This wasn’t a good idea, and I should have known better. I hated feeling defeated, knowing I’d be responsible for whatever consequences would come from this. The questions running through my mind were infinite. I couldn’t stop them. None of us could.
Did I ruin what was building between us?
I couldn’t control the situation or the outcome, and that was the hardest part of all of this.
I sighed, inhaling a long, deep breath. I didn’t want to lie to them. It seemed as though I didn’t have a choice in the matter.
So I told half the truth. “It’s your eighteenth birthday, Kraven. It should be celebrated. Even if Melody is the one throwing it.”
The realization came to them.
Julius asked what they were both thinking, “Are you saying you think we should let her?—”
“What if I was?”
Kraven berated, “Yeah, well, that’s not your choice to make.”
I bit my bottom lip, contemplating how to respond.
My emotions were getting the best of me. I stressed, “I’m sorry, I’m just trying to help both of you.”
Melody disclosed, “I can’t tell you how to live your lives. All I’m asking is to be able to throw a birthday party for you, Kraven. After that…” She paused for a second before promising, “If you don’t ever want to see me again, either of you, I’ll leave, I promise. It’ll be like I was never here.”
Julius and Kraven locked eyes until Kraven announced, “If that’s what it will take to make you leave, fine. Do what you need to clearyour little conscience. At the end of the day, your feelings are the only ones that have ever mattered.”
He abruptly left after that, leaving the three of us alone.
Melody backed away, knowing this was the only window she’d receive and needed to leave before Julius slammed it shut, throwing away the key. She kissed the air and walked out the garage door with a huge smile on her face, probably thinking this was the beginning of fixing their relationships.
Once she was gone, I repeated, “I really am sorry, Julius.”
“I don’t think you are,” he conceded. “Or else you wouldn’t have pushed for all this.”
I spoke more truths. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I never want to hurt you, and you know that.”
“You’re standing up for a woman who abandoned her kids. Her own flesh and blood. How are you not understanding that?”
I bowed my head, whispering, “People make mistakes.”
“If she abandoned us, Isla, what do you think she’s going to do to you?”
I was taken aback, glancing up at him.
He shook his head, scoffing. “Don’t get attached to her. She’s toxic, and you’re blind. She doesn’t care about anyone other than herself, and you’re going to learn that the hard way. It might not be today, or tomorrow, or even a year from now, but eventually, a snake always sheds its skin. Remember that when she breaks your heart like she did ours.”
“Julius—”
“You weren’t there, Isla. You don’t know how she tore us into pieces. The damage she caused. She destroys the people who love her. It’s how she operates. It’s how she’s made. I’m begging you… Pleading with you… She doesn’t deserve your sympathy, just like she doesn’t deserve ours.”
“Julius—”
“You don’t even know her. You think she’s the illusion she’s painting in your head, which is the furthest from the truth of who she really is. I’ve seen firsthand how she takes and takes, and youhave no idea how much she’s taking from you until you have nothing left.”
I frowned, hating this argument.
“I’ve taken care of you, and that’s what you do when you care about someone more than you care about yourself. You fill the void. You make whatever you can right for them. All she does is fuck shit up. That’s who you’re running to. That’s who you’re trying to let into our lives. A woman who destroys everything in her path, especially the road with her sons.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I expressed, feeling the weight of his words. “Everything I want to explain, you won’t understand.”
