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“Are they hurt?”
“No.”
“For fuck’s sake, Ry, what’s going on?”
Throwing myself at him, I hug my brother, needing some sort of reassurance that I’m still loved and that my life isn’t over. He’s stiff at first and then awkwardly pats my back.
“They caught you?”
Pulling back, I gape at him in shock. “H-How’d you know?”
“I’m not an idiot. You and Ronan clearly made up this week. I figured maybe…I don’t know, that you got walked in on or something. How pissed was Dad?”
If only it were that simple.
“Mom.” I wince, remembering her disgusted, furious face filled with hatred for me. “She, uh, walked in on the three of us.”
Rowdy’s brows lift. “I see.”
“I’ve never seen her so pissed,” I admit with a choked sound of despair. “When Dad finds out, he’s going to murder me.”
Rowdy frowns. “Dad’s not going to murder you.”
“I had sex with two of his kids!”
He steps forward, a growl rumbling through him. “Keep it down or you’ll wake Dez. She’s had a helluva morning.” I notice the pure exhaustion written all over his face from his bloodshot eyes, dark circles around them, and overall tired expression tugging at his features.
“Why is she here?” I ask, confusion lacing my tone. “Did you get her to talk?”
His head shakes and his own face is one filled with despondency like mine. “Not yet. Last night was terrible and this morning…she just needed privacy and comfort, neither of which she’s getting right now in that cramped cabin.”
“Does Mom know she’s here?”
“Yes. Mom is the one who had Dad bring her to me to watch over.”
I wait for him to elaborate, but his features shutter, closing off at once. Whatever is going on with Destiny is something he isn’t willing to share with me right now. It’s fine, though. I have bigger fish to fry.
“It gets worse,” I whisper, scrubbing my palm over my face. I smell Raegan and my heart aches miserably. “So much worse.”
“What’s worse than getting caught having sex with your siblings?” he asks in a dry, sarcastic tone. “Seriously. I think you’re probably overreacting.”
I grab hold of his jacket lapels and bring him close to me. “Rowdy, Raegan is pregnant.”
His face blanches and he swallows hard. He turns his head, breaking eye contact, and frowns.
“Told you,” I grouse. “It’s not even my baby. It’s Ronan’s. Mom hates me because I was the first to speak to her, but when she finds out Ronan knocked up our sister, she’s really going to freak out.”
He plucks my hands from his jacket and pushes me away from him. I watch helplessly as he paces the porch, the cold air clouding with his hot breaths. A brisk wind blows hard, sending fallen leaves fluttering against us. A leaf gets caught in Rowdy’s hair and he absently brushes it away before meeting my stare with grief-stricken eyes.
Great.
He hates me too.
How can loving Raegan and Ronan like I do be so horrible?
Pain digs deep into my chest, gutting me like a fucking fish. I can’t breathe. My knees are weak and shaky, threatening to give out at any second. When I’m seconds from collapsing from a panic attack, Rowdy steps toward me again. He pulls me in for a hug, this time not awkward at all. He hugs me like he can hold all the shattered bits of me together. I collapse, letting him do the hard work because I’m no longer able to.
My older brother lets me cry, reminding me of when I was five and skinned my knees on the rocks while we played in the river. He was calm and his voice comforted me while he patched me up. We weren’t supposed to be at the river without Mom and Dad, but we’d gone anyway. My brother protected me and made everything better.
