“You were pretty insistent on them joining us for dinner.”
“Tinsley wanted to celebrate with her brother. How could anyone say no to her?”
She arches a brow. “You have a nickname for her daughter.”
My throat tightens. “She’s Everett’s little sister, and she stays over a lot. It’s no big deal.”
Tori doesn’t say anything else, but my stomach twists in knots. Did I fuck up by inviting Juliet and Tinsley for dinner? If my sister picked up on something between us, did Everett? Is that why he disappeared when we got home?
Tori reaches for my hand, and I’m so startled I don’t pull away.
“Blake, look at me.”
I shake my head.
She sighs. “You’re not a bad person, not for any of it. You were a little kid who went through something traumatic. I don’t blame you. I love you, and I can see you’re really trying here. But you’re my brother, and I want you to be careful. I’ll always support you and be here for you, no matter what. Just be sure about what you’re doing with her. It’s not only about you and her; there’s a little girl involved. Not to mention her big brother, who’s your friend and your housemate.”
“I know,” I croak. “Weknow.”
“What are you doing with her?” There’s no judgement in her tone, only curiosity with maybe a touch of concern.
I finally bring my gaze to meet hers, wanting her to know how much I mean what I say.
“I’ve never felt this connection with anyone before,Torz. Ever. She makes me want to be better for her. I’d never do anything to hurt her or Tinsley.”
A pained expression crosses her face, and it cuts me to my bone. I know what she’s thinking: I wouldn’tintentionallyhurt them. But my track record doesn’t do me any favours.
“I’m so sorry for what I put you through,” I strangle out, blinking rapidly to stop myself from breaking down. “More than you’ll ever know. I’ll never forgive myself for doing that to you.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t know how to help you until it was too late.” A tear slips down her cheek, and she hastily swipes it away. “I let you down.”
I shake my head. “It wasn’t your fault.”
Her smile is watery. “I should’ve forced you to see someone when it first happened.”
“It wouldn’t have helped,” I say, shame washing over me. “I was messed up and determined to bury everything. Masking my pain was the only thing I was interested in. I didn’t want to talk about it or relive it. The only thing I wanted was to forget. But it was impossible. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him hurting her.”
Tears stream down her face, and I realise my cheeks are wet, too. We’ve never spoken about what happened that day, only danced around it.
“You did what you had to do,” Tori whispers.
“She hated me for it.”
“No, she?—”
“She did, Tori. She fucking hated me. I could see it in her eyes when she got home from the hospital. When I killed him, I killed her as well.” My voice cracks, and I dropmy head into my hands. “I didn’t want you to hate me, too. You were all I had left, but I was scared you’d leave me too, so I pushed you away before you could.”
Tori stumbles off her stool and rounds the bench to pull me into her embrace, her body shaking as she clings to me.
“I’ll never leave you, Blake. He was a horrible man who put us through hell for years. I was sick of lying for him, of having to hide the bruises. She was broken long before that day because of what he did to her. Not you.Hewas the cause of what she did. He’s to blame for everything.”
“I was scared he was going to kill her,” I sob.
“He did,” she says. “Maybe not that day, but in the end, it was everything he did to her over the years that caused her to end it all.”
“I killed someone, Tori. It might’ve been classed as involuntary manslaughter, and I got off on account of my age, but in the end, it’s all the same. I took a life. What if Juliet’s scared of me? What if she never wants to see me again?”
“It’s a risk you have to take. You can’t keep it from her.”
