Chapter 30
I’ve only been in Lisa and Greg’s home a few times, but finding their game room is easy. All I have to do is follow Josie’s son’s voice. His frantic, high-pitched “Nooooo!” that echoes down the hallway.
The door is cracked, and I’m about to push it open when Jay’s voice rises for a second time.
“This time I’m gonna kick your ass.”
A choked sound follows, something between a laugh and cough, and I recognize it immediately as Liam’s.
“I’m telling Mom,” Abby’s voice cuts in.
“Then I’ll tell Mom the things you say,” Jay shoots back.
“Okay, you two,” Liam cuts in, and I can almost hear the grin in his voice. “We gotta talk about word choices.”
Smiling, I lean against the doorframe, curious where Liam will go with this.
“Why? You say way worse stuff all the time!” Jay protests.
“He’s right, Uncle Liam. You say all the words,” Abby adds from where she’s sprawled on the couch, phone in hand.
“True. But I’m grown. When you’re my age? Knock yourself out.”
“What about fourteen? Can I say them then? Jay asks. “Abby is almost fourteen and she cusses as much as you do.”
“Shut up, Jay.”
“Here’s the thing. We like gaming together, right?” A silent pause. “If your mom finds out I’m letting you cuss on the game, she’ll be pissed. And between the three of us, she terrifies me.”
Abby and Jay snicker.
“Also,” Liam continues, his voice dropping into something more serious. “Josie works hard. She has a lot on her plate. So maybe we don’t make her job harder by adding in another thing to worry about. Deal?”
I peek through the crack in the door in time to see Liam hold up his fist. Jay and Abby exchange a look, then bump their knuckles against his, both looking a little sheepish.
“Now, unpause this game so I can destroy you.”
“You can’t destroy me! Liam—no!”
The sound of the game erupts, Jay shrieking in protest while Liam laughs, full bodied and genuine. Something in my chest squeezes, tightens, all warm and tender.
I’ll take every version of Liam, but this? This. This is the Liam I’ve been missing.
I watch a few more seconds before I knock softly and push open the door.
Abby gives a small wave, barely looking up from her phone. Jay doesn’t even acknowledge me, so engrossed in the game. Liam’s body is draped across a recliner, controller gripped in his hand, but the moment I step into the room his head snaps to me, lips parting and his whole body goes still.
“Cassie—”
“You’re dead!” Jay shrieks, jumping to his feet, pumping his controller into the air. “I finally beat you!”
“What?” Liam looks at the screen where his character is indeed dead, face down on the ground, then to me, a slow grin spreading across his face. “That doesn’t count. A major distraction just walked in.”
Heat creeps up my neck, but I wave a dismissive hand. “Carry on. Don’t stop on my account.”
“Come on, Liam. Let’s play another,” Jay begs, already resetting the game. Liam’s eyes linger on me a heartbeat longer before returning to the screen. Jay hits play for another round, and I take a seat on the other end of the couch, next to Abby, tucking one leg beneath me.
I’ve been around her a handful of times now, and the shock that we’re related still hasn’t worn off.
Every time I look at her, I see flashes of Tyler.
She’s his through and through, whether she knows it or not.
Honestly, that part is frustrating the fuck out of me.
Josie’s stubborn streak is a mile wide, and she still hasn’t told Abby that Tyler is her father.
I get that it’s complicated. Fear makes people do all sorts of things to protect themselves and the ones they love.
But Tyler deserves to be more than a secret and so does this kid sitting next to me.
Abby scoots closer and tilts her phone my way.
“Look at this.”
On the screen is one of those compilation videos full of cats experiencing the jump scare of their life from completely mundane objects.
An orange tabby launching straight up, all four legs airborne, tail puffed to three times its normal size.
Then it cuts to a fluffy black cat investigating a toaster oven.
When the bread pops out, the poor kitty leaps from the counter.
I release a snort laugh, and Abby grins, swiping to the next one.
We sit like this, watching animal videos for at least five minutes while Liam and Jay’s game gets increasingly more competitive.
After two more videos, Abby swipes off the app and sets her phone down. “Can I tell you something?” She’s dropped her voice so it’s low enough only I hear her.
“Of course. What’s up?”
She leans in, her face turning serious, and I’m hit again by how much she favors Tyler. “I think Tyler is my mom’s boyfriend.”
My pulse skips. Oh, sweet child, if you only knew. Tyler is so much more than that. But that isn’t my truth to tell, so I school my face into something neutral and curious.
“What makes you think that?”
“She’s happier, for one. He slept at our house during Christmas and Mom looked crazy. Like, grinning all the time.”
I already knew all of this from my group chat with Josie and Penny. Tyler got snowed in for a few days at Josie’s. Obviously he could have stayed at Penny and Austin’s since they were with me in Texas, but Penny didn’t mention it, so neither did I. And good for Tyler. Get you some, dear cousin.
“And you and Jay like Tyler?” I ask, keeping my voice light.
Abby nods emphatically. “A lot. He’s nice.
” Her eyes cut to Jay’s and back to me. “He plays video games with Jay. You know most adults don’t do that.
They aren’t usually like Liam.” She pauses, picking at a thread on her sleeve.
“Jay needs someone like that. He doesn’t have a—” She presses her lips together.
Abby was going to say he doesn’t have a dad. I’m sure of it. She might have even added, we don’t have a dad. The absence is one Tyler could easily fill if Josie would only let him.
“Tyler’s a really good guy,” I say carefully. “Whatever is going on with your mom, I’m happy it’s Tyler making her smile like that.”
Abby studies me for a second, and I wonder what she sees. Does she see that our hair is the exact same shade or that her eyes look an awful lot like mine and Tyler’s? Then she gives a small nod and picks her phone back up. Conversation over.
“Cassie!” comes Josie’s voice. “Come to the kitchen. Lisa and I miss you.”
I’m so stuffed I wish I’d worn leggings. It’s that unbutton your jeans, never eating again kind of stuffed. And my mind is reeling from everything that’s happened in the span of one hour.
When I joined the ladies in the kitchen, Josie dropped the bomb that she and Tyler slept together.
Nobody wants to hear graphic details about their cousin’s sex life, but Josie spared nothing.
Even when I put up my hand and said “I will pay you actual money to stop talking,” she laughed and kept going, little shit stirrer.
Maybe this means they’ll tell Abby soon.
Then to add to the fun, Penny and Austin announced her pregnancy. My eyes turned glassy as Liam and I shared a knowing look across the room. I knew they were being weird. And sleeping that much isn’t normal without a damn good reason.
The evening is just winding down, dishes being dried and to-go plates wrapped in tinfoil, when someone steps up next to me. I know it’s Liam before I even turn. Something about the way the air shifts, or maybe I’m hyper-aware of where he is in any room.
“I’m headed out,” he murmurs, low and just for me. His arm brushes mine and the warmth of him seeps through the fabric of my sleeve. “Come to my house when you’re ready. The door’s open.”
Fire lights in my belly, a kind of excited anticipation. Liam hinted that he had plans for my birthday, but I have no idea what.
“Be there soon,” I say quietly, hoping my voice doesn’t betray the quickening of my pulse.