“I ran into Lola at the restaurant earlier. She was leaving, and I was arriving. As you can see, Jenner, you aren’t needed anymore.”
Yet I felt like they needed me more than ever. Did Eric know about Jenni? How would he react to not getting to meet his niece?
“But what about the estate?”
“What about it? Lola’s back. She’ll be perfectly fine with turning it into a bed-and-breakfast.”
“No,” Lola mumbled.
Her gaze was focused on the kitchen island, but when Eric mentioned the estate being turned into a bed-and-breakfast, she shifted. Anger sparked behind her eyes, and her gaze was now directed straight at her brother.
“No? Lola, you don’t understand. This is what’s best for—”
“No, you don’t understand, Eric. Why do you think I ran? Because you controlled me all my life.”
“I was trying to protect you from Dad.”
“He’s dead. Thank you for protecting me, but Dad died years ago. I was an adult, and you still kept me at home. Sure, you took me out to restaurants and to parks like I was a kid, but I was in my twenties. I don’t need supervision anymore.”
Eric stood straight with his chest puffed out. “Yet you did. You had no idea what it was like out there; Dad made sure of that. You may have been in your twenties, but you were still a kid at heart.”
“Stop it, Eric. Lola was a grown woman who could decide for herself.” I couldn’t stand by and let Eric belittle his sister like that. I tightened my fist, and it took all my strength not to hit him.
“Like choosing you?” Eric smirked.
My fist loosened.Oh, crap...he knew.
Lola’s eyes widened, and I worried what was about to happen. I was right; Eric was planning something. Maybe he knew where his sister was the whole time, and he pulled me in for the ride.
I looked over at Lola as she slid her eyes to me. The fear on her face had my fingers curling once again.
“What do you mean?” I knew what he meant, but I was unsure how he was playing this out.
“I mean, you and Lola,together. What? Did you think I didn’t know?” Eric laughed. “You can’t keep secrets from me. There isn’t anything I don’t know. How do you think I could protect you all those years from Dad, Lola?”
She twisted her fingers together. “I just thought you knew Dad was in a bad mood, or he began yelling about me for something.”
Eric sighed and shook his head. “I watched him. Studied him to the point I could expect exactly what he was about to do. I knew him better than he knew himself. And when he died, it hit me harder than I expected.”
Lola stepped forward, placing her hand on her brother’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
He reached up, interlacing his fingers with hers, and sighed. “It’s been so long, Lola. It broke my heart when you left.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she murmured, then glanced up at me. “I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.”
“I understand. You were scared. I was making you marry someone you didn’t love. And for that, I’m sorry.”
“You are?” Lola and I asked at the same time.
He nodded. “The reason I wanted you both here together was to apologize and to make amends. I was in a dark place for a long time; I was hurt, and I scared many people. But what bothered me the most was what I did to you two... what I did to the people I care about the most.” Eric turned to me but held his sister’s hand.
“You were a friend to me when most weren’t, Jenner. I was a shitty friend and took advantage of your kindness. For that, I’m sorry.”
When I opened my mouth to respond, nothing came out. I couldn’t tell if it was shock or raw emotion that prevented me from talking.
“And you, Lola... the person I love the most. The person I would protect until my dying breath. It broke something in me that what I did to you meant you had to run away to protect yourself.”
Lola pulled Eric into her arms, and I heard her sniffle in response.