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“I have been good!” she assured me. ”I’malwaysgood.” I smiled properly, knowingalways goodwas probably a stretch. “Where’s Aunty Cheese?”
I knew the question was coming, but it made my stomach lurch all the same. “She had to work, Sav, but she sent me with a gift just for you.”
“Really!?” She jumped, trying to get her hands on the tower of boxes I was balancing. I held them higher and she pouted.
“Later,” I promised her, leading the way into the large living room.
“No Chase?” Pip asked as I put all of the gifts by the tree. There wasn’t any room under it.
“Aunty Cheese had to work,” Savanna answered for me, planting herself in front of the tree, fingers creeping towards the gifts collected beneath it.
Pip gave me a quizzical look but I shrugged it off. I knew I’d tell her everything at some point tonight, seeing as Chase’s embargo on people knowing about us wasn’t relevant now we were over, but I didn’t want to open with it.
Over. We were over. I told her I loved her and she still walked away.
I’d been trying to convince myself otherwise, because I needed to believe we would eventually figure everything out. But, in the meantime, I was going to be a sad sack of shit and wallow—as much as I could with a hyped up four year around, anyway. I would have liked to do my wallowing with a side of whiskey, however, that would have to wait until I was on the west coast. By some stroke of luck, I’d managed to move my flight to LA up to tonight. The fact I was going without Chase still fucking sucked, though.
An hour later, I was slouched in one of Pip’s overstuffed armchairs nursing a virgin eggnog—it just wasn’t the same without the rum.
My sister sat on the couch beside me with a fish-bowl sized glass of red wine. “Come on, time to start talking,” she said, nudging my knee with her foot.
There was no point putting her off. “Chase and I were dating.”
“Were.”
“Yep.Were. She put an end to it a couple of days ago.” And she had yet to come to her senses and see that we were fucking perfect for each other.
Pip pursed her lips. “I’m going to need more information, Mack.”
I dropped my head back against the cushion and stared at the ceiling as I spilled my guts. I didn’t tell hereverything-everything, she was still my sister after all and didn’t need to know how much outstanding sex we’d been having, or how often I replayed Chase straddling my face (it was a lot).
“She’s freaking out.”
“Yes, I figured that much out myself, thank you.”
Pip tucked her legs underneath her. “What are you going to do?”
Wasn’t that just the million dollar question? One I was no closer to answering. “I don’t know. But honestly, I’m not sure there’s a lot I can do at the moment. I need to let her work it out.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
I rolled my head to face her. “Your faith is astounding.”
“I am merely entertaining the possibility.”
“I’d rather you didn’t.”
“We both know the kind of relationship role models she’s had. Her dad left before she was even born, Mack.” I knew this. Of course I knew this. But I thought that she’d be able to move past it. I thought I could help her move past it.
“It’s not like our parents’ relationship was any better.”
“No,” she conceded. “But at least they were around, mostly.”
“Might have been better if they weren’t.”
Her answering smile was sad, and she was silent for a few long moments.
“Tim and I are getting divorced.”
