Page 9 of Scarred Sunrise

Lucy on one side, Meg on the other, they walked her inside, Lizzie braced by their love for her. Her dad stood in the entrance to the living room, watching them with love on his face. Seeing the look of protection mixed with worry she went to him, allowing him to enfold her in his strong arms as she had so many times as a child.

“It will be all right, sweetheart. Everything will always be all right.” He pulled back to look into her eyes, assessing her as she listened to Meg and Lucy making drinks in the kitchen behind her. “God will only give you what you can cope with. He knows the strength you have inside you, Lizzie.”

Not wanting to upset him, she nodded at the familiar words. “I know, Dad. I’m just so tired.”

He stroked her hair. “I know you are, but hang on just a little longer and it will be over, you’ll see.”

Offering him a watery smile, she changed the subject. “Was Mateo good?”

He paused a second before his face creased into a proud smile. “He was a little star, helped me sand that wooden fruit bowl for Celeste and Zin’s place.”

Lizzie felt a smile widen her face. “He loves working with you.”

“He’s gonna make a fine craftsman one day.”

Lizzie kissed her dad’s cheek. “I’m heading up. Luce and Meg probably want to grill me.”

“They love you.” He rubbed his chest in a circle as if in pain. “It would make your mother so happy to see you girls together.”

“I’m sure she can see, Daddy.”

He thinned his lips and nodded. “Get on now. I’ll lock up.”

Climbing the stairs, she stuck her head in on Mateo, going to drop a kiss to his dark head, brushing his hair back from his face, an ache of love in her heart. They’d lost precious time together when she was kidnapped, time she’d never get back. Anger surged inside her, and for a second she imagined how Smithy might feel. He’d been forced to do some horrendous things by Rhea Winslow.

She knew some, although she didn’t know the half of it, but Smithy had given up on her long before then. Turning, she left her son to sleep, suddenly feeling the need to share her story with her sisters and soak up their love and wisdom.

Walking into her childhood bedroom, the pale grey and lilac a more grown-up version of the teenage girl who’d dreamed of a future with Ty, she still felt the warmth and memories. Seeing Lucy sitting on her bed, her leg tucked underneath her with a mug of hot chocolate cupped in her hands gave her a nostalgic feeling, but having Megan, who looked so much like their mother doing the same thing after being lost to them for so many years, made it so much sweeter.

“I added a dash of Bailey’s to yours.” Meg handed her the mug with a grin as Lucy frowned.

“Don’t rub it in.”

Lizzie took the mug after crawling between her sisters to lean her back against the headboard. The warm, creamy chocolate spiked with her favourite tipple felt good on her throat, and she closed her eyes as she swallowed.

“Want to talk about it?” Meg asked.

Lizzie opened them to see the worry on both her sisters’ faces. “Yes.”

Surprise showed, and she knew they’d expected her to lock up as she always had, but tonight she needed the weight of it all off her chest. She needed to purge her secrets and move on. The fact that it would be without Smithy hurt, but it was his choice, and she had to make peace with that. Perhaps sharing their story would give her closure and a way to move on.

“Do you remember the summer I turned sixteen?” She turned to Lucy as she reached out to take Megan’s hand in hers, not wanting her to feel any less of a part of this.

“Yes, you got all secretive and started climbing out our bedroom window at night to meet some boy.” Her words became slower as realisation dawned. “That was Smithy!”

“Yes, we met at the café where I worked a Saturday job. Ty was working in the kitchen washing dishes, and I was a waitress.” She smiled as the memories of a long-ago summer flew through her mind. “He was very cocky but so sweet. He’d always wait with me until Dad picked me up, and I always snuck him the last piece of Cherry Bakewell as it was his favourite.”

Lucy couldn’t hide the hurt on her face. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

Lizzie paused to think and reflect. “Have you ever had something that was just yours, nobody else but yours?”

“Yes, when I fell for Jace I never said anything for ages.” Lucy tapped her heart. “I wanted to keep it safe in here.”

“Exactly, that was how I felt about Ty. He was just for me, and I loved him with the pure abandonment of a teen with her first love, and he loved me too. We spent the entire summer together. I’d sneak out, and he’d pick me up on his bicycle, and we’d spend hours by the river. We talked about everything, our futures, what we wanted to do with our lives, where we would live, get married, how many kids we’d have. It was magical and beautiful.” Her voice broke as the next part of her story pushed up through her mind.

Meg squeezed her hand reassuringly, a soft look on her pretty face. “What happened?”

Lizzie had missed her sister. Even though she’d never met her, she’d known in her heart she was out there. The bond they had was as strong as the one she had with Lucy, just different because they were such opposite characters. She was blessed to have her back in their lives after all this time and happy that she and Lucy had become close.