by Meghyn King
She clenched her jaw, as well as her resolve, and strode past him. He didn’t try to stop her, and she was thankful he hadn’t. She stormed past Sofia, ignoring the other woman as she tried to say something to her, and headed toward her car. While she usually waited for the engine to warm up, she didn’t bother this time, and immediately reversed out of the driveway and headed back to the hotel, thankful now that she still had the room to escape to.
It was only when she was on the road that she realized her hands were shaking, and she exhaled, staring between them resting on the steering wheel and at the road in front of her. Her heart slammed repeatedly against her ribs, her stomach a mess of anxiety and grief. She hated feelings—they left people vulnerable, and she’d promised herself she’d never be vulnerable again, but here she was, and all because of Ethan Antonelli.
When she pulled the car into her spot at the hotel, Scarlett turned off the ignition and closed her eyes, letting her forehead fall against the steering wheel. She swore, slamming her palm against the wheel again and again until she was screaming and cursing Ethan’s name. Then the tears came hard and fast and there was no way she could stop them. By the time she was done, she looked like a wreck. It took another half an hour for her to fix her appearance in the rearview mirror and settle herself down enough to leave the vehicle.
By the time she reached her hotel room, she had five missed calls from Ethan, and one from Shy. She deleted Ethan’s voice messages, not bothering to listen to them, and then called her sister.
“Hey, Scar.” Shy’s jubilant voice filled the line.
Scarlett steeled herself and forced her voice to sound a lot happier than she felt. “Hi, Shy.”
“So, how do you feel about coming out with the girls for a dress fitting? It was supposed to be tomorrow, but Enzo had a free appointment today and asked if I was interested in coming in early.”
Scarlett felt like doing anything but trying on dresses, but she knew there was no way of escaping it. Shy was as stubborn as their mother on the best of days. “Sure. Where do you want me to meet you?”
She had two hours to bury her horrid feelings and pretty herself up. Two hours to pretend that the last five days didn’t happen, and that she wasn’t heartbroken over Ethan. And in that time, she did a pretty darn good job, and when she arrived at the dress store, Shy didn’t seem to have any clue that Scarlett had been crying her heart out only a couple of hours before.
Scarlett knew a few of the girls, mostly from Shy’s years playing netball, and they weren’t bad people. She chose to latch on to Nicole Merry, mostly because she was a church-going, Bible-following woman, who definitely wasn’t going to mention sex or men. Unfortunately for Scarlett, though, Shy was good at sensing when something was amiss, and always managed to hit the nail on the head. They often blamed the twin-psychic thing, but it was mostly because Shy knew her too well.
“Scarlett was pulled over for speeding by Officer Antonelli when she first came into town,” Shy said, chuckling with her friends. Other than Scarlett and Nicole, there were another three women in their group in the dress store.
“Oh really?” Crystal waggled her eyebrows and popped her bright pink lips at Scarlett. “How much did the ticket cost you?”
“Nothing,” Shy butt in before Scarlett could answer. “He let her off with a warning.”
“Shut up!” Teeny was the loudest of the girls, and she had a shrill voice that made Scarlett grimace. “That sexy hunk of meat didn’t give you a ticket?”
“Y’all screwing?” Crystal nudged Scarlett with her shoulder.
“No.” Scarlett took a champagne flute that the dressmaker, Enzo, brought over on a tray. He sent her a look of sympathy, and she just rolled her eyes. “He was being nice because I was back in town for Shy’s wedding.”
“I don’t believe it,” Shy laughed. “Ethan doesn’t let anyone off the hook. For God’s sake, he threw his uncle in lockup for being publicly intoxicated, and gave Sofia a ticket. His own sister. He is a stickler for the law.”
“Have y’all seen him in that uniform? The man is more delicious than one of Rosie’s triple-choc cupcakes.” Crystal stole one of the flutes and swallowed it in one go.
The other girls, except Nicole who was probably scandalized by where the conversation was heading but wasn’t showing it—yet—joined in on the conversation. It ranged from talking about taking Ethan to their beds, to wondering what it would be like to have him put some cuffs on them. It was the kind of talk Scarlett expected from housewives, which they all were, and any other day she’d join in with glee. Today was not one of those days, though.
“I’d eat Ethan Antonelli alive,” Teeny agreed. “You’d know who else I’d eat alive? Jeremy Harper. Boy is fine.”
“Oh gawd yes.” Crystal fanned herself. “I’d make him beg for his momma.”
“He’s taking me to the festival,” Nicole shyly piped in.
“Shut up. How did that happen?”
Scarlett blanked out at the first mention of Jeremy’s name, lost in her thoughts for most of the conversation, not fully comprehending anything while they jabbered on for what seemed like hours. Between them, the group of women consumed enough wine for what seemed like at least thirty people during that time, causing them to get louder and bawdier. Once she’d had her turn being fitted in the lavender knee-length dress, she said some quick goodbyes, and headed out of the store before she lost her shit in front of the whole bride side of the wedding party.
Shy wasn’t far behind her, and she clutched at Scarlett’s elbow, tugging her to a stop. “Scarlett, stop!” She turned her so they were face-to-face, and frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing. Why would you think anything was wrong?” She plastered a fake smile on her face, but knew it was futile with Shy.
“What happened?” Shy tugged her to the side of the street, and they sat on a bench seat that rested near some pretty flowers. The midday sun felt hot against her skin, but she was thankful that the bench was in the shade of an awning from a shop. It at least hid them from some of the sun’s bite.
Scarlett shrugged. “I don’t know what you mean, Shiloh. I said I was fine.”
“And I know when you’re lying. I need you to talk to me.” Shy cupped her cheek. “I can see it in your eyes.”
Except, she didn’t know how. With Ebony, she didn’t need to talk about feelings. She and her roommate had the same motto: fuck ’em, then leave ’em. But things had changed in the past few days, far more drastically than she could ever imagine. She didn’t know how to begin explaining it to Shy, but she did—to the best of her ability anyway.
By the time she was done, Shy’s mouth was parted in shock, her eyes wide in her pretty face.
“You and Ethan? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“There was nothing to tell you. We were just fucking.”
Shy pursed her lips. “Don’t tell me you believe that, Scar. You said it yourself, he made you break your own rules. You care for him.”
“Even if I did, I can’t. Shy, I leave in a week and a half. I can’t let this happen.” Tears prickled at the corner of her eyes and she blinked them away. Fuck that. She wasn’t going to cry again.
“So don’t leave, Scarlett. Stay.” The pleading look in Shiloh’s eyes made Scarlett glance away. She always hated when her sister begged. It usually ended up with Shy getting her own way, and she couldn’t, not this time.
“I can’t. I have a life in New York, and I’m not going to stay for a man.”
“Why not? You’ve loved him ever since you were a teenager, Scar.”
Scarlett snorted. “That wasn’t love; it was infatuation. And I’m not in love with him now.”
“What do you call it, then? You broke your rules for him. You’re upset that you thought you had to leave because of Sofia. You don’t have to choose not to be with him because of her.”
An elderly couple walked past them and waved. Scarlett returned the gesture and stared at their surround
ings. The town center was quiet for a Thursday afternoon, but she could already imagine the crowd flocking to the park tomorrow for the start of the Strawberry Festival. She already spied the town workers beginning to build the stalls. Out-of-towners flocked to Ponchatoula from all over, and it was overrun by locals and tourists the whole weekend. It was one of the busiest times of the year for the town.
“Scarlett, don’t do that.” Shiloh grabbed her shoulder and squeezed it. “Don’t get distracted—disconnect—when you don’t want to talk about your feelings.”
“I’m not.” Except, she was. She groaned and dropped her face in her hands. “I don’t want a relationship, Shiloh.”
“I don’t believe that. We’re all humans, we all want the same thing. Maybe you need to talk to Sofia? She’s not that bad anymore, Scarlett.”
“Are you kidding me?” Scarlett whipped her head around to glare at Shy. “You know what she did to me in my room, how she… how she made a group of us play truth or dare, just to make a fool of me. I was terrified when she dared me to kiss Jake, Shy, and when they laughed at me.... You were there.”
Shiloh grimaced. “Yes, I was. I should have stopped it.”
“I only ever wanted to fit in, was that so much to ask for? I wanted to be like you.”
“I know, and it’s all my fault.”
Scarlett shook her head, carding her fingers through her unruly hair. She had curled it so beautifully this morning before she came, but now it looked like a bird’s nest. “No, it wasn’t. You didn’t do anything.”
“I did, Scarlett.”
She frowned, glancing at her sister. Shy’s lips were pursed, her gaze glued to her feet. Her hands fiddled in her lap, which was unusual for Shiloh, and concern for her twin seized at Scarlett’s heart.
“What do you mean?”
“I….” When Shy stared at her again, her eyes were filled with unshed tears. “It was my fault that Sofia found out about your crush on Ethan. I told her.”
“What are you talking about?” Scarlett’s stomach felt like it was being pummeled, leaving her feeling sick and uneasy. She tried to comprehend what Shy had just told her, but she was having filtering it through her brain, because her twin sister would have never told Sofia about her crush on Ethan…. Right?
“I was just so angry at you. You told Momma about the party I went to and—”
She held up a hand. “What?”
“Scarlett, I’m so sorry.” Shy’s voice was on the verge of hysteria, tears trailing down her high cheekbones.
“It was you? You told Sofia about my crush on Ethan.” Scarlett stood from the bench seat abruptly, but Shiloh followed her. “All because I told Momma about a party that you went to, when she forbade you from going? You ruined my life, Shy.”
“I know.” She reached for Scarlett, but Scarlett shifted away from her hand. “I didn’t realize what’d happen, not until it was too late. I begged Sofia to take it back, but she’d already told Ethan’s friends.”
Scarlett let out a strangled laugh. “You know… I should be surprised, but I’m not anymore. I’m used to betrayal by now.”
She didn’t let Shiloh say anything more, she’d heard enough, and spun on her heels and walked away. A few pedestrians frowned at her as she shoved past them, but she didn’t pay them any attention. Anger poisoned the blood running through her veins and controlled every movement of her limbs. She didn’t realize where she was going until she was at her car, the keys in her hand and unlocking it.
In one day, everything had exploded, and the resolve she told herself she wouldn’t lose had disappeared, leaving her an embodiment of emotional turmoil, a mixture of anger and hopelessness, pain and sorrow. She fucking hated it.
Driving away from her sister left an ache in her chest, but she couldn’t be anywhere near her, so she wasn’t surprised when she ended up back at her hotel. Going to her parents’ house meant she’d have to hear her mom’s excuses for Shy, because there wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Shiloh had already called them to let them know what had happened. As far as their mom was concerned, Shiloh was perfect, and it frustrated Scarlett, mostly because she understood it. Before today, her twin sister was perfect in Scarlett’s eyes too. How quickly a few minutes could change everything….
Scarlett ignored a wave from the desk attendant who she’d gotten to know, and stormed to the elevator, heading up to her room. As soon as she opened the door, she paused. A bunch of two- or three-dozen roses sat in the middle of the table. She didn’t have to look to know who they were from, but she read the card anyway.
Scarlett,
I’m sorry. Please let me explain everything.
Ethan.
A scream of fury lodged itself in her throat, and she grabbed the roses, shoving them in the trash can by the bed.
“Go to hell!” she yelled at the defenseless flowers as she stormed toward the bathroom.
She made herself a hot bath, adding some scented oils and salts that she loved, and sank into the steaming water. The heat immediately enveloped her, soothing her sore muscles and even sorer emotions. Eyes slipping closed, she let herself focus on taking deep breaths. The sweet scent of the salts and oils assaulted her nose, and her simmering blood cooled under the calm, soothing environment. Confidence. You are strong.
It gave her time to begin to wonder if she’d overreacted once again. Her one weakness was her past, and every single one of her sore spots had been hit in one day. Between the full realization of the rules she’d broken for Ethan, and her sister’s betrayal, she was tired. So darn tired. She trusted Shiloh from the beginning, had faith in her sister when she held little for anyone else. Shiloh knew about everything and comforted her through the hardest times. It was her twin who helped her find the perfect college in New York, and also helped in the move. It was Shiloh who had her back when her parents fought Scarlett over the decision, and it was Shiloh who told her she was doing the right thing. And now, Scarlett realized it was all because it was Shiloh’s fault to begin with. It was Shiloh who shared her biggest secret with her worst tormentor.
And Ethan….
Scarlett groaned, dipping her head beneath the water. She stayed there until her lungs burned, before resurfacing, wiping the water away from her face. Ethan was a whole new set of problems. When she toyed with the idea of fucking him, she expected a one-off, something to get him out of her system. He was gorgeous, he’d always been that way, and she thought all it’d take was one night and he’d be old news. Except it only made her crave him more. She didn’t know why she’d been stupid enough to go to lunch with him for all those days. She knew her boundaries, and she stepped out of them on the first day after they had sex. Practically leaped.
“Idiot,” she muttered to herself as she stood up in the bath, water slithering over her curves and dripping back into the bath water. After stepping out onto the plush bathmat, she dried herself off, and wrapped the towel around her as she headed back into the bedroom. She stared at the roses in the trash and sighed. She was many things, but she wasn’t cruel, and guilt gnawed at her.
Unable to take it anymore, she pulled the roses out of the trash and straightened them out as much as she could without pricking herself on them. She set them up in a vase she found in one of the cupboards in the small kitchenette and placed them on the bench.
Her phone shrilled from the bed and she sighed. Scarlett had her moment of peace, and now she needed to handle her problems. As much as she enjoyed running away from them, she also knew what had to be done.
Accepting the call, Scarlett greeted her mom with her standard, “Hello.”
“I’ve called you ten times, Scarlett Rose. Ten times. Why haven’t you answered my calls?” Her mother’s voice cut through the line sharp and shrill, and it made Scarlett shudder.
“I was taking a bath, Momma. Is that illegal?”
“Did you fall asleep in there? It doesn’t take this long to take a shower.”
“A bath,” Scarlett corrected. She
strolled back to the roses, running the pad of a finger over one of the petals. It was funny how a rose’s flower could be so soft, so beautiful, yet a little farther south they had thorns that could cut deep. It reminded her of a lot of people from her past. Soft and sweet on the outside, and a big prick just a little under the surface. She snorted in amusement at her own analogy.
“Scarlett, did you hear anything I just said?”
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “No. Sorry, I got distracted. What did you say?”
“Shiloh rang me. She told me what happened.”
“Are you going to defend her, Momma?”
“No.” The word was short, anger rippling through the single word.
It shocked Scarlett, and she frowned at the phone briefly before replacing it to her ear. “You’re not?”
Her mom sighed. “She did wrong, darling, and I let her know that. I’m very disappointed in her, but I need you to listen to me. I don’t know what you went through back then, and I wish you’d told me all of it, so I could have done something about it, but know this—Shiloh is your sister. She’s not as perfect as we always think she is. She’s like us, she’s human. She made a mistake, and I hate seeing you two fighting.”
“I know, Momma, but she hurt me real bad. She betrayed my trust, when I thought she was the only one I had on my side.”
“I know, my sweetheart, and you have every right to be upset. Like I said, I told her how disappointed in her I am. I raised you both better than that. But she’s still your sister.”
Scarlett collapsed on the bed and stared at the ceiling. It was an off-white plaster, and somehow, there was still dirty marks up there. “I’ll forgive her.”
“But? I hear the but in there, Scarlett Rose.”
“But give me some time. Let me be angry.”
“Absolutely not.” Her mother’s tone left little room to argue. “I know you better than you know yourself, and the more time you have to mope, the angrier you’ll get. You’re looking for a reason to fight with someone and I will not let you ruin your relationship with your sister. I’ll give you until tomorrow night. If you haven’t talked to her by then, you will hear from me again. Am I clear, missy?”