“Morning,” I attempt to be cheery as if I’ve forgotten who I’m talking to.
“Hey.” She sits up against my fabric headboard and pulls the sheet up to her chin. She’s shielding herself. From me or whatever is going on in her head, I’m not sure. “Sorry about last night.”
“You don’t need to apologize.” I sit beside her on the edge of the bed after I place the tray on the other side of her. “Hungry?”
“Not really.” I’m about to give her a lecture about needing to eat, but she knows me too well already. With an eye roll, she grabs a strawberry and pops it into her mouth.
I sit beside her, not saying anything. I’m not going to push her. She’ll talk when she’s ready.
She takes a large gulp of coffee and reaches for her phone. Shit. She never called her brother back last night.
“You should call Lucas.” She shows me her phone, already having pulled up his texts. It seems he sent quite a few throughout the night. The poor guy probably didn’t sleep at all. “I like him. He looks after you.”
She doesn’t say anything. Her eyes are far away, lost in thought. “I’ll give you some privacy. Just leave the tray here when you’re done. Feel free to use the shower to clean up. I’m sure I have some shorts or something you can wear home.” Her eyes snap back to me like I’ve jolted her awake.
“Liam, I can’t go home. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I can’t go back there.” The phone in her hand starts to ring and I see the screen says ‘Mom,’ but Flynn declines the call.
It doesn’t take a genius to connect the dots. It’s obvious things went poorly with her parents yesterday, but I’m not sure how poorly.
“You can stay here for the day, but I do need to head into work.” It is Wednesday, after all.
“Right. Okay. Are you sure you don’t mind?”
I shake my head. “Get some rest. Help yourself to anything in the apartment. I’ll call to check in later and I’ll bring dinner home tonight. You can stay here as long as you need.”
These are promises I shouldn’t be making. She shouldn’t even be here, but I can’t send her away. Not after that display last night and I definitely can’t send her home. Sure, I could push her toward her friends or her siblings, but I know her friends aren’t good for her. As for her siblings, I’m sure they have lives and jobs to get to as well.
“Thank you,” she whispers as I’m leaving the room. I close the door behind me and pause with my hand braced on the frame.
I’ll do anything to protect her and support her. No matter the consequences.
I know what I have to do today. It’s the first move I’ve felt confident about in a long time.
It’s my next step to take Miranda down.
It’s my first step to get Flynn back. For good.
Twenty-Two
Flynn
I could get used to being here. This is arguably the last place I should be, but I can’t stop myself from running to Liam anytime I need someone. He’s in me, like a bad cold I can’t shake.
I wanted to tell him everything, but I couldn’t bear to say the words. It’s like if I say them to someone outside of my family, they become more real. And they’re real enough already.
I can’t go home. I can’t face my dad. Even though my room is the pool house and I barely run into my parents, it’s hard to face him. I’ve been daddy’s little girl my entire life. Now, that identity is gone. I don’t know who I am anymore or who he is to me. My life has been turned upside down and everything I know is a lie.
And my mother. Ugh, that incessant woman will not stop calling and messaging me. She’s left me upwards of five voicemails from her nine thousand calls and eight million texts. She needs to get a fucking clue. I don’t want to talk to her. Not now. Maybe not ever.
I sit up in a rush, pushing away from the cloud-like pillows enveloping my head. It didn’t dawn on me this morning when Liam mentioned I should text Lucas, but hi, Elvis is back in the building.
Liam met Lucas last night. No, Lucas met Liam. If he says anything to Mom about him, she could connect the dots. What are the chances of me knowing two Liams, one who isn’t my therapist? Not great. Shit. I hope I didn’t say anything last night to give myself away.
I pull up Luke’s texts and press the call button.
“I’m sorry about last night,” I say in lieu of hello.
“I’m just glad to hear you’re alive. Who was that guy last night?” Part of me is sick of keeping secrets from my siblings. I’ve done it for twenty-one years and now lying to them feels hypocritical. Like mother like daughter.
“It’s a long story. We met at that bar one night—”
“Say no more.” Not a lie, just a bit of an omission. “Are you okay, Flynn? For real?”
“Yeah,” I say as a knee-jerk reaction, then sigh. “No. Everything is different now.”
“Look, no matter what, you’re still my sister and I love you. Whether you’re full or half.” I grimace. “That sounded weird, but you get the point. Carson and I are here for you, whatever you need. If you need a place to stay, you can crash with Liv and me.”
“Thanks, but I’ll figure it out. I always do.” I hang up and carry the tray containing the rest of my breakfast back to
