He didn’t love me, he used me and discarded me. And now it makes my skin crawl.
“I promised him I would never tell anyone. I didn’t want to ruin his career. I mean, he’s clearly good at what he does. But...”
“But what?” Kip sounds downright murderous.
“He just always kind of strung me along. The odd call, or text. A conversation at a family event. He was careful to never cross a physical line once Winter was in the picture, but he always kind of kept me thinking that maybe, maybe, things might change.”
I bark out a sad laugh. Saying it out loud it seems so obvious.
“Because he wanted to keep you in line,” my dad provides.
“Yeah. It seems so blatant now. So manipulative. To think of how my personal life has played out these past years, I just...I guess that’s why they say hindsight is 20/20.”
“Stupid fucking saying,” Kip mutters as his hand slides up and down again. “Of course hindsight is 20/20.”
I smile, but it’s half-hearted. “I need to find Winter.”
“You need to give her some time. And I’m going to have to deal with Marina. And you’re going to have to spill the beans on why Rhett Eaton is acting like a fire-breathing dragon around you. But for now, just lie here with your old man for a minute. For old time’s sake.”
I don’t argue with him, I just breathe in deeply through my nose, seeking comfort in a way that has me feeling like the little girl I once was. In this very hospital. In this very wing. With the one person who never stopped showing up for me.
And I doze off.
* * *
I’m woken by my stepmother, Marina, shoving at my shoulder in a dim room. Her hair is a pale blonde, and her features are severe. Just like her. She’s wearing a gray pencil dress under her white coat. She’s a well-respected doctor here, but she couldn’t be bothered to come check on her husband in the last however many hours since he had a heart attack.
She’s always been cruel, though.
“Get out.” She points at the door.
She’s never liked me. And on one hand, who can blame her? But on the other...grow the fuck up.
“No.” I push up to sitting and comb my fingers through my hair, trying to get my bearings.
“Yes. You’ve done enough here for one day.”
My heart plummets at the reminder of what happened earlier. With Winter. The muscles in my chest constrict and I drop her gaze.
One more reason for her to hate me. For my sister to hate me.
“Listen, I...”
Her hand shoots up, palm held flat to stop me talking, and her eyes blaze with icy fury. “Homewrecking is hereditary for you. You can’t help it. I get it. But you’re going to displace Kip’s heart rate monitor and create more work for everyone. This isn’t the time for a sleepover. Go home.”
My jaw falls open as I stare back at this woman. This woman who only kind of raised me because Kip never let her get close enough. It didn’t stop her from making comments like this to me through the years. I’ve developed a thick skin where Marina Hamilton is concerned. Her jabs used to hurt, but now...
I kiss my dad on his forehead and move off the narrow bed, limbs heavy like lead and eyes scratchy like there’s sand in them. Most likely mascara crumbs from crying.
“I feel bad for you, Marina,” I say evenly, brushing my clothes flat.
“I don’t need your pity,” she spits quietly, picking up my dad’s chart and fixing her gaze on the papers before her.
“But you have it. And you have my forgiveness for how utterly awful you’ve been to me for my entire life.”
She scoffs, and I pull myself up as tall as I can get as I aim for the door to leave. Battling with Marina isn’t worth the effort. However, that doesn’t stop me from sharing some parting words, even though my voice shakes as I do it.
“You’ve spent a lifetime hurting my dad, and I hate that. But whatever goes on between you and Kip is none of my business. You’re both adults. But I will never forgive you for making it impossible for me to have a relationship with Winter. You think all your maneuvering throughout my life only hurt me, but it hurt Winter, too. It made it so that I felt like I couldn’t tell her things that she deserved to know. It made it so that we were both isolated when we could have had each other. And that’s”—I point at her, right in her face—“on you and your fucked up vendetta.”