Poor Monday, so clueless about everything around her.
As far as she understood it, just like everyone else, I’d been in love with Kane for as long as I could remember. No one knew of my hatred toward him. I was alone with it all.
I rolled my head back, and the words slipped out without a second thought. “I think I’m falling into something else. And not with my fiancé.”
Fable wore a knowing grin.
I disliked this knowing grin very much.
“As cold-hearted as you may act, I knew this day would one day come.” Fable sighed like she’d won a game. I hadn’t heard her sigh, but I saw it leave her face as she sat back. “Does he feel the same for you?”
“Excuse me.” Monday lifted a finger. “Adora in love?”
I ignored Monday and looked at my sister. “No, I don’t think he does. When he found out about Cyrus and me, he was ...” I shook my head, remembering Stone that night at the Founder’s Day Ball. “He was hurt. I was hurt. Ithurts. But that’s how it’s been with us. We rip each other apart as punishment for feeling things because it’s easier than facing them. Or we punish each other for feeling things because it’s ripping us apart. And it hurts.”
Fable dropped her head to the side. “Why am I getting the feeling this isn’t about Kane anymore?”
Because it isn’t, I wanted to say. I’d had enough alcohol to deny my sinful words later should she resurrect them, but I was not drunk enough to know Monday was here, still sober. But most of all, I was afraid that if I saidStone, I wouldn’t be able to stop.
Fable sensed my apprehension. “Has anyone told you lately how stubborn you are?” she asked with a shake of her head. “I’m afraid since we’re not there to remind you, you’ll forget. Here’s a little hint.” She leaned in and snatched a shot glass from my hand. “The more you pretend it’s not there, the louder it screams,” she insisted, and threw her head back, swallowing the liquor in one gulp. When she finished, she turned the glass over and dropped it onto the table.
“Then why do you pretend?” I asked.
Fable’s smile died on her lips.
Another shot appeared in front of me, and I drained it to smother the burn with fire, hoping the two would cancel each other out.
If Cyrus kept delivering shots, I could possibly make it through the night.
“Phoenix! You know the drill, man,” Cyrus shouted across the bar, over the music and commotion. “Another shot for Adora and keep them coming.”
“Oof,someone’s trying to get laid,” Monday muttered under her breath.
I glanced behind Fable just as she turned at the sound of Phoenix’s name.
Phoenix’s attention shifted to our table, and the two of them locked eyes.
Utter confusion held me, a firm grasp around my lungs.
For years the two bickered back and forth like a sex-deprived married couple, and we always made fun of her for it. But why was Phoenix looking at her as if it was the first time with abandon in his eyes? The same way Stone had once looked at me.
My breath continued to hold as I watched my little sister’s face.
Then back to Phoenix, who stood with nerves dripping off him.
Then back to Fable again, her expression turning from dread to ...anguishdistorting all her details.
Phoenix took a step forward, but the bar wedged between them blocked his advance.
“Wildes, are you deaf?” Kane snapped. “A drink.”
Phoenix didn’t move.
He was paralyzed, staring at Fable like he was waiting for her to do something.
The tension between them was undeniable.
Why hadn’t I noticed it before?
