Finally, I let the irritation and hurt get the better of me.
I rose from the chair and crossed my arms over my chest. “You chose not to belong, Chelsea. Just because my friends had the heart to step in to help hold us together when you left, doesn’t mean I’m some weak flower that would have died if someone didn’t water me.”
For two seconds, her face softened, and I saw a Chelsea I rarely saw anymore. The one who’d played dolls with me and biked along the creek and created make-believe worlds where we were both princesses who married princes and had entire kingdoms at our beck and call. Where I was the ugly duckling who turned into a swan.
“Neither of us should have had to hold our father together.Hewas the adult.” Chelsea’s words mirrored my therapist’s, and the anger in them, the frustration and hurt, were the first real feelings—other than scorn—I’d seen from my sister in years. As quickly as she’d shown the emotions, they disappeared. She became the actress she most craved, doing what she did best—only giving the world the pieces she wanted them to see. “You deserve more than a life picking up his mess, Maisey. Someday, I hope you realize that.”
“Ready, babe?” Gavin said, coming into the kitchen from the hall, carrying two oversized suitcases. He took one look around the room and then quirked a brow. “Heavy in here. Guess you’ve found that fuel you were looking for after all.” He winked at my sister. “You’re going to nail Miranda’s disgust of her family.”
“Get out,” Dad said softly. “I told you before, Chelsea, you’re not welcome until you can show this family some respect.”
“Believe me,Dad. I regret the spur-of-the-moment decision to stop by more than you can imagine.”
She walked out of the kitchen. Gavin shot us one last, interested look and then followed her.
I stood for far too long, trying to catch my breath, trying to tame my anger, before I went scrambling after them. They were already on the streetpast the broken walkway by the time I got out the front door.
“Why? Why did you really bother coming?” I called after her.
Chelsea studied the house before settling her cold gaze on me. I wanted to believe it was sadness I saw there. Regret. But I was pretty sure I was just projecting.
“I thought maybe I’d see things differently after all this time. Hoped I’d find something worthy of my time.” She gave a careless shrug. “But all I see is a weak man and a little girl wasting her life trying to hold him up. Let him fall, Maisey, because this time he might just take you with him when he crashes.”
Gavin stuffed their suitcases into the back of the red sports car I’d thought belonged to renters. He slid on a pair of dark sunglasses and scanned my childhood home one more time before getting into the driver’s seat.
Chelsea didn’t say goodbye. Didn’t apologize. Didn’t even glance back at me or the house. Instead, she purposefully avoided looking in our direction as she climbed into the passenger seat. Gavin peeled away from the curb, and they disappeared around the corner.
And all I could think was that I’d never disliked my sister this much, because, for the first time ever, I was afraid she might be right. I was afraid if I didn’t walk away from the mess that was our father, I’d either have to depend on others to save us yet again, or I’d end up drowning right along with him.
Chapter Six
Beckett
LIFE AS WE KNEW IT
Performed by Lonestar
SEVEN YEARS AGO
HIM: I don’t care what you say, Tolkien was a genius.
HER: If you like pages and pages of war and death and depression.
HIM: Bravery, courage, and good winning over evil.
HER: Did they really win, though? At least at the end of a romance novel, you know they’ll have a happily ever after.
HIM: They end your books at the high point because if they continued, over fifty percent of the relationships would be destroyed by jealousy, selfishness, and death.
HER: Cynic.
HIM: Dreamer.
HER: Someday, I’ll prove you wrong.
HIM: …
HER: And no, before you even ask, I don’t want to make a bet.