In the middle of the photos, I see the one we took in Paris during our illegal outing. I unpin it from there to look at it closer. Despite being identical copies, we were so different in some aspects. She was much more reasonable and prudent—the quiet one. But she was always ready to go on an adventure if it was with me, which I pushed her to do quite a few times.
The one time that mattered the most though, she didn’t. And I’ll forever regret not listening to her words of caution.
With the picture still in my hand, I go out into the corridor. One last look at the room, one last smile at Sir Spotty, and I turn off the light and close the door. I’m in my own bedroom soon after.
I don’t want to be here anymore. I never wanted to be here in the first place. But now that my parents did what they did, I can’t possibly spend the weekend here, in a house of lies where I’m the only one who really knew Victoria. I don’t think I can last two days of smiling and biting back the truth or letting my parents treat me however they want because I robbed them of their favorite daughter.
Although I grew up here, it hasn’t been my home since the moment Vicky stopped living in it. Following Penny’s revelations, I need to be somewhere I feel cared for and valued.
A couple of knocks on the door pull me out of my thoughts. Before I can invite in whoever is outside, it opens, and Gerry enters. He looks uneasy, and I expect him to reprimand me for my hasty exit. But I realize I’m wrong when he gives me a compassionate look.
“I tried telling them it wasn’t a good idea,” he explains with a grimace.
“We shouldn’t even have to, Ger. They should have realized that on their own.”
“You know how they are. Mother has been working on it for months with her team of advisors. They did polls and everything, and they decided to go with this.”
“So they can give themselves this flattering image of mourning parents who survive their child and look adversity in the eye to turn it into something for the greater good?”
“Exactly.”
“Then this is about them, not about Vicky. There’s a hundred things they could have done for her. Like opening shelters for dogs. With how much she begged and begged them to let us have one, it would have been fair.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Genny. They are doing it, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it from happening now.”
I press my lips together in discontentment. He’s right. It’s too late now. “Well then, if that’s the route they want to take, I won’t stay here and act all supportive of their decision. It’s above my strength.”
“You want to leave?”
“I can’t stay, Ger. I’ll go insane.”
He looks around for a moment while pondering. “I’ll tell them you had a work emergency, then. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I know you and Vicky had something very special. I loved our sister, but for you two, it was beyond that. So I understand if you can’t stomach this mess.”
In three steps, I’m hugging his tux-clad frame. “Thanks, Gerry.”
“Consider this my birthday present, bug. Oh, and Malory and I also got you this. I didn’t get to hand it to you earlier,” he says, pulling away to take a small velvet box out of his pocket.
When I open it, the two beautiful and huge diamond studs inside catch the light, glimmering on the black velvet. “Wow, Ger, it’s—They are beautiful.”
“You can thank my wonderful wife for them.”
“Let’s have dinner together soon so I can do it properly, then.”
“Great idea. Now, the fireworks are going off in ten minutes, so you should use the distraction to sneak out when everyone’s on the beach.”
“Fireworks?” I echo, a little stunned.
He shrugs, aware as much as I am that this is ridiculous. I hug him once more, we exchange a few more words, and then he’s out. As soon as I’m alone, my hands fly to the zipper hidden under my armpit, and I pull it down my side to remove the McQueen. Time to pack everything again and leave. If Mother or Father has something to say about it, they can come say it in person, in the city.
I’m done with this farce.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Gen
