Page 53 of Winning Her

What the fuck?

I narrowed my eyes at her, not wanting to believe it. I liked to think I knew my little sister a bit more than I did before, and I didn’t think she would lie about something like this. It was just so hard to believe my dad would come up with such a devious plan, all for what? To have me and my brothers back home, working hard for him, as it should be?

Seriously, Dad?

“Is everything you just said true?” I asked.

Emily met my gaze and nodded, tilting her chin up slightly at my hard look, clearly refusing to be cowed. “Yes,” she said simply.

Fuck.

I didn’t ask anything more, taking her word for it. I stood up, picked up my coat, and left the room. Emily called out to me, but I ignored her. I stopped at the secretary’s desk.

“I’ll be leaving now,” I said, ignoring her shocked reaction. “My father will be back in the office soon. Let him know the progress.”

“Sir?”

I kept on walking. If Dad didn’t show up for his job, then that was his problem. I’d wasted enough time around here. Dad hadn't bothered to see any of us, me, Mason, or Kevin, and all because he was pretending to be ill? I was already on the verge of breaking, and Emily’s confession was the last straw for me.

I went back to my room at the hotel and cleared it out. I had some stuff at the mansion, but it wasn’t anything I couldn’t live without. I’d let myself get fooled because of my concern for my father, and I wanted to go off and lick my wounds and pretend none of this ever happened, back to my mountains. I hadn't eaten, but I didn’t even pause as I packed my stuff up, went down to my car, jumped in and drove for home.

The perfect escape, I thought to myself. The perfect little reason to run away from everything.

Maybe it was unfair, but I couldn’t help but think of Jessi’s disappearance in light of my dad’s betrayal. I’d wanted to see her, to find her as Emily said, but right then, I killed that idea.

Jessi leaving me had hurt badly enough. It had hurt a lot deeper than I was willing to admit. It had been so easy for her to leave, that I wondered what she thought of me. I’d never given her reason to think anything positive of me, so that was my fault.

But the short time we’d had together had been so sweet. While I was with her, I had felt so different from how I was every day for the past decade. I’d harbored some hope, I’d hoped to help Dad out and that she and I could work something out.

Jessi threw that away, not me. I realized the thing holding me back, besides the fear, was the hurt. If I went after her, wouldn’t she just throw me away again? Just like my father, who was now resulting to tricks to try and get me to return to the fold when all he had to do was fucking talk to me like I was his son, not his heir.

I’d anticipated getting back home so much, but my arrival was completely anticlimactic. Once I got back, I went inside, leaving my suitcase in the car, and headed straight for my bedroom. I had a balcony with a perfect view of the mountains, and I breathed a sigh as I stood there, looking out.

I watched the sunset from the mountains, feeling lost for the second time in my life, the first time having been after my mom’s death.

What the fuck was I supposed to do now?

22

Trent

I was back home, but I wasn’t in the mood for work. So I stuck around at home, lazing around.

It was something new to me. I’d worked hard because I knew it was the way out for me. I’d rarely taken days off, and when I did, it was to go out hiking. Never to stay at home and do nothing, it wasn’t in my fucking genes. Work, work, work that was all us men ever did in our family. Maybe that was the fucking problem, the reason that we were so dysfunctional as a family.

On my third day back, I woke up and checked my phone. It was mid-morning, and the nit-picky side of my personality was scandalized. Usually, I was up at the break of dawn. I normally went for a run around the neighborhood before heading back in for a shower, then got dressed and ready for work.

Instead, I got out of bed in an old pair of sweats and a t-shirt, scratching my head as I yawned. I’d stayed up late contemplating some useless shit I couldn’t even remember, but at least it kept my mind off my problems for the time being.

I wasn’t going anywhere, but I headed for the shower anyway. One thing I was refusing to fudge on was showering when I woke up. I brushed my teeth as the shower warmed up, and as I blinked the sleep from my eyes, I caught a glance at my reflection.

Well, damn, I thought. I looked like shit.

I hadn't shaved for the past few days, and I had a nice little beard growing in, a pale blond one that wouldn’t be too noticeable to others but it was enough to get me to frown. I had bed hair too, and I ran my hands through it, feeling a few knots in the growing locks.

“I need a haircut,” I decided. I’d have to get it before I went back in to work or people would stare and start more rumors.

I finished brushing my teeth and jumped into the shower. I took my time, letting the hot water pour over my skin, trying not to think of the two times I’d woken up after Jessi left me alone to wash away the evidence of what had happened between us. I couldn’t help it though, and I thought back to those two nights as well.