He removes my hand gently. “Point is, we’re each other’s family. Dad and Agnus are our family. I shouldn’t have cried for that whore, and that’s when I realised I wasn’t crying for her. I was merely mourning our childhood and how abnormally we grew up because of her. It’s okay to cry, T. It purges more than those runs.”
“Thank you, Knox. I needed that today.”
“Happy freedom day.” He grins.
On this day eleven years ago, Knox and I broke the chains. We ran and never looked back.
We were kids, but we earned our freedom. We saw an out, so we took it. If we’d stayed there, I would’ve become like my mum and Knox would’ve probably killed himself or gotten into drugs and overdosed like a certain mother.
We’ve always saved ourselves, and that will continue.
He glares at me. “For the record, tell anyone I cried and I’ll murder you.”
“Depends on how you act.”
“I won’t be your bitch, sis.” He switches to his overdramatic tone. “Remember, I came out first.”
“Which means you cried first, right?”
“You little bugger.” He puts me in a headlock, and I stare up at him with a smile.
He softens almost immediately, letting me go as awe fills his features. “You’re…smiling.”
“You’re one of the few who gets to see it, so engrave it somewhere.”
“Ronan is rubbing off on you, isn’t he?”
“It’s not about him.”
“Yeah, right, could’ve fooled me.” He raises an eyebrow. “I was going to kick him out of our lives until I saw you with him. You’ve never been at ease with someone like you are with Ronan. Not even with me — and I hate it, by the way. I’m supposed to be your favourite.”
&n
bsp; “You are.” My chest aches, but I mutter, “I’m breaking it off with him.”
“Why?”
Ugh. Why do he and Agnus have to ask that question? Would it be the end of the world if they didn’t know?
“Can’t you see it? Ronan and I couldn’t be any more opposite.”
Lie. We share more than the world will ever know, but I’m not telling Knox that.
“And yet you make it work. He’s been asking about you every time he sees me. He’s not doing well, T.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. He’s distracted at practice and hasn’t been throwing his usual jokes.”
He’ll move on. Ronan is the strongest, most admirable person I know.
He called me strong, but he’s way stronger than me.
I hid and shunned people. He slammed straight into them.
And then into me.
And now, we’re here.