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Tugging my hands from hers, I scrub them down my face. “I waited for you to fess up. To tell everyone what you knew. But when you didn’t, I got things twisted up inside…”
“I didn’t have a truth to tell. I didn’t know.”
“Fuck, Olivia.” I push to my feet and begin pacing, but the confines of this stupid beach hut don’t give me what I need. “I can’t do this. I can’t fucking do this.”
I blow out of the door and storm down the beach, my name nothing but a desperate plea on Olivia’s lips.
But I don’t stop as my feet begin sinking into the soft sand.
Unlike when I first emerged, there are now others on the beach, people running and walking their dogs. But I ignore every single one of them as I make a beeline for the shore.
“FUCK,” I bellow when I come to a stop. Pain, anger, and confusion collide within me like a firestorm that wants to drag me into its ugly clutches.
My fingers thread through my hair, and I pull until I can’t take it anymore. Bending over, I rest my hands on my knees, regrets threatening to take me to the ground.
“Reese, please don’t run from me. From this.”
My entire body jolts at the proximity of her voice. “Don’t, Liv. I don’t deserve for you to still be here.”
“I’d never lie to you and Oak about something like that. If I knew, if I had any fucking suspicion, I’d have told you. Both of you.”
“Dad’s fucking Krystal,” I blurt, too many thoughts rolling around my head. “Mum’s best friend. The woman I grew up calling my aunt, for fuck’s sake. It’s messed up. Everything is so messed up, Liv.”
Her sharp breath is the only clue that I actually spoke those words out loud.
“All my life, they played the part of being the perfect family, having the perfect marriage. It was all bullshit. All lies. My entire life has been one big fucking lie, Liv. And I don’t… I just… FUCK,” I roar.
“It’s okay, Reese,” she soothes, her hand resting on my upper arm as she steps up beside me.
“No, it’s not, Liv. None of it is fucking okay. I trusted them. I believed they loved each other, that they were happy. But all this time they’ve been fucking everyone else, making a total fucking fool of me.”
“You’re not a fool, Reese. You’re angry. You feel betrayed, and I understand that.”
“Do you? Both you and Oak seem to be perfectly okay with this new set-up. You’ve welcomed Mum into your home like she’s the missing part of your puzzle, leaving me on the outskirts of your new family.”
“In a way, she is, Reese. Our family, our dad, has been broken for a long time. He has done everything he could for us, but since our mum died, he’s never truly been happy. I don’t think I realised how bad it was until I saw the way his entire face lit up the night he told Oak and me about your mum.
“They’re happy, Reese. So fucking happy. And that’s all I’ve ever wanted for my dad.”
“Jesus,” I mutter, hanging my head. “Your family has been made whole, and mine has been shattered into a million pieces.”
“It’s your family too. You don’t have to be the enemy here, Reese. There is space for you in our home, in our lives.”
“As your stepbrother?” I ask, my voice deepening at the possibility of that being the only connection Olivia and I can claim after all of this.
“I… uh…”
“This can’t work, Liv.”
“Says who? Oak? Your mum? My dad? At this point, after what our parents have done, I’m not sure their opinions hold any weight.”
“Abigail?” I ask, my chest twisting even mentioning her name.
The wind whips up around us, making Olivia’s dark hair blow across her face and sending a shiver through her body.
“We should get out of here,” I say, taking a step toward her.
Despite everything I’ve confessed, all my misdemeanours, the magnetic pull between us is as strong as ever.
