Her eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, Lottie. I could have come to your home to hang out.”
“I needed to get out. I was going stir-crazy,” I assured.
“I hope you’re not in pain,” she said.
Sadly, I was used to being in pain. “I’m still sore, but I feel better with each day.”
Then she asked me the question I knew would be brought up, but I was still dreading: “How did you get hurt?”
I stared down as I debated my response. On the drive over, I’d told myself to be honest. There wasn’t a need to lie about things anymore. “My home life isn’t—wasn’t good.”
Her eyes only got wider.
“We don’t have to talk about it. That’s not why I wanted to hang out?—”
She put her hand on top of mine. “We can talk about it. I’m a good listener. At least, I try to be.”
“Order for Charlotte!” a barista called out.
“I’ll get it,” Bash said as he got up.
I nodded.
Lemon looked from Bash to Theo to me. “Are they with you?”
“Yeah. My father asked them to protect me,” I said.
She gave me a confused look. “I thought your father passed away.”
Bash set my coffee down in front of me before returning to his table with his and Theo’s coffees.
“I’m talking about my biological father,” I clarified.
She was the picture of shock. “Oh, shit.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Turns out I’m not really a Kendry.”
“Order for Lemon,” the barista called.
Lemon didn’t move. She just continued to stare at me, stunned.
“Your order is ready, Lemon,” I said.
She finally blinked. “I should go get that.”
“I can get it for you,” Theo said as he stood and headed over to the pickup counter.
Lemon watched him walk over to the pickup counter, grab her drink, and walk back. She glanced away the moment he set her cup in front of her, as if she were too shy to face him up close. “Thank you,” she said softly.
My gaze flicked to Bash to see if he was as surprised as I was. He was staring at Lemon, his eyes roaming all over her. Theo returned to their table and that seemed to pull Bash’s attention toward his twin instead. Theo met his brother’s eyes for a moment before scooping up his coffee and scanning the rest of the café as he took a sip.
“I feel like coffee isn’t the appropriate drink for this conversation,” she said, drawing my attention back to her.
“I agree. After the last week and a half I’ve had, I could use a few drinks.” I sighed and glanced around us. No one was sittingclose by other than the twins. “I guess if you’re comfortable listening, I should start from the beginning.”
I told her about my mother’s affair with Bram, how she’d gotten pregnant with me and lied to my father Noah about me being his. Then I jumped to after my father died. I only went over a few times Mother had hurt me in the past, just to give Lemon an idea of how bad it could get. I included how Mother had tried to sell me to the Carmichaels and hurt me when I hadn’t slept with Brandon right away. I explained how I’d found out I wasn’t truly Noah Kendry’s daughter and only had my birth father’s name to find him. Then I started talking about Roe and how he had always been different for me. I caught myself smiling when I talked about stealing the guys’ joint despite how awful that moment had been.
Lemon listened quietly the entire time I spoke. She looked sad in some parts, angry in others, and very surprised when I explained how I’d learned that Bram, the president of the Haven’s Rebels, was my biological father. Toward the end, where I was telling her about how Reid had rescued me from my house and brought me to Bram, she barely blinked.
