“Oh, he doesn’t have a problem. He only drinks a couple of beers at night. That’s nothing. I drink a glass of wine every night.” I press my lips together. I want to scream and shout at her, but I know that’s not the way to get through to her. “I just wanted to say that I didn’t want you to be surprised when you come to Sunday dinner at the grandparents’. Because he’ll be there. And I don’t want you to say anything to them.”
“Tina—”
“Look, Gina. I know you don’t know what it’s like to be married. I know you don’t know what it’s like to be in a long-term relationship. But couples go through these things. And I’m really happy. My life is really good. I just want you to be happy for me.”
“I don’t know what to say, Tina. I?—”
“Anyway, I have to go. I’ll speak to you later.” She hangs up.
I just stare at the phone and try not to cry. I can’t believe my sister tried to gaslight me and that she’s gaslighting herself.
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I look over at Hunter, who is gazing at me with a worried expression.
“Uh-oh. What’s going on?”
“Fucking Garth is already out of rehab, and she’s like ‘he doesn’t have a problem.’ He fucking gaslit her into saying that she was overly emotional because she was on her fricking period. Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Oh, no,” he says quietly. “Is there anything that we can do?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never been particularly close to my sister, but I just don’t know what to do. Oh!” I yell loudly. “I’m so frustrated right now.”
“Scream,” he says, stopping the car.
And I do. I scream as loud as I can and bang my hands against the dashboard. And it’s not just for Tina. It’s for myself. It’s for Holly. It’s for everything that I’m going through that I can’t quite figure out.
“Let it out, girl. I understand.” I look at him, and my heart breaks.
Because he has no clue. He has absolutely no clue. And that makes me feel like absolute shit. Because he is a good man. A really good man.
And I’m going to have to tell him the truth. Even if it makes him hate me.
I’m going to have to tell him the truth because one thing I know for certain is I’m not going to be the sort of person who goes behind someone else’s back. It’s bad enough that I’ve been lying. But I’m not going to be the one thing he hates in life. I’m not going to act like the paparazzi that’s hounding him. If he tells me his story or not, I’m not going to the newspaper. I’ll just have to figure out something else.
“Hey,” he says, squeezing my hand. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Will you come with me to dinner on Sunday? To my grandparents’ house?” I ask him, not even knowing where that came from.
“Of course. If you want me to.”
“I do. I just feel like I’m not going to be able to keep it together in front of everyone. And she doesn’t want me to tell my parents or my grandparents. And I just don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll be there for you. I’ll be your support. You’ve been mine.”
“I mean, I am your fake girlfriend because you thought?—”
“You’ve been a support to me, Gina. More than you know.”
“Thanks, Hunter,” I say softly.“ Also… are we there yet?”
“What do you mean? We’re not at the beach yet.”
“I don’t care.” I pull off my top. His eyes widen, and he pulls over quickly.
“So we’re really going to do this?”
“I think so. If we are capable. I’m not as limber as I was when I was eighteen.”
“You’re only twenty-five now, Gina.”
