“Doesn’t it?” I ask.
“There’s no one else to hold your father accountable, Margot,” Oliver says. “There’s no one else in a position to make him pay. You can’t wait for karma when karma’s been waiting for you.” He cocks a brow. “Just like trickle-down economics. It starts with us, because there’s no one else.”
“How many more people will he hurt if you don’t stop him?” Daphne says.
God.
How many people has he hurt in the past four years when I’ve been planning revenge instead of seeking it?
The staff that he yells at.
The women he hits on.
The people who clean up his messes when he’s plenty old enough to quit making fucking messes?
“That?” Daph says. “That feeling in your gut right now? That question you’re asking yourself?Thatis all the proof you need that your heart works right.”
“I should’ve ended this years ago,” I whisper.
Daph hugs me. “Can’t change the past. Only the future. Neither of us asked to be born into a family of fucknuggets or to be raised by people who didn’t know how to love us. But how we handle it—that defines who we are. Always trying to do better—that does too. So. What do you need help with to do this job you never asked for but are the only person who can do it anyway?”
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
I have the words now.
I know exactly what I need to say.
“You’ve already done it all,” I tell them. “Thank you.”
Daph grins. “Our pleasure. Think we can get in some trouble in the city now since our job here is done?”
“No,” Oliver and Bea say together.
She gives an exaggerated eye roll. “Jeez, who invited them? They’re no fun. Also, Margot, when are we calling your roommate to tell him you love him?”
My heart skips a beat.
Call Rhys.
Tell him I love him.
Risk—risk being happy. With him.
Or hurting him.
I’m not low-maintenance. My life moves fast. I’m in charge, and I’m about to embark on a brand-new adventure that will require so much of my time and energy and?—
I shiver.
“Rocking chair test,” Daphne declares.
“Rocking—what?”
“Rocking chair test,” Bea says. “It’s how we decide if we’re going to do something scary so that one day we can tell all of our great-nieces and nephews and Simon’s grandkids about how much fun we had living.”
“Scary like falling in love so that maybe it’s our own grandkids we’re telling all of our stories to one day,” Daph says.
