“Such a cute name,” her little sister Daisy smiles.
“You’re only saying that because your daughter coined it,” Rose rebuts.
Daisy mock gasps.
Connor ignores the sisters, and he asks me point-blank, “Why did you have bite marks?”
My mom’s eyes dart to Jane. I start shaking my head.No.She can’t actually believe that Jane is the one who bit me. Aunt Daisy eyes us both. So does Aunt Rose.
I blink slowly like my world is starting to spin, and I’m gripping hard to hang on.
My dad’s jaw sharpens with each passing beat. New uncomfortable tension vacuums the air from the cabin. I sense the shift again.
I sense the unease.
I crack my knuckles, my back achingly straight. “How much do you guysnotbelieve us?” Pressure packs on my chest. “You’renot just asking these questions for publicists. You’re asking for yourselves, aren’t you?”
Jane’s hand returns to mine, and our fingers intertwine. They’re all watching with suspicion.
It knives my ribcage.
“Before we make a decision, we need to hear your side of things,” my dad tells me.
I disentangle my fingers from Jane. Not able to sit any longer, I stand as tall as my dad. Glowering. “You honestlybelieveI could be having sex with Jane?”
“I don’t know what to think, Moffy.” His eyes flash hot. “It’sincest, for Christ’s sake. That’s not something you’d come to me and talk about!”
“I’m yourson.” I motion angrily at him. “Youknowme. You know me better than most people ever will. How could you even think…” My words stick to the back of my raw throat. He doesn’t even look sympathetic.
He’s still on guard like I’m straight up lying to his face.
I want to scream at the top of my goddamn lungs,I’m not fucking Jane!But I can’t even unleash the words. The wind is knocked out of my chest. Stunned in the face of their doubt.
Jane’s mom takes over. “When I was your age, I thought I knew my sister, but for years Lily hid her sex addiction from me,” Rose tells me. “She was lying. She was sneaking around. I missedeverysign.” I hear the guilt in her voice. She wishes she’d been there for my mom earlier.
And she thinks I’m lying like my mom.
Fuck.I run my hands through my hair and growl, “I’mnotan addict. We’re not lying!” But their experiences shaped them.
They’ve shapedus.And how many times did my parents tell Rose, Connor, Ryke, and Daisy,we’re not lying.How many times were they caught in one?
Goddammit.
“We’re not lying,” Jane says more clearly, less hostile. “I promise, we’re not.”
I nod over and over and fucking over.
“It’s fucking incest, Mof,” Ryke says, his rough voice strained. “Like your dad says, it’s not something you’re going to willingly admit.”
“So then what?” I question. “You want to catch us in a lie until we’re forced to admit it? Is that the goal here?”
They don’t say anything.
“Jesus,” I murmur.
“Here…” My mom gets up, watery eyes. “Have some trail mix.”
I glare. “I don’t want your trail mix, Mom.” Instantly, I feel like an asshole. I don’t think I’ve ever snapped at my mom in my life. She sinks back onto the trunk, her chin quivering. She sniffs and tries to raise her chin.
