Chapter 34 #2
“Yeah, sure.” She moseys into the living room, dragging her feet until she sits on one end of the couch, and I sit on the other. My coffee ripples with the movement of my bouncing knee, so I stop and sigh loudly. “I—”
“You should know…What I said on the phone that night? Despite the ring,” she points to her empty finger, “I’m not really with him anymore. So you don’t need to worry.”
“Okay …”
She sighs and rolls her eyes. “It’s honestly petty. My reasoning.”
“Now I’m really intrigued.”
She chuckles. “It’s to spite two people and to keep a third off my case.”
Understanding dawns. “So you—”
Ducking her head, she runs her finger over the design on her mug.
“Mother didn’t get on my case about me leaving the house so long as she thought I was with Bobby.
” Bethany looks up, “And then those two didn’t deserve to be together in the light.
I wanted Bobby to continue to think he was getting away with it and sucking up to our family and me like it mattered while Krista was hidden away like the dirty secret she was always going to be. ”
I let out a low whistle, and red creeps up her cheeks. “No, hell no. Don’t be embarrassed. I agree. They all were doing you wrong, so you took control of the narrative. That’s really incredible, Bethany.”
She nods, then lets out a long breath. “You lost control with a tire iron …” Smiling, she meets my eyes as I shrug.
“Not really a loss of control, but … embracing my chaos.”
She rolls her eyes. “Potato, potato.” We’re quiet as she looks beyond me.
“I’ve never blamed you. When we were kids, and then when you left.
I knew what was happening.” Her knuckles go white, then regain their color, where they’re now tightly wrapped around her mug.
“Our parents were master manipulators, but they didn’t bother to try to manipulate me.
They put their energy into everything around me, including you, to make me small. ”
“I don’t feel like that’s an excuse—” Guilt starts to claw up my chest. She was so young, still is so young.
“It’s absolutely an excuse, a reason, a terrible thing that they did to both of us. They couldn’t have us on the same side, Trevor. They couldn’t have you, in all of your hero-syndrome—”
“Hey, wait a minute—”
“Oh, please. Tell me I’m wrong.”
“I—you are—” I consider and roll my eyes. “Not wrong. Goddammit.” A humorless laugh bubbles up. “I would’ve tried to save you—”
“And they couldn’t afford that if they wanted to maintain power over us.”
“That’s super fucked up.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s amazing how I saw that with them, but I missed everything with Bobby.”
“He’s a snake and a creep.”
“That doesn’t help, bro.” She cringes at the moniker and hits me with her electric blues. “I’m not sure I’m ever going to call you that again.”
“How can it sound so fucking weird?” I laugh through my question, and she shrugs, a real smile tugs at her lips.
“I know, right?” We both take sips from our coffees, and I marvel at how perfectly she prepared mine. I also see how pale her coffee is. The little liar.
“When are you going to tell Bobby—uh—”
“That we are not actually engaged? Probably never. I will give him his ring back and tell him I’m not feeling it.”
“Will you tell him that you knew?”
“Absolutely not. He gets to wonder for the rest of his life, only hearing it from the people around me, around us. I’ll wait until everything comes to a close at the bank.”
“Next week, I’m pretty sure.”
“Next week.” We both take another sip.
“I am sorry, though. Whether you blame me or not. I wish I could have been less blind. I’ll try to be a better brother to you.”
“You already are.” No hesitation, no inflection, just a straight-up statement as if it’s an easy truth.
“Thanks. sis.” I cringe, and she guffaws. I caught it too, and soon we’re both unable to control the laughter spilling from us.
“That’s the worst! We can’t call each other bro and sis. It’s off the table.” She wipes a tear from her eye, and I’m gratified it’s from joy and humor, not more fuckups.
“I agree. You’re Beth or Bethany. I’m Trevor or Trev.”
She shakes her head. “Even Trev is weird.”
I nod. “When do you start work?”
She frowns and fiddles with a strand of her hair. “I—next week.”
“What aren’t you saying?”
“I don’t have a car.”
Easy enough. “I’ll get you a car.”
“No, I don’t want that.”
“Bethany, come on.”
She sits up straighter. “No. I don’t want to be taken care of. I want to buy my own car. I want to earn my own stuff.” My phone rings, cutting her off. I check it and ignore it. “I have a week to figure it out.”
“Why don’t you talk to Carter or Billy about a car? They can help find you something cheap but reliable. You can borrow one of ours until then. I also know a guy who can help keep it running for you if you have any issues.”
“Carter and Billy?”
“Me, dweeb.”
A giant grin breaks across her face. “That’s the one.” Her face is warm, open, and filled with joy.
“What?”
“Dweeb. We need to do insults. That’s our familial affection, dork.”
“Huh. That actually does work. Weird.”
We drift into a comfortable silence, broken by my phone ringing again. I glance at it and ignore it again. I’ll block him later.
“Who is—”
“Our father.” She nods. “Have you talked to Paige?”
“About the hand necklace? Yes. God, there are things that a sister does not need to know.” I choke on my last sip of my drink. “She”—cough—“told you about that?”
“Oh, Lord. She wouldn’t shut up about it. I tuned most of it out.”
“I—well, okay. I meant—” I shake my head to get that image out of my mind. “I meant about everything that happened between us.”
“Everything everything? Like, the whole reason all of this started? Yeah.” I wait, but she doesn’t elaborate.
“Bethany.”
“It’s not my business.”
Damn. “Where is she this morning?”
She points to the door behind me. “In bed. She was exhausted last night after telling me all the things I never wanted to hear.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Oh my God. Okay. Listen, I’m done with apologies for the past. If you mess up in the future, please apologize. I’m over the past. I’m moving on. I’m growing. You’re growing. We are all growing.”
A door opens behind me and I sit up straighter.
“You will never guess the dream—oh.” Paige halts, standing in her short robe, her curly hair everywhere.
She catches her breath when she sees us talking and drinking coffee.
An unreadable look crosses her features.
“Trevor, hi.” A flush rises on her cheeks when her eyes drift across me, and I have an immediate physical response. Chill the fuck out, body.
Bethany stands at her entrance. “I’m out of here. Y’all have a good day. I’m going to go for a walk. Maybe hatch some Pokémon eggs.” I stand and give her a hug.
“You’re incredible, and I’m sorry I didn’t see it sooner.”
“Stop. Apologizing.” She puts her mug in the dishwasher and grabs her phone before heading out the door. “Have a good day, kiddos!”
The house looks better than the last time I was here. Cleaner, more put-together.
“Checking in on her?”
My body jolts when her voice comes from so close to me. “Yeah—” My voice cracks, so I clear my throat. “Yeah. Yes.” She’s so beautiful. Her cheeks have a slight flush to them, and her lips look plump and glossy, like she’s been running her tongue over them. I’m in trouble. This is trouble.
She sits down next to me—directly next to me—and reaches a hand out to pat my thigh. Sweet Jesus. My cock reacts because it’s Paige, so of course it does. I lean forward to disguise it.
“I need something from you, but I’m heading out to run some errands. How would you like to come over tonight? For some dinner? With the family?”
Hope builds in my chest, a feeling too that aches and heals in equal measure. “Absolutely. Yes. I would love to come for dinner.”
Paige pats my arm, her hand lingering for a second before she pulls away. “We can eat after the school board meeting. Jacob may have things he wants to do with you afterward, like games and whatnot. Do you have the whole night available?”
“100 percent.”
She gives me a shy smile that makes my heart skip a beat. “I’ll see you then.”