Page 192 of Toxic Kiss

A chuckle rumbles from my chest.

“Join the club. Who the fuck cares what those people think? They aren’t us. They don’t live our lives or dictate what we do or who we love. Besides, I think it’s hot and a little kinky that we’re stepsiblings.”

Haven rolls her eyes.

“You would.”

“You’re right, I do. The point is, who the fuck are these random people to us? They’re jealous and spiteful. They will think and say whatever they want, no matter what we do. So just…let them.”

“That’s easy for you to say.”

“No. No it’s not. Do you think it’s easy when I get called a failure or a copycat? When critics say I’m not original, washed up, or a wannabe rockstar who never should’ve made it? The best is when they mention that I’m losing my mind, that I’m a junkie, an addict, that I’m encouraging kids to kill one another, you name it, I’ve had it said about me.”

“You’re none of those things.”

“That’s my point. People have always made up stories to fit their narrative. Last year, I was ordering Russian brides out of a catalog. Six months ago I was secretly working for the mafia and then suddenly I’m gay and in a three-way with Vex and Ledger.”

Her lips curl up as she tries not to laugh.

“Don’t even bother picturing that, it’s never happening,” I say, and she can’t hold back. It’s the most adorable sound. “Just give them the middle finger.”

She slowly nods.

“Okay…I had to be sure. I may have actually murdered you. A girl can only take so much. Then she goes postal and cuts a guy’s dick off before feeding him to wildlife.”

“You’re fucked up, Haven. But it’s what I’ve always loved about you.”

Smiling, I guide her back to the couch. We sit there in comfortable silence, something we’ve never done before.

But when Haven clears her throat, I know something big is coming.

“I need to ask you something else,” she says softly, almost as if she doesn’t want to, and that makes me more nervous than if she just asked the question.

“Your mother said something to me. I didn’t believe it at the time and thought she was just trying to get under my skin. But the more I think about it, the more I wonder if there is legitimacy to it.”

She settles deeper into the couch, not taking her eyes off her coffee mug.

“Knowing my mother, there isn’t. But what did she say?”

“Anita said that her affair with my father started before my mother died.”

My heart stills. Haven’s eyes meet mine, and it feels as if she is reaching into my chest and squeezing.

I don’t say anything.

Haven nods and looks away, then stands up and crosses the room to stare out the window.

Fuck.

“And you knew?”

“Yeah, I knew.”

The tears running down her face are reflected in the glass. Leave it to my mother to go for the jugular. She is a sadist, and I can’t help wondering if my father is rolling in his grave watching the shit she pulls.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Lots of reasons. The main one is that despite being an asshole…I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. I knew what it would do to you. I know how much you love your father, and I just couldn’t. Your mother was dead and telling you was only going to make it worse.”