I nodded. “Of course, I mean that. You’re my big sister, Maggie. And had I known that things had gotten that bad with Mom and Dad, I would’ve intervened a long time ago.”
She snickered. “I honestly didn’t think you would. We’ve always been so different--.”
I brushed her tears off her cheeks. “I don’t give a shit if we’re different or if we’re twins. You’re my sister, and I’ll always help however I can.”
She swallowed hard. “Maybe once I figure out what I want to do, I might take you up on that offer.”
“I hope you do. Seriously.”
She sighed. “Sorry for all the--.”
I shook my head. “You have no need to apologize. But, if you’re up for it, I’d like to ask you a question about JoJo.”
Her back stiffened a bit. “Sure, I guess.”
My hands slid down to hers and I took them within my own. “If JoJo had this crush you think he did--.”
“I know he did. I know he still does.”
“Okay, then. If he’s got this crush, then why is he being so cruel to me. You know how he is. You know how he gets. Why treat me like utter garbage both on the clock and off the clock if all he wants to do is try to date me?”
She pulled away. “It’s just how he is?”
“You know as well as I do that that’s not the case.”
She took a step back from me. “He’s just cruel to everyone. It’s how he’s programmed. You know, you like a girl on the playground, so you tug at her pigtails. That kind of thing.”
I tilted my head. “There’s more to it than that. Are you telling me that he wasn’t cruel to you, then?”
She shook her head. “I need to go get some rest. I’m going to be sunburnt in the morning.”
“Maggie, please. I just need to know.”
She rushed away from me. “Night, Becks. I’m glad we got to talk.”
I didn’t want her to walk away just yet. “I don’t even want JoJo, Mags.”
She paused halfway to the stairs. “I don’t believe you.”
I groaned. “I just want a boring relationship with a nice, kind, good-natured man. I want the white-picket fence. I want the two and a half kids. I want a normal life. Not some fucked-up version of it that JoJo lives in.”
She peered over her shoulder. “You’ve always been a terrible liar, Becks.”
She raced up the stairs, leaving me stewing in a mixture of shock, hope, and frustration. I walked back to my seat at the kitchen table and finished my ice cream that had sort of melted into this cold-ass soup. I tilted the bowl up and slurped it down, not caring about the few drops that fell to my cleavage. And after I cleaned myself—and the table—up, I brewed myself a cup of coffee.
Before I made my way out to the back patio.
“Hey there, sweetheart,” Dad said.
I jumped a bit at his presence. “Jesus, you scared me.”
He chuckled. “Come sit. There’s a storm brewing in the distance.”
I pulled a chair up beside Dad and we sat in silence while I nursed my coffee, and he nursed his beer. Lightning flashed across the sky, bringing back memories of all the times Dad and I used to sit on the porch or stare out the window and watch the storms roll through. I turned everything Mags and I had just talked about over in my head. Her coming to California. Mom and Dad, and how they’re trying to keep her drugged and living with them. JoJo, and this supposed crush he’s had on me for years.
I mean, why date my sister when it would’ve taken little to no effort to date me?
“You and your sister have a good talk?” he asked.
