Melanie was under the impression that I would return home once my education was finished.
But I had other plans.
I felt obligated to return because I was all she had—and she was all I had. But I’d been taking care of my sister our entire lives, and it was time for me to do something for myself, to have my own independence apart from her.
But she would be livid with my decision.
“Would you hate that?” Samantha asked.
“No, as long as she doesn’t expect to live with me.” My sister was a few years younger than me, but she’d never grabbed on to independence the way I did. Why would she, when she always had someone to take care of her? If it wasn’t me, it was a guy who had fallen under her spell. Why would she buy a drink at a bar when someone would pay her tab? I accepted who she was, exactly in the package she came in. I just didn’t want to be her caretaker anymore, and I feared if she moved here, that was exactly what would happen.
“So…” She swirled her glass of rosé, her short dark hair in frizzy curls. “Anything going to happen with you and Gabriel?”
I preferred French men to American men because they were more passionate than the men I was used to. They were great lovers, but they were also more independent, knew exactly how to care for themselves, and were proud, eager to stand on their own feet. They could be a little standoffish at times, but underneath that dark exterior was deep complexity. “I was thinking about…” My thoughts became distracted when I saw one of the guys Melanie was talking to rise from the table and approach the counter to speak to the waitress behind the counter.
His beard was gone, and his hair had been cut—but it was him.
I recognized those eyes, those distinctive facial features.
He took the tab from the woman, put the bills on it, and then turned back to the table. Words were exchanged with Melanie and the other guy in the group, and they rose from the table to leave.
Fuck that.
I left Samantha with no explanation and went after them, catching up just as they made it outside. “Melanie.”
She turned to me, her cheeks flushed from the wine that made her belly warm, from the good conversation that she thought was genuine and not a trap. “Raven, we’re going to a party. You want to come along?”
There was a car parked at the curb, and one of the guys already had the back door open. The man I recognized spoke to him quietly, exchanging words in French.
“You aren’t going. Let’s go back inside.” I grabbed her by the wrist and tugged her inside.
She twisted out of the grasp. “What the hell are you doing?”
I lowered my voice. “I saw one of these guys outside our apartment yesterday. He stood right across the street and watched you leave.”
Melanie laughed like it was funny. “Girl, you need to chill. Your mind is playing tricks on you.”
“It’s not,” I snapped. “I know what I saw, and it’s too much of a coincidence.”
“Raven, it’s fine.” She patted me on the arm. “We’re just going to a party. I’ll see you later, alright?”
The guy I recognized whispered to her, “Come on, beautiful. We’ll show you a Paris you’ve never seen.”
She blew me a kiss before she walked away.
I was so sick of this shit, so sick of being the logical and reasonable one, of being the one to look after her because she was so unintelligent and clueless about her surroundings. I grabbed her by the wrist again. “I don’t like these guys, Melanie. Let’s just go back inside—”
“Stop telling me what to do.” She pulled away again. “I’m a big girl who doesn’t need you to take care of me anymore.”
That hit too close to home, and I lost my temper. “Obviously, I still do need to take care of you because these guys have got psycho written all over them, and you’re too stupid to see that. I’m sick of this shit, Melanie. I’m sick of you making stupid decision after stupid decision. I’m telling you, I saw that motherfucker outside our apartment, and he’s gonna put you in an oil barrel or something. There’re a million guys out there. You’ll find someone new tomorrow.”
Her eyes were heavy from the alcohol in her blood, but they were still aware enough to react, to show how much those words stung. “Then maybe they will put me in an oil barrel and I won’t be your problem anymore.” She walked to the guys waiting at the car.
“Alright.” The other guy clapped his hands and rubbed his palms together. “Let’s get this party started.”
I clenched my jaw and sucked the back of my lips, furious enough to move mountains but helpless to do anything but watch. While my sister had a lot of good qualities, she also had a lot of bad ones, like constantly getting herself into trouble. And you know who cleaned up those messes?
Me. Always me.
I resented her for constantly putting me in positions I didn’t want to be in, constantly setting me back in life with mistake after mistake. My life was easy in Paris, and I realized I never wanted to go home; I was ready to finally start a new life for myself. But she was my sister…and that love, that bond, that sense of protectiveness, would never leave me.
So, I did the only thing I could…and went after her.
She was already in the back seat when I walked up.
“You want to join us too, beautiful?” He opened the back door again. He gave me a wink that wasn’t the least bit charming.
“You’re going to come?” Melanie asked in surprise. “My
