She sinks onto a fabric-covered bar stool. White linen to match her white counters and white cabinets. I’m not entirely convinced that anyone even cooks in here. It looks like one of those show kitchens in some designer showroom.
I spent the bulk of last night studying her immaculate living room and stared a bit too long at all the photographs in coordinating, polished silver frames. Most portrayed a picture-perfect smiling couple. A few portraits of the Rosewoods over the years were intermixed. Those brought back memories of better days. I even got choked up when I saw how different they all looked now. Bliss has gray hair. Robert’s hair has thinned a bit. The twins are grown women. Derek looks . . . like an attorney.
I was supposed to go to law school with him. We were going to practice at Robert’s firm together. A family of prosecuting attorneys.
What a fucking joke of a plan that turned out to be.
There’s a painting above the fireplace mantle, which I’m assuming was done by Daphne. She always did have a knack for seeing the world through an artistic lens. It looks like an impressionistic landscape portrait of the centuries-old Carver lighthouse on Miller’s Island at sunset, where I used to take Demi to fish. Or rather, I’d fish and she’d read a book on a blanket beside me.
I grab a carton of eggs from Demi’s Viking refrigerator, check the date, and search for a pan beneath the oven.
“You sure know your way around my kitchen.” She watches my every move.
“Oh, yeah? Do other people keep their eggs in the pantry? Their frying pans in the freezer?” I click a gas burner to medium and pull a spatula from a ceramic canister next to the stove.
“I don’t like eggs.” Her nose wrinkles. She’s so fucking cute, despite the fact that she’s not trying to be. She doesn’t like me making myself at home. I see it written all over her face. But she’s too polite to stop me. Can’t take the well-bred Rosewood out of the girl, no matter how pissed she is at me. “Remember?”
I grip the edges of the white marble counter and hunch my shoulders. “Right. That’s right. You don’t like the smell.”
“The texture.”
“Yeah,” I say, clicking the burner off. “You eat toast still?”
She nods.
“Peanut butter and brown sugar?”
She nods again. “Haven’t had that in forever. You remembered.”
“You’re going to have to tell me where you keep your bread.”
Demi slides off the stool and wanders to the pantry, emerging with a loaf of nine-grain artisan bread and a futuristic toaster that would make a Jetson green with envy. She places them on the center of the island and exhales.
“This is weird. You in my kitchen. Making me breakfast.” Demi’s voice fades into nothing. She bites her lip and stares out the picture window above the breakfast nook.
“What’s weird is that you’re actually being nice to me. Last night you were looking like you wanted to bite my head off.”
Her gaze snaps back to mine. “I still want to bite your head off.”
“Can we do it after we eat? Kinda hungry.”
Demi studies me, returning to her seat. I think she might smile for a second, but that smile never comes. But within minutes, we’re casually eating toast like all of last night never happened.
The scent of brewing coffee fills the frost-colored kitchen after a while. A percolating puff-puff, drip-drip sound comes from a wall by the sink.
“It’s on a timer,” she says.
I glance at the built-in coffeemaker and its fifty thousand knobs.
“Of course it is.” I grab two mugs from a hook by the sink and pour, staring out a window into a manicured backyard. A tarp-covered pool centers the picturesque retreat. “So this is how the other half lives.”
Demi rolls her eyes. “None of this stuff is mine. It’s all his.”
“You live here. It’s yours.” I sip my coffee.
“Not anymore.”
She shakes her head, staring down into her cup and wrapping her hands around it.
“He called the wedding off. The night of the accident. He said he didn’t want to marry me, and he left, his bag packed before I’d even come home from work.” Demi drags a ragged breath across her lips before bringing the mug to pursed lips. “Apparently, I’m a magnet for the love ‘em and leave ‘em kind.”
Her blue eyes lift, meeting mine from across the island. So many things I could say right now, but the timing’s all wrong.
“You ever going to tell me why you left?” Her tone is flat, but her gaze is sharp. It’s a stark reminder of the fact that we’re no better off now than we were last night, when she slammed the door in my face. Just because I took care of her last night and made her breakfast this morning doesn’t mean I’m in her good graces again.
I search for the right words.
But it’s not that simple.
I clear my throat to buy some time.
And by some kind of divine intervention, I’m saved by a knock at the front door.
Demi frowns, climbing off her bar stool and carrying her mug to the front door.
A few seconds later, female voices float from the hall. I can hardy tell them apart. Dark hair filled with shiny, loose waves spilling over an olive green parka is the first thing I see. Next are the unmistakable almond eyes of Delilah Rosewood.
“What. The. Fuck.” Delilah freezes mid-step when she sees me.
“Morning, Delilah.” I lift my cup, offering a brazen toast to this unconventional reunion.
She turns to Demi, tucking her chin against her chest. “Why is he here, and why is he dressed like your fiancé? What is going on? Tell me. Tell me right now. Oh, my God. Derek’s going to flip out, and Mom and Dad . . .”
Delilah barely breathes between sentences, her hands flailing wildly as she speaks. After a minute of hurling question after question at Demi, they both turn, in unison, and stare me down.
“I wish I had an answer.” Demi speaks to her sister like I’m not standing ten feet from the two of them. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Delilah’s eyes drag the length of me, and her pointer finger rises to her lips. She’s trying to figure me out. And I can’t say I blame her. It does seem rather suspect, from the outside, that I’d show up unannounced at a time like this.
“I came here to offer support.” I shrug. “Heard about what happened with Brooks.”
“Oh, now?” Delilah’s head cocks. “Now you want to come around? Where were you seven years ago? When we had to pick her off the floor the night you didn’t come home? When Demi could barely eat for weeks because she was so heartbroken? She had to be hospitalized for dehydration. Did you know that?”
I shake my head, watching Demi. Her eyes are focused on the center of her coffee cup. It fucking kills me that I can’t comfort her right now.
“Of course you didn’t.” Delilah’s rant shows no signs of stopping. “And where were you when she totaled her car sophomore year at Hargrove? Broke her wrist and her leg in three places. Had to take a semester off school to recover. Where were you when Grandma Rosewood passed away? That woman loved you like one of her own. Where were you when Derek got married? And then divorced, because the woman he married was a fucking psychotic lunatic? He could’ve used a friend, Royal. Where were you when Daphne landed her first art show and it sold out in two hours? Huh? You were the one who believed in her. You encouraged her to pursue art when my parents wanted her to choose something more practical. Where the hell were you, Royal?”
Delilah lays into me, and rightfully so.
I’ve missed everything.
But not by choice.
If I’d had a choice, I’d have been there for it all. I’d have never left Demi’s side. Fuck. I would’ve married that girl. Been there for everything. Every step of the way.
The choice was taken away from me the night I left. Had I known when I walked out of the Rosewood house that Saturday night that I was never coming back, I would have stayed. I would’ve n
ever left Rixton Falls.
“You were a fucking brother to me, Royal,” she continues, taking steps toward me. Her finger points at my heart like a loaded pistol. “I loved you like a real brother. You didn’t just break Demi’s heart when you left, you hurt all of us. Wherever you went, I hope it was worth it. We were the only family who ever gave a damn about you, and you disappeared, you worthless piece of—”
“Delilah.” Demi stops her sister, placing her hand on her shaking arm.
Delilah’s fists clench before she drops them at her sides.
“I should go.” I set the coffee mug in the sink. Sure as hell don’t see a dishwasher, though I’m sure it’s hidden behind some fancy cabinet façade. “It wasn’t my intention to upset anyone.”
My gaze meets Demi’s as I pass, but only for a split second. She looks away, her fingers still digging into the flesh of Delilah’s arm.
Someday I’ll tell her.
Someday soon, I’ll tell her everything.
But that day is not today.
Chapter Six
Demi
“Derek’s going to be livid.” Delilah folds her arms tight across her chest, angling her brows at me the second Royal leaves. “And Dad.”
She blows a tense, quick breath past terse lips.
Outside, the rumble of his engine fades into the distance, his roughed-up American muscle car vanishing from the rolling hills of our picturesque community.
I shrug. “I didn’t invite him over. He just showed up.”
“And stayed the night.”
“I didn’t ask him to.” I lean against the marble island, grazing my hand across the cool counter. All these years, he felt like something so intangible. Like a cloud. You know it’s there, you see it so clearly, but there’s nothing to grab onto when you try to touch it. Seeing him in the flesh is surreal. “He knocked on my door last night. I tried to tell him off. And then I threw up on his shoes. I don’t remember much after that, but when I woke up, he was sitting on the living room sofa in Brooks’s pajamas.”
“That shirt.” Delilah points at me. “That’s his shirt from high school. The one you used to wear all the time when he lived with us.”
I splay my fingers across my chest. They may as well be red hands, because I’m caught. No one knew I kept it. And Brooks never questioned me when I said it must’ve been one of Derek’s old shirts that got mixed in with mine somewhere along the line. I’m not a sentimental person, but damn if I didn’t want something I could actually touch once in a while.
“How are you not freaking out right now?” Delilah unzips her parka and hangs it on the back of a bar stool before fixing herself a cup of coffee. She knows where everything is, despite the fact that she’s only been here a handful of times since we moved in last year. Delilah never forgets a thing. “That asshole broke your heart, nearly broke you, and you’re standing here like you just got done meditating with the Dalai Lama.”
My head pounds, each throb an unrestrained suggestion to grab some aspirin. I forage the medicine cabinet before grabbing a bottled water from the fridge.
“I’m not calm,” I say, popping the pills to the back of my tongue. “I just haven’t had time to freak out yet. Only been up a half hour.”
I take a gulp of ice-cold water.
“He was getting ready to tell me what happened when you showed up and interrupted us,” I say.
“Well, shit.” Delilah’s shoulders fold, her eyes apologizing.
“He’ll be back.” I stare out the window, toward the spot where his Challenger was parked last night.
“How do you know?”
I hunch my shoulders. “Just a feeling I have.”
“He said he came to support you. How’d he know about Brooks?”
“Claimed he saw it on the news.”
I neglect to tell her that he’s been parking outside the house for the last several months—maybe longer, if I haven’t been paying much attention. And I’m not quite sure how I feel about it. Flattered? Creeped out? Intrigued? Vindicated? Maybe a sickening combination of all four?
Delilah traces a pale pink fingertip along a marble vein in the counter. “Yeah. People on Facebook are sharing articles left and right. Everyone’s really upset about Brooks. How’re you holding up?”
I hate this question.
I know she’s my sister, but everyone and their dog has asked me this same question over and over since the night of the accident. My principal. My parents, my siblings, my friends, Brooks’s friends, neighbors, the checker at the Quik-E Save.
The Abbotts are well-loved in Rixton Falls, and Brooks didn’t need a traumatic car accident to become the local celebrity he already was. There’s not a resident in a ten-mile radius who hasn’t heard of them. And three-fourths of the city use Brooks’s firm to manage their assets. There’s not a lot of wealth in this city, but most everyone’s set to retire early thanks to Brooks’s fancy footwork.
The correct answer to Delilah’s question escapes me. Probably because I’m not sure what the correct answer would be.
Do I tell the truth? Do I flat out admit that I’m freaking out right now because no one knows we broke up and no one will believe me?
My sister’s gaze softens, and she reaches for my arm, rubbing my shoulder. She takes my hesitance as a sign that I’m not doing well, and maybe she’s right.
“You didn’t have to fly all the way back from Chicago,” I say.
She bats her hand. “Brooks is your fiancé. He’s family. I’m going to be here for you. For him. Whatever you need. I’ve already spoken with my professors, and I’ll be telecommuting the rest of the month. I’ll go back after Thanksgiving. For the next three weeks, I’m all yours. Anything you need.”
I hug my little sister tight. The truth rests on the tip of my tongue.
“Brooks is going to be fine.” She gives me an extra squeeze. “He’s going to recover, and you’re going to marry him and live happily ever after with lots of Abbott babies and the entire world at your fingertips.”
“I don’t want to talk about the future right now.”
“Oh,” she says, though it comes out more like a question. “Okay. Sure. Understand.”
“I’m going to grab a shower.”
“I’ll be here.”
Chapter Seven
Demi
My sister takes my hand as we pad down the halls of Rixton Falls Memorial Hospital that morning. I’m not sure if she’s trying to take some of my strength or trying to give me some of hers.
“He’s in pretty bad shape,” I say before we get to his door. “Be prepared. You’ll hardly recognize him.”
She inhales and meets my gaze with glassy eyes. “I’m ready.”
Delilah hated Brooks at first. She thought he was pretentious and arrogant. But she doesn’t tend to immediately like most people she meets. Sometimes she comes across as cold and unfeeling, but I’m convinced she’s filled with stuffed animal fluff and candy hearts on the inside. Once she warms up to someone, she’s usually loyal until the end.
Which is why I’m so hesitant to drop the bomb on her just yet.
Delilah loves Brooks.
Almost as much as she once loved Royal.
We step into his room, and I hear her gasp from behind me.
“Oh, my God.” She steps past, kneeling at his bedside and taking his IV laden hand in hers. Delilah sniffs. “It doesn’t even look like him.”
She presses her cheek against his lifeless fingers.
“What are the doctors saying?” she asks.
“Nothing new since we last talked.” I take a seat in the corner and let Delilah have her moment. “Mostly just waiting for the swelling to subside.”
“Oh, good. You’re here.” Brenda Abbott hurries into the room in full hair and makeup. I’ve learned over the years that an Abbott never leaves the house without looking their best, regardless of the situation.
“There’s no excuse for looking like a slob,” Brooks once said to me when
I attempted to leave the house in sweats and a t-shirt.
I was going to put gas in my car.
Brenda rushes to my side, kissing each of my cheeks before turning her gaze to her battered son.
“Good morning, Delilah.” Brenda offers a warm smile with a side of pained eyes. “Back from school?”
“I flew in last night,” Delilah says. “As soon as I heard, I booked the first flight home.”
“Such a sweet girl.” Brenda places her hand over my sister’s. “If only I had another son to marry you off to.”
Delilah tucks her face away, acting flattered. She’s not the marrying kind, but Brenda doesn’t know it. I’ll kind of be surprised if Delilah ever marries, and I dare anyone to so much as attempt to tie her down.
Brooks’s heart beats, providing a constant soundtrack for this entire exchange. We’re just three women, slapping smiles on our faces and pretending, for each other’s sake, that everything’s going to be okay.
I cross my legs and stare out the window. His room has a nice view of Meyer’s pond. In the warmer months, hundreds of ducks like to gather there. We used to walk the path and toss them torn pieces of stale bread. Brooks used to like to watch them fight over them. He’d throw a tiny piece into a group of several dozen and let them go at it. I would always chuck my pieces to the back, to the apprehensive ducks who kept their distance. They deserved the bread just as much as the others.
Looking back, it’s hard to tell where everything took a detour. Despite each of our flaws and imperfections, I think we were happy once.
Maybe he sensed my distance? My indifference? Maybe he could tell I wasn’t fully vested and decided to jump ship before it was too late? Maybe all of this is my fault. Maybe I was the undoing of us.
We were supposed to marry the weekend of Valentine’s Day. The holiday falls on a Sunday this upcoming year, so our wedding would’ve been on the thirteenth. I insisted thirteen was an unlucky number, but Brooks refuted my insistence. He thought I was being cute. And then he accused me of trying to postpone the wedding for the third time.
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