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A quiet knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts, and I found my younger sister standing beneath the threshold.
A wave of relief rushed over me, and I smiled as I approached. "Olivia."
Olivia cracked a wide smile for me, cutting the space between us with a giggle. I pulled her in for a hug, embracing that familiar comfort I had missed for so long.
"I can't believe you're back!" She exclaimed, pulling away to look me in the eyes. "It's been forever."
"You've grown so much even since the last time I saw you."
Olivia snickered at that, wearing a bashful grin. "I did come visit you within that time, you know."
"I know," I said with a chuckle, wedging her in the crook of my arm as I ruffled her hair like I used to when we were young. "But you're still my little sister."
"Okay, I get it!" She squealed, laughing as she pushed me away. "You're as embarrassing as always, I see."
"That's my job. And just because we're getting older doesn't mean that's ever going to stop."
Looking at Olivia was like looking at the feminine version of myself, and it was always so strange, yet comforting in a way.
We had the same dark hair and similar features, but her eyes were almost blue-green compared to my entirely blue ones.
Even if we had a solid ten years between us in age, we often got into trouble together, and Olivia always seemed leagues above her classmates. I supposed it was my influence that made her seem that way.
Leaving her behind was the hardest part of moving away to the city, but we did our best to keep in contact. Some years were better than others, but I never wanted her to think I didn't care about her.
Seeing her in front of me was a relief, and an even bigger one to know it wouldn't be short-lived.
Olivia inspected my left arm, focusing hard on the art embedded in my skin. "You have more than you used to. What number are you at now?"
Glancing down at the sleeve tattoo, a mismatch of various ones I decided to fill the skin with, I shrugged. "I lost count a long time ago."
"Please tell me you didn't do those yourself," Olivia murmured, chuckling at the idea.
"Who else was I supposed to practice on?" I asked, smirking. "You're too chicken to let me give you any."
That was another thing that put us apart. Every inch of her skin was clear of any sort of tattoo. She wouldn't even accept something small that she could hide.
She rolled her eyes at that. "Oh, here we go."
Laughing at how typical it sounded of her, I shook my head and started moving some of the boxes that were already inside. "Listen, I've improved a lot. If you ever change your mind, maybe I'll give you a sibling discount."
Olivia gave me a hesitant glance. "We'll see."
"That's progress, I guess."
"Enough about me," she began, looking at me expectantly. "I want to hear all about the time I missed. What you did and what you saw, and don't be stingy with the details."
Knowing there was no escaping it, I did exactly that, telling my sister about the more exciting things I had gotten up to.
The rest, she didn't need to know, and I meant to keep it that way.
Chapter 3 - Cora
I tried to make the most of the day, but that felt nearly impossible after being forced to see Liam again.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't push away those old feelings that resurfaced. That anger and shame I once felt daily, thanks to him.
It hurt bad enough when he had that power over me as a young girl, but knowing he could still have that effect on me many years later was like a knife to the chest.
