I flung my arms out to the side and my voice got even louder. “Tell me how it could be a fucking embarrassment for their daughter to get help? How could that be worse for them than her being dead, huh? They’ll just have to get over it! Why are you acting like your parents are in the spotlight or something? They’re just normal people. No one is going to know, or say anything, if you get help. And I swear to you, your parents will both be much happier to have their daughter alive and not sick any longer.”
“You don’t understand, Brody! You’ve never understood!”
“Stop with that bullshit! I do understand! No, I didn’t grow up in some goddamn country club neighborhood. I didn’t grow up being given everything I ever wanted. But I do understand what it’s like to lose a fucking child. And I sure as hell know that I would rather Tate be in a hospital than in the ground. So I know your parents would feel the same.”
Her shoulders shook, and her blond hair covered her face as she cried into her hands.
“Olivia. This is the last time I’m offering this. Let me get you some help, please.”
No words came from her, but she nodded her head a few times.
A relieved sigh blew past my lips, and I walked back to sit in the chair next to her. “All right, then that’s what I’ll do.” Lifting her head with my hand, I looked into her bloodshot eyes and made sure she understood every word. “You need to tell your parents what’s going on. You need to tell them you’ve been lying to them about me. And you need to tell them to get their attorney off my back.” My jaw shook as the words I wanted so badly to say to her sat on the tip of my tongue, but instead, I simply said, “I need to be able to live my life without him threatening me at every turn.”
Olivia’s blue eyes narrowed the smallest fraction, but I still saw it. She knew something was coming; she wasn’t stupid. We’d grown too far apart for her not to know it was coming eventually. And with that statement, she had to know it would be coming soon.
“If you need my help in telling them, let me—”
“I don’t,” she choked out and shook her head. “We have races out of town this weekend. I’ll tell them then.”
“Okay.” For the first time in days I had hope that my life with Kamryn would be starting soon.
13
Kamryn
June 22, 2015
“YOU SOUND HAPPY, baby girl.”
I smiled and lowered myself onto the couch. “I am happy, Barb. Things are going really well with the shop, Kinlee is still as crazy as ever . . .” I drifted off and smiled at Barb’s belly laugh, but the smile faded as the words I couldn’t say played through my head. Even though you warned me against it, I’m dating a married man.
“Is she still trying to set you up with someone?”
Barb’s psychic! “Eh. Sort of. She’s backed off a lot, but that’s just because she and Jace really want me to be with Aiden.”
“From what you said, I don’t see what was wrong with Aiden.”
I chewed on my bottom lip and thought back to just last weekend at Kinlee’s birthday party. Once Aiden and I were inside the house, he hadn’t made any more comments hinting at an us, and I’d been thankful for that. Because, other than completely ignoring him, I wasn’t sure what more I could do.
“Kam, honey?”
“Hmm?”
“That Aiden boy—is there something wrong with him? You stopped talking.”
“Oh, no.” I shook my head, even though Barb couldn’t see me, and sank into the cushions until I was comfortable. “No, there’s nothing wrong with him. He’s gorgeous, has a very admirable job, he’s polite . . . I’m sure you’d love him. He’s just not it for me, you know? I went on that one date with him, but there was nothing more than a friend bond for me.”
Barb stayed silent for a few moments, and just as I was about to ask if she was still there, she spoke softly. “I know you’ll find a good man, Kamryn. You just have to. Your life is finally going how it always should have, and I just know there’s a man lined up in there somewhere. But you’re only twenty-three. You have plenty of time to find him.”
I’d found him, there was no question about that. “Right.”
“Okay, sweet one, I need to get up early to get your parents’ Sunday brunch started, so I need to get me some sleep. You have a good rest of your weekend, all right?”
“’Kay. Love you, Barb.”
“I love you too.”
I pressed END and let my phone fall to the cushion as I stood to find something in the kitchen. Just as I hit the end of the couch, my phone chimed. A chime I’d reserved specifically for Brody.