“My sister and I were extremely close growing up,” I start. “Weshared a lot of the same friends. We’re twins. I’m not sure I’ve mentioned that before.”
Savannah shakes her head, giving me an encouraging smile.
“I played hockey. She was a figure skater.” I shrug. “We basically lived at the arena, and since hockey is nonstop, she spent a lot of time watching me play, and our family traveled for games pretty often. In high school, she dated one of my best friends. He and I played hockey together.”
I smile, though the expression isn’t a happy one. More ironic.
“My teammates always gave me shit about it because I didn’t mind. I loved that my sister was dating my best friend. He was a good guy, you know? Or at least I thought he was. So why wouldn’t I want my sister to date him?”
She peers up at me, her teeth sunken into her lip. “I’m guessing he wasn’t as great as you thought?”
I curl a piece of her hair around my finger, focusing on the movement. “No. Turns out he just liked attention, and when he got it frommygirlfriend, he was all too happy to forget that Cora washis.”
Savannah’s jaw drops open.
“It gets worse,” I warn her. “She wasn’t just my girlfriend. She was my sister’s best friend. His girlfriend’sbest friend. The four of us were as close as people can get.”
“Camden.” Savannah shakes her head, frowning, like she doesn’t know what to say.
Of course she doesn’t. She would never do something like that. It was the definition of fucked up, and she’s good and kind. She’d never do that to a friend.
“I caught them at his house. We made plans to hang out after practice, but he must have forgotten. When I got there, I walked in on the two of them butt-ass naked, fucking in his bed.”
Sav drops her head back against the cushion and squeezes her eyes shut.
“Yeah.” I huff out an irritated breath. “I was fucking hurt and angry. I didn’t know what the fuck to do, and in the end, I did the wrong thing.”
To this day I don’t know why I didn’t tell my sister. When I foundout, I went silent. I didn’t talk to anyone about it. I didn’t want to hurt Cora. And it was easier to ignore it all. We were in the middle of hockey finals, and while I couldn’t look at Jeremy, I couldn’tnotplay.
“What did you do?” Savannah asks softly, bringing me back to the present.
“I didn’t tell my sister. I—” I squeeze her hair in my fist but relax it when I realize I’m tugging a little too hard. “I broke up with my girlfriend, and at practice, I couldn’t look at my best friend. Couldn’t talk to him. But otherwise, I acted like everything was okay. I just…” I shrug. “Pretended it didn’t happen. I focused on hockey and ignored everyone. Started drinking a lot, fucking around with other girls. Anything to bury the hurt of their betrayal.”
Savannah presses her hand to my cheek. “You were just a kid.”
“She got pregnant,” I breathe. “My ex-girlfriend.” I frown. “So yeah, I’m not the kid in this mess. The baby was. And my sister was the victim of it all too. Because when rumors of her pregnancy got out, my ex swore the baby was mine. She didn’t want to ruin her friendship with Cora, and I guess Jeremy had no interest in being a father. I don’t know. So she told her the baby was mine and that I wasn’t stepping up to help.”
“That bitch,” Savannah mutters.
I chuff out a bitter laugh. “Yeah. My sister was so angry. We’d never fought before, but she called me every name under the sun. She caught me when I was drunk. It wasn’t hard to do. I was always drunk back then. I lashed out and told her the truth. And right there in front of me, the fight left her and her heart shattered. Idid that to her.”
“No,” Savannah says fiercely, grabbing my face again. “They did it to her.”
“Yeah.” I huff. “Well, I was no hero in this story. My sister took off.” I close my eyes, finding the image of my parents that day waiting for me.
We searched everywhere, with no luck. They were devastated. It took a couple of days before the letter came. She wrote that she was safe but that she needed to get away.
“We lived in Vegas, so you can imagine the kind of people she gotcaught up with. The life she led for years after that.” My gut twists into a painful knot. “The things she was forced to do.”
Cora hasn’t opened up about much that happened during that time, but I’ve sat in on some of her pole dancing sessions. The way she speaks makes it clear she’s experienced the kind of abuse she treats.
“Anyway, that’s why she ran away. She couldn’t face the pregnancy and the lies and betrayal. But she put herself back together. She put herself through school and got her damn master’s degree, and now she’s dedicated her life to helping people.”
Savannah sighs. “That’s incredible.”
I nod.
Her hand is on my cheek again, her skin warm, her touch gentle. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
