Page 139 of Hollywood

“Oh, Tex…” She covered her mouth, eyes wide.

Suddenly, the words erupted from me like molten lava. “I hope you can accept that because I love Hendrix and Ruby, and I can’t give up on them. Not when they believe in me the way Dad never could. I love you, too, but?—”

“Shutup!” She leaped from the chair and threw herself over me, half sprawling in both our laps to hug me. “You’re such an idiot. I don’t care who you love.”

Hollywood laughed as I squeezed her tight, my damn eyes burning with more tears. When would this bullshit stop?

“See?” Holly said. “You’ve got to stop expecting the worst, babe.”

“Aw.” Chastity drew back and patted my cheek. “Did you really worry about me?Me?You know my best friend in high school was a lesbian.”

“What? Kendra was?”

She laughed as she retook her seat. “My god. You are so oblivious sometimes.”

He shrugged. “Kinda had other shit on my mind, like uh, losing that scholarship. Dad never forgave me.”

“Fuck Dad. I’m sorry, but the way he’s treated you has been wrong for a long time.”

“He wasn’t the same after Mom died,” I said.

Hollywood squeezed my hand, wordlessly giving me support.

“We all miss Mom. It doesn’t give any of us a free pass, though. You’ve tried so hard to please him. I used to be jealous, you know? Because he focused so hard on you he didn’t even see me most of the time. But after a while, I was relieved. I saw how you tried to live up to all his hopes and dreams. Let’s be honest, you went to prison because you were trying to win Dad’s approval.”

“I made a stupid decision. I can’t put that on him. I have to be accountable for my mistakes.”

“Fine, that’s fair,” she said. “Own your mistakes. Just know that you didn’t make them in a vacuum. He was there. And maybe last time he didn’t know what he was doing, but this time? Telling you to steal? He fucking knew.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter because he’s done with me now. He said I wasn’t his son.”

Chastity’s eyes narrowed. “Then I must not be his daughter.”

I shook my head. “You don’t mean that.”

“I’m your sister. So if you’re not his son, then I’m sure as fuck not his daughter,” she insisted. “To hell with him.”

“I really like your sister,” Hollywood said next to me.

Chastity laughed. “I like you too. You know, I was surprised when Tex told me you were together, but I shouldn’t have been. I could tell you were really special to him. Every time he spoke about you, there was this…warmth, I guess? I don’t know if you know this, but my brother isn’t always the most warm and cuddly guy. I figured you two must be really close. I didn’t quite imaginehowclose…”

“Please don’t imagine it,” Tex said. “That would be weird.”

She grinned. “Don’t worry. I’d rather not picture my brother that way, even if his gay boyfriend ishot.” She waved a hand in front of her face, giggling at Tex’s horrified expression.

“I’m bisexual, actually,” Holly said.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.” She glanced at Tex. “Are you also…”

“Bisexual too,” I confirmed. “I, uh, guess it wasn’t something I thought much about before I met Hendrix. I could appreciate that men were attractive, but I never really met anyone who pushed those buttons for me.”

She nodded. “So you’re still attracted to women?”

I shrugged a shoulder. “Doesn’t matter. I love Hendrix. He’s the only one I want.”

“Aw.” She pressed a hand to her chest, cutting her gaze toward Hollywood. “And what about you? Do you love my brother?”

Hollywood leaned in against me. “Yeah, I love him. I fell first.”