“But I didn’t,” I say. “We told you we were together, and you supported it.”
“Accepted it.I accepted the fact that the two of you are involved. There isn’t anything I can do about it without being a complete asshole. I would never support my best friend and my little sister dating. And, I’m definitely not okay with the fact that you’re…” he trails off, not wanting to finish the sentence. I can’t blame him.
“We were going to tell you,” I say.
“Yeah? When? Because we talked the other day, and you had the perfect opportunity to be honest with me, but you weren’t. You told me half the story and let me believe the rest. What happened to you, Harper? You’ve changed.”
“Changed?” I ask, my words strangled in my throat as I fight breaking down completely. “How?”
“The Harper I know, the Harper that is my sister, would never lie to me. She would be real with me. She would also be real with herself. You were so dead set on finding real love. Not on settling and or screwing around just for the fun of it. You have always wanted to save yourself for marriage, and now look at you. Sneaking around and sleeping with Ash on a whim. It’s like I don’t even know who you are anymore.”
His words sting, but more than that, they make me mad.
“You try being the perfect one all the time!” I cry out. “I know I set those standards for myself, but I didn’t do it just on principle. I did it so I wouldn’t turn out like them. I wanted to give myself a chance in the world and not end up as just another girl who grew up in a broken home. Half the time you raised me and the other half our eccentric aunt whose idea of parenting was getting take-out from the diner and watching reality TV to avoid the reality of our situation. I wanted to feel like I had control of something. Like I had a chance. I don’t know, I guess I wanted to do something I could be proud of. Somethingyou’dbe proud of.”
Tears are pouring down my cheeks now, and I’m shaking. Jaylen’s expression softens slightly, and he steps closer to me.
“Where is your coat? Jesus,” he complains before taking off his jacket and putting it around my shoulders. I sniff before he responds. “Here’s the thing, sis. I never expected any of that from you. The perfect grades, the ambition, the self-control, the abstinence. I admired it, sure. But I never expected it. I mean, goddamn. We had everything going against us growing up. Simply surviving the shit show was more than most people expected from us. I was proud of you. I was always proud of you, but I’m not proud of you now.”
His words are enough to break me.
Ash walks out, stalking over with his jaw clenched.Oh, good.
“Impressive little show you put on in there,” Ash snaps as he walks up beside me.
“Not as impressive as the show you two have been putting on for weeks,” Jaylen shoots back.
“You knew we were together,” Ash states.
“And you knew how I felt about you sleeping with my sister,” Jaylen retorts.
“You guys,” I try to cut in, but neither of them listens to me.
“I don’t think it’s any of your business what Harper and I are doing,” Ash says.
“Oh really? How exactly do you figure that?”
Ash loops an arm around me. “Because she is my girlfriend.”
Jaylen’s eyes engage with Asher’s. “Well, she’s my little sister.”
“I’m an adult, Jay,” I say, and he looks over at me.
“So what? Now that you two are together, I mean nothing anymore?” he asks.
“Jay,” I tremble.
“Jesus,” Ash scoffs.
“What? You have something to say? Say it,” Jaylen demands.
“Jay,” I say again, knowing full well that this is about to escalate to a level where mistakes will be made. I reach for him, but he jerks away.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” Jaylen snaps.
“Don’t talk to her like that!” Ash points at him.
“Get your finger out of my fucking face,” Jaylen warns him. “And keep your hands off my sister.”
