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The tears came then.
Big ugly sobs that wrecked me from the inside out as I laid down on my bed, clutching a pillow and giving myself over to the intense emotions.
Celeste was right. I needed to hear Nix out. He wouldn’t betray me like that. But the rational part of my brain couldn’t withstand the onslaught of irrational thoughts. Those dark, dark whispers of betrayal and deceit.
I wasn’t good enough for Nix. Not pretty or strong enough. I didn’t dress like the cheerleaders or bat my eyelashes and show my cleavage. I didn’t dye my hair or wear a ton of makeup. I wasn’t sexy or feminine and I didn’t know the art of seduction. I wasn’t—
A knock at my bedroom door startled me.
“Harleigh?”
“Go away,” I murmured.
“I’m coming in.” The door cracked open, and Michael filled the space. “What happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“That isn’t your decision. If something upset you, I need to—”
“Let me guess, you want to make sure I’m not a risk to myself.”
“Are you?”
Unbelievable.
That’s what our relationship had been reduced to. A father checking on his unstable daughter to ascertain whether or not she was about to do something stupid.
“Don’t worry, Dad, I’m not going to try to kill myself again, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Harleigh.” He had the decency to look shocked. “That isn’t fair.”
“Fair?” I bolted upright. “You think any of this is fair? You did this to me, you know? You broke me… You took away the one person I needed and made me believe he’d abandoned me, and I hate you for it. I’ll always hate—”
“You know.” The blood drained from his face.
“I know.” My voice wasn’t my own. “I know everything. It wasn’t enough that I’d lost my mom, my home; you took him away from me and then watched me fall apart.”
“Harleigh, that’s not—”
“I LOVED HIM,” I roared, something splintering inside me. “I loved him, and you stole him from me. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I HATE YOU.” The pillow flew across the room, but he easily batted it away.
“Are you—”
“What on earth is happening in here?” Sabrina burst into the room, taking in the scene. Me sitting in a pool of my own tears, my chest heaving. Michael standing there, ashen, and as still as a statue.
“Sweetheart, this doesn’t concern you. Go downstairs and I’ll be—”
“I will not.” She glared at me. “This is all your fault. Ever since you came here, things have been in disarray. You’re nothing but a troublemaker, just like your moth—”
“Sabrina!” Michael hissed. “That is enough.”
Silence.
Utter silence.
It was usually nice, comforting. Except now, it seeped into the cracks in my heart and made my blood run cold.
Sabrina glowered at me, silently fuming. “I want her gone,” she said, swinging her gaze on Michael. “I told you this was a bad idea. Last year, I told you she would ruin things. But you wouldn’t listen. And now look at us. She is single-handedly ruining this family and you’re just standing by and letting it happen. Well, I won’t do it. It’s her or me, Michael. I won’t live in Trina’s shadow for another second. I won’t do it.”
