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“Fuck it,” I mutter. “This night can’t get much worse.”
I’m sorry, Trey. I need more time. I’m in Vancouver with my brothers. I don’t know when I’ll be back.
I turn off my phone screen just as I hear the elevator door ding open. Fiona breaks into a run when she spots me on the floor and hauls me up by my forearms.
“What the fuck, walking home alone at night.” Her nails press into my skin. “You are a hot, drunk girl. And you’re so small. Some psycho could have stolen you and put you right in his pocket! You’re a murder podcast waiting to happen!”
I burst out laughing. “Stolen me?”
“You know, kidnapped!” Fi eyes fill with tears.
“Hey, Fi,” I say gently. “I’m okay.”
She nods, looking me up and down as if for reassurance. My phone lights up with a text, and she pauses. “Oh my God, is that a message from Trey? Have you been drunk texting?”
I ignore her question as Seb and Marcus approach, eyeing me warily. I flush, looking down. Seb doesn’t say anything as he places his phone against the door. It blinks green and clicks open.
“Let’s go back to the hotel,” I say to Fiona, not wanting to rehash any of the night’s events.
She looks over at my stepbrothers. “Thank you for dinner.”
“Of course,” Seb replies as we stand in the doorway awkwardly.
“Charlie, wait…” A pair of strong arms pull me into a bone-crushing hug. I look up in surprise, realizing it’s Marcus. And he’s crying. “I’m so sorry, kid,” he says, his voice shaking.
It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him cry. Ever. Even at my mom’s funeral.
“It’s okay, Marcus,” I whisper.
“No,” he says firmly, stepping back. “It’s not. You’re my little sister, and ever since you came into our lives when you were a tiny, sassy three-year-old, I swore I would protect you.” He takes a deep breath. “I didn’t do that. I dumped all my anger and resentment on you like a petulant teenager.” He pushes his finger under my chin, raising my gaze to his. “But what happened to our family was not your fault. Do you hear me? Our parents fucked up. Both of them. They’re adults. That’s not on you.We,” he says, pointing between me and Seb, “are still a family.”
He hugs me again, pulling me close.
My fingers dig into his shirt as I press my face against his chest. “I missed you so much,” I whisper. “I thought I had lost you.”
“Never,” he says fiercely.
“Aww, you guys,” Seb interrupts. “This is so cute.”
“Fuck off, asshole,” Marcus says, but I can hear the smile in his voice, and he opens one arm, bringing Seb into the hug.
“We love you, little sis,” Seb whispers.
“I love you both, too,” I say. And for the first time in the last twenty-four hours, I feel a little lighter.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
TREY
The two-week winter break felt like the longest break in the history of school breaks. Link and I havenotbeen handling the separation from Charlie well. At all. We started out drinking ourselves stupid and neither of us was interested in reining in the other. We even tried to buy some cocaine, but Lincoln was disgusted by the condition of the dealer’s house, so we chickened out before we could make the sale. It was a weird forty-eight hours considering Link’s aversion to substance abuse. But after two days of bingeing, John got fed up with our shit and made us go back to campus to work instead.
So Link and I have been practically living at the theater, and when we do go back to our dorm, we’ve been watching an eclectic mix of movie marathons to pass the time—my personal favorite was the Estevez Festivez (a term Link borrowed from an episode ofCougar Town), when we watchedThe Outsiders,The Breakfast Club, Young Guns, St. Elmo’s Fire,andThe Mighty Ducks.
Regardless of our relatively self-destructive ways, we both agreed that this relationship we have with Charlie is special because, one, we’re actually referring to it as a relationship, and, two, we didn’t even think about fucking around, which isnormally my go-to when shit hits the fan. It wasn’t even on our radar.
I’m anxious because today I’ll see her again, and I want her back. No question.
“You’re going to grovel, aren’t you?” Link asks as he leans in the bathroom doorway and watches me fuss with my hair, an amused smile touching his lips.
