Page 17 of Keeping Score

Which, as it turned out, was heavier than you might think.

I guess subconsciously he was the reason I chose the career I did. If my family had to be broken up, then I wanted to at least be part of putting others back together.

And maybe I thought I could figure out where ours went wrong along the way.

But even more saccharine than college being the place I quote-on-quote found myself—it just so happened to be the place I found something else just as important to my life: Cassie—the girl who I never dreamed would become my sister.

And apparently, she had a soft spot for Chestnut Hill, too, considering it’s the neighborhood she and my brother decided to buy their forever home in.

Their words, not mine.

Personally, I thought that whole concept was kind of bizarre. I mean, forever home? Who cares if you get sick of it in five years and want to move? Why tie yourself down to one spot?

But, admittedly, the house they picked was pretty impressive. Definitely warranted at least a couple decades here at the least.

As I drove into their obscenely long driveway leading up to their brick mansion… ahem, house, I realized I probably should’ve called to make sure she was home.

I hadn’t thought. I just knew I needed to see her. Talk to her. She had this magic power of quieting my mind when it felt like it was about to explode.

But, to my dismay, I didn’t see her car in the driveway. Only my brother’s. And while we’d gotten a lot closer over the last few years, I sure as hell didn’t want to tell him what was going on in my screwed-up head.

There were some things we just didn’t see eye to eye on. And the topic plaguing my thoughts was one of them.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to wait with him instead of sitting on the steps like a stray cat waiting for Cassie to get home.

Climbing out of my car, I made the trek up to their front door, reflecting on how Liam had managed to find the most private fortress in all of Massachusetts to call home.

Their yard was surrounded by trees and huge fences, reminding me that despite being married for a few years, he still had his fair share of stalker fans. While they typically weren’t deranged enough to show up at his house, I knew Liam wasn’t taking any chances—especially with Lily to think of.

As I got to the door, I closed my knuckles into a fist, preparing to knock. A new habit for me in regard to my brother—but unfortunately, my days of kicking down Liam’s door had become a thing of the past. Since he upgraded to a big-boy home, I had to upgrade to a bit of civility. Even if it was less fun.

I raised my hand to knock, but Liam was already opening it before I even got the chance.

“Wow, you’re good,” I raised my brows. “You have, like, some type of Spidey-sister sense.”

“I also have a Ring,” he said, gesturing to the phone in his hand, opened to a live camera showing me standing on his doorstep.

I laughed.

“That’s such an old-person thing to have,” I said with an eye roll, stepping past him into the house.

Despite its overwhelming size, they’d somehow made it homey—a task I thought impossible considering I was quite content in the four walls of my studio apartment.

But maybe it was hard not to feel like you were in a home when there were such signs of life everywhere. Cassie’s colorful jackets and scarves on the hooks, Lily’s tutus draped across the stair railings. Liam’s hockey duffel halfway unzipped in the front hall.

It wasn’t messy, but it was definitely lived in.

“Where’s Cassie?” I looked around, stepping over a stray ballet slipper.

“She’s out with Lily,” Liam said, following me as I made my way into the kitchen. “Why?”

“I need her for a few hours.”

“Trying to steal my wife?” he asked.

“Actually, I could make the claim that you stole her from me.”

“Fair enough,” he said with a snort. “Not sorry about it though.”