Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 120838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120838 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 604(@200wpm)___ 483(@250wpm)___ 403(@300wpm)
I should save some of those photos.
You know, more torture.
“Blake?” Alex called.
“We broke up.”
I could almost feel her shock. “Seriously?”
“We were…we had a big fight. One you can’t come back from.”
“About what?”
About me.
Me being…me.
“I don’t want to be a bitch when I say I don’t want to talk about it.”
There was a massive amount of hesitance in her, “Okay.”
“How did you find out anyway?”
“Davi phoned me.”
Oh God.
I hadn’t even thought about her.
I was losing Davi. And Kenna too.
The weight of that was so heavy, I sunk into the nearest chair and dropped my head.
“Blake, you’re worrying me,” she said.
“Why?” I asked, trying to sound like everything was okay.
“I don’t know. I just…you don’t sound good.”
There you go.
I failed at sounding like everything was okay.
“I liked him. He was the first guy I liked since Chad,” I admitted. “It sucks but it didn’t work out. I’m…upset.” Ding! Ding! Ding! Understatement of the Year! “I’ll eventually get over it.” And that was a lie.
Alasdair Wallace was a man you didn’t get over.
“I thought you two…”
She didn’t finish that.
I thought “us two” too.
“I’ll be okay,” I lied.
Never.
I’d never been okay.
And losing Dair, who I’d stupidly cast as my redeemer, I never would be.
I was just me.
And that wouldn’t change.
So I had no choice.
I had to get on with it.
“Anyway, if you want to talk, you know how to get me,” she offered.
“I do, Alex. Thanks. And I’ll be coming home soon.”
“I think that’s probably good. Why don’t you come out here? Rix and I are fighting about nursery stuff. He’s buying band posters for a nursery. I need you on my side.”
I almost smiled at that, and fortunately, that sentiment could be heard in my voice when I said, “I’ll get out as soon as I can.”
“I love Rage Against the Machine, but I don’t need their poster over my kid’s crib.”
I forced out a laugh and it didn’t sound entirely fake.
“I love you, Blake,” she said.
God, she was always a better person than me.
“I love you too, little sister.” I quickly changed subjects. “Everything going okay with Rix and the baby?”
“Outside the nursery issue, Rix and I are great. My morning sickness lasts until the afternoon, which is unfun. I’m keeping my fingers crossed I’ll be one of those pregnant women who move out of that when I move into my second trimester.”
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you. And we’ll need to start talking about your shower, which I, of course, will be hosting.”
I was pleased to hear the humor was back in her tone when she replied, “Of course.”
“If Gal and Katie want in on that action, we can co-host. I’ll text them.”
“Awesome.”
“All right, I’ll let you go,” I said.
“Okay, honey. I’m so sorry about you and Dair. Take care of yourself and call me if you need me.”
“Will do.”
“Later.”
“Alex?” I stopped her.
“Right here,” she said.
I closed my eyes.
I opened them again and said, “I don’t know if I ever apologized for being such a bitch to you pretty much our whole lives.”
There was a moment of silence before she said, “I thought we got over this that day in Mum’s bedroom.”
“We did, kind of,” I replied. “I just think the words need to be said.”
“What brings this up?” she asked suspiciously.
“I just…it’s important you know I understand how awful I was to you.”
There was another moment of silence before she said, “Fellow captives, remember?”
“I remember but…no excuse.”
“Blake, we’ve been over this, we were kids,” she said staunchly. “I removed myself from the dysfunction, mentally, and whenever I could, physically. Which meant the brunt of it was focused on you. It should be me who’s apologizing.”
God, my sister was so awesome.
“Hardly,” I replied.
“The point I’m making is, yeah, you were a mean girl. No, it didn’t feel good. But I understand why you were,” she stressed. “And the minute I reached out a hand with any real intent to fix what was broken with us, you took hold.” I could hear the humor in her tone when she finished, “And you did it with some serious panache.”
One could say I definitely did that.
“Does this have something to do with what happened with you and Dair?” she queried.
Yes!
“I’ve just been thinking on things.” And that wasn’t a lie.
“Well, stop thinking on that. I love you. I love talking to you. I love spending time with you. I love eating your food.”
A surprised laugh erupted from me.
“I just love you, Blake,” she said. “It may have taken us a while, but I’m going to say this again, and this time I hope it gets through. You’re the best big sister a girl could have. I just hope I’m the same in the little sister department.”
I was choked up when I replied, “You are. You absolutely are.”
“Good.”
Enough of this.
I’d done her dirty my whole life (almost), I didn’t need to put her in the position of making me feel better about it.