Page 88 of Fall For Me
“I messed with her head,” I deadpan.
That wasn’t the case at all.
She throws out a hand. “Don’t play stupid, Junior. You weren’t clear on where things stood between you two. When you dropped her without a fucking word, she dropped me. The consequences of your actions don’t start and end with you. Shit like that trickles down. You fucking hurt me! So yeah, I found your friend in a bar and seduced him.”
“Ouch.” Aiden reaches up and rubs his chest with his fist. “I feel so used.”
Swinging my head in his direction, I arch a brow. That mother fucker does not feel used. He holds both hands up in surrender, and I turn back to my sister.
“Who told you I wasn’t clear on where things stood? Her? Or is that a conclusion you came to on your own?” I ask for clarity.
Before she can answer, Hannah saunters back into the room, and fuck, I don't want to dive into this with Viv in front of her. The last thing I ever want to do is hurt her. Sure, she knows I had a life before her, but that doesn’t mean she needs to hear about the women I slept with before we got together. If I ask her to leave, will she? No, because her curiosity about what’s going on between me and Viv will eat her alive. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try to get her out of here.
“Mi amor, you’re not gonna want to stick around for this conversation.”
Hannah takes a seat on the end of the couch closest to Granny’s perch in the recliner. “I think I’ll stay.”
“You should. This is better than watchingThe Days of Our Lives,” Granny says to Hannah, then pulls up on the footrest so she can kick back for the show.
“Jesus Christ.” I drag a hand over my face.
“It doesn’t matter if Ava told me or if I came to the conclusion on my own,” Viv spits, bringing my attention back to her. “She’s been my best friend since we were teenagers. She was off limits.”
“Did you tell her I was off limits? Do you know how many times she’d stay the night in high school and try to climb into my bed after you fell asleep?”
Viv pins me with a look that says she doesn’t believe me.
“You know what really gets me? What really grinds my gears?” I add, because now I’m just pissed the fuck off for being painted as the villain. “You women pick through men like you’re picking through a fucking catalogue. You find a guy you think is hot . . . doesn’t really matter what he says or how he feels, because in your mind, if you can get him into bed, he’ll fucking change for you. We tell you . . . wefuckingtell you what’s up—that it’s a one-time thing—but do you all listen? No. That’s exactly what happened with Ava, Viv. I told her from the very beginning that I didn’t want a relationship. It sounds to me like she thought she could change my mind then got butt hurt when she realized she couldn’t.”
“Maybe you should’ve kept your dick in your pants,” she quips.
“Oh, we’re going with misandry now, huh?” I ask just as Granny points out, “Maybe she should’ve kept her panties on.”
“Exactly! Thank you, Granny. See, Viv? It goes both ways. The bigger problem is you’ve had years to talk to me about this like an adult . . . to ask me what happened, but instead, you held this grudge and never said a fucking word. Not that my sex life is any of your business, but if you had asked me, I would’ve told you exactly what I told her.”
I pause, pinching the bridge of my nose, and release a sigh. “You wanna know what I think? I think you ran with whatever you wanted to so you could carry on with this sibling rivalry thing you have going on.”
“That’s not true.”
“It is true. And just so you know . . . thoseboysyou were picking out after you and Felix broke up were losers. I may have gone about it the wrong way, but everything I did was to protect you because you’re my little sister, and I love you. I would nevereverhurt you on purpose. But the shit you pulled with Aiden last year and with Hannah today? That was intentional. You set out to hurt me. So, guess who else I don’t trust now . . . that’s right . . . you. Your name sits right there along with Allison’s. I hope it was worth it.”
“Y-you don’t mean that.” Her voice breaks.
Tears well in her eyes and spill over, trickling down her cheeks. She sniffs and rolls her lips together as her face crumples. “I-I um . . . I-I’ll just g-go.”
Fuck.
I can’t stand seeing her cry.
“Stop,” I say as she turns to leave.
I reach out, pulling her into my arms. “Come here.”
“I’m s-sorry,” she cries into my chest. “I didn’t c-come here to f-fight with you.”
“You’re always picking a fight with me,” I say, cradling her head. My arms tighten around her as her tears soak through my shirt. Guilt eats at me. I knew I was crossing a line when I slept with Ava, but I did it anyway. “I’m sorry I betrayed you.”
“I-I’m sorry. I t-took everything too f-far,” she heaves.
