Resolution shines in her eyes. “Okay,” she whispers a second before her brother reaches us. I remain where I am while Masen goes to her, stopping a foot away.
“Don’t leave withhim.” I keep quiet, wanting to see if the bitch has a big enough backbone without a crowd around her like earlier.
“I live withhim,” she throws back. He works his jaw from side to side, hating hearing the truth from her lips.
“You have no idea who he really is?—”
“Does it matter?” she snaps.
“Of course it does. You know who his family is.” I grind my teeth, wanting to launch across the car and pummel his fucking face into the ground. I had to become who he says I am and it’s all their fucking fault!
“Who he shares blood with doesn’t make him a bad person. I mean look at us.” Masen recoils at her words but she isn’t done. “You were my rock, Mase. You weren’t just my brother, you were my step in dad when ours couldn’t be bothered to parent us. You taught me how to ride a bike and braid my hair, but when I was shunned and I had no one or any memories of the tragedy that occurred, you left me. You never tried to break me out, call or even write me a damn letter. You left me to rot in that place!”
Where the fuck was she?
“I didn’t have a choice!” he defends.
She shakes her head and smiles softly as she places her hand flat on her brother's chest. “We all have a choice, Mase. You chose the easy route and refused to fight for me.” A shuddering breath escapes him at the hurt in her tone. “I would have fought foryou. I would have stood against the world and protected you from them, but you allowed my name to be dragged through the mud and for me to become the butt of every joke so it didn’t tarnish your chances of going pro.” My brows raise in surprise, I hadn’t realized she figured that part out on her own. “You may not think about that night or the week leading up to it daily, but it is all I have thought about every second of every day since I woke up and you and Dad refused to give me answers.”
“Why do you need them?”
She withdraws her hand and looks at him like he is a stranger. “The fact you have to ask that question shows youare part of the problem. My best friend died that night, Masen. Xaden lost his best friends that night as well.” He snaps his head toward me for a second before focusing back on his sister. “I can’t explain it, but something isn’t right. I know myself and I would never have gotten drunk and said I could drive.” Before he can reply she looks to me and says, “Let’s go.” Without a backward glance at her brother she climbs in the car.
“Let her go.”
I roll my eyes. “She isn’t my prisoner, Kellar. She’s coming with me by choice and that is what makes me your most deadly opponent."
“How so?”
I smile. “When the time comes for the truth to come out and you try to turn her against me, she won’t believe you because I was the one who was there when it mattered. I’ve already won, you just can’t see it yet.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
TOREN
I felt bad leaving Harper alone in my room this morning, but I knew if I didn’t show up for my tutoring lesson, Eugene would alert my dad and he is the last person I want to deal with right now. Two hours later and I’m finally walking through the front door, ready to crawl back into bed and sleep the rest of the day.
Just as I close the front door, someone knocks. I want to cry at the injustice but I suck it up and open the door coming face to face with Meekan Di-Leo.
“Can we talk?” I frown at the urgency in his tone. I look over my shoulder and when I don’t see anyone I nod. I drop my bag on the floor and make sure I have my phone in my pocket before following Meek back outside. “Let’s take a walk.” I say nothing as I fall into step beside him. There’s an awkward tension hanging in the air. Granted Meek and I were friendly but not in the sense that we would hang out or anything like that.
As we continue to walk I get lost in my head. It’s been a while since I have been able to be in the presence of somebody and feel comfortable enough to lose myself in my thoughts. Emery was that person for me, unlike Kenna who always filled the silence and loved to talk. It was one of the many things I loved about KennaDee.
“Do you remember this place?” The sound of his voice pulls me from my wayward thoughts. When I look up at him, I find his gaze focused across the road. I follow his line of sight and gasp. It’s the park Kenna and I used to come to after school and do our homework, while we waited for the guys to finish practice on the days we didn’t want to go to the rink.
“How did you know we would come here?” I ask quietly. Memories of the past assault me and sadness washes over me like a wave. I reach up and clasp my pendant, repeating my chant over and over again in my head to keep me grounded.
To teach is to learn. To learn is to excel. To excel is to thrive. To thrive is to live.
“I paid attention.”
I slowly lift my gaze to him and find he's already focused on me. “Why am I here, Meekan?” The hesitation in my tone is clear.
He sighs and motions for me to follow him over to the park bench. With a resigned sigh, I do as he asks. We sit here and just people watch for a while. A pang of longing hits me when I see a mother and her three children laughing and playing on the playground.
“You didn’t kill my sister, Toren.” His words are like a jolt of electricity rolling through my body. I stare at Meekan with an intensity that has him growling. Words fail me. I reach up and clasp my pendant, repeating my chant over and over praying that it will ground me and keep me from having a panic attack. “It’s a cover up?—”
“Toren,” I whirl around at the sound of his voice and jump to my feet. I stare at Masen and Kellan with wide eyes. Both of them look like shit and after what happened last night. I’m not particularly happy to see either of them right now. “We need to talk.”
