner. If. If. Fucking if.
I really like Markie. And the fact that she didn’t malign her brother and tell me what he said says more about her character than I realized. He was terrible to her, and she’d have every right to vent to me about him.
But she didn’t. She was trying to protect my relationship with him.
That’s the woman he just disparaged. Who he called a whore.
My stomach twists, and I take a deep breath.
I don’t know this guy. But Markie? I consider her my family. I want to introduce her to my mom. I want her to meet my friends and become a part of my life in every way.
But I know a few things about her, mostly that she’s independent and determined. She’s fiercely loyal. She loves her family and friends, almost to the point of failure. Would she have space in that heart of hers to love Gus and me, too?
My own heart skips a beat as I consider that.
If I don’t pressure her and continue to show up for her—prove that I’m not like the others when it comes to her, could there be a future for us somehow?
Because I think that’s what I’ve been hoping for.
And I’ve never hoped for something as much as this.