Page 34 of Intolerable Bishop

“It’s not like that, Snowflake. We’ve been respectful, I promise ya. We just didn’t want to upset ya if we didn’t find anything, but we needed to look.”

“It wasn’t your choice to make. You ask. You don’t just storm ahead and stomp on my memories and break my trust. I wouldn’t do that to any of you.” No one said anything ‘cause she wasn’t wrong. Ren crossed her arms over her chest. “Tell me. What exactly were you hoping to find?” Her body was trembling slightly, and even though I knew she probably didn’t want me to touch her right now, I rested my hands on her shoulders.

“You know that Myles and I love you, and Theo didn’t suggest this to hurt you,” I said. “Give us a minute to explain everything.”

She didn’t say anything, but she walked over to a chair by the bed and sat down. I followed closely. “Theo, why don’t you explain,” I said, and he rubbed the back of his neck before taking off his glasses. We all turned our attention to him.

“Fine, I’ll be the one to rip the band-aid off. The other day at your aunt’s house, you asked about the picture of your mom,” he said, and she nodded.

“Yeah, my aunt didn’t know anything. That picture was taken like twenty years ago. It could’ve been from any time, any vacation.”

Theo crossed his arms. “Is that really what you believe? If it is, then there is no point in showing you what I found. You’ll find some way to explain it away, and I’ll be wasting my breath.”

“Theo, come on, give her a break,” Myles said.

“No. Ren isn’t the type to hide. So, if she’s choosing to hide from the truth about her family, then I’m not going to waste my time explaining any of this to her.” My brother turned his serious and impassive stare on Ren, who was clutching the box to her chest and playing with the cuffs on her sweater.

I knelt by her side and reached out, needing to touch her. I ran my thumb over her skin until she flicked her gaze to mine. It was obvious that being in here bothered her, but she was trying hard to fight it off.

“How about we leave the room for now? We can grab a drink, and when the guys are done, we’ll tell you everything,” I offered as her lower lip trembled. “I promise you that they will be very careful. You know Theo, he’s too anal not to be careful, and Myles is terrified you’ll kill him,” I said, smirking, and she gave me a small smile.

“Okay,” she said, her voice no more than a whisper. Standing, Ren placed the box on the chair, and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. I gave Theo an annoyed glare before we left the room.

Coming here was always going to be tough, no matter what Ren thought, but I think she believed that if she could avoid her mom’s room, she could prevent the pain and the reality of the situation. Some part of her had been left in there, and I’d just seen the haunted look in her eyes as I had the night we chased her through the library.

I kissed her on the head as we walked downstairs. “I’m sorry, we never should’ve hidden what we were doing from you,” I said. She nodded but didn’t look at me, and it felt like a blow.

Fuck. We totally screwed up.

MAY 26 – FRIDAY 8:59 PM

Ren

I couldn’t believe that the boys I trusted most did what I asked them specifically not to do and then worked together to try and hide it from me. Every minute that ticked by when Myles and Theo were upstairs, rummaging around in my mum’s room, cut deep.

“Are you sure you don’t want something to eat,” Ivy asked, laying a hand on my arm, and I shook my head.

“My stomach is too tied up in knots.”

“I promise we didn’t do this to hurt you,” Blake said. I could hear the desperation for me to believe him in his voice, but why they did it wasn’t the problem. He was leaning against the counter, his eyes fixed on my face, and I could feel him willing me to look at him, but that only created a storm in my chest. Taking a sip of the coffee Ivy brought back with her, I tried to relax but sat up straight as I heard Myles and Theo coming down the stairs.

They walked in, and I could immediately feel the excited and nervous energy flowing off them, and it annoyed the shit out of me.

“I’m guessing you found something, and you’re here to gloat about it,” I grumbled.

“Naw, Snowflake, ya have it backward. That’s why we didn’t want to say anythin’ before we went snoopin’. We take no pleasure in hurtin’ ya,” Myles said as he sat down beside me. “I’m sorry we didn’t ask first, but we didn’t want to bring this speculation to ya until we had evidence. There was no need to upset you like that.”

“But lying to me is okay?”

“Yes, if it’s to protect you,” Theo said, his voice flat. “Look, I’ll take the hit. I talked them into it, but with good reason. Who you are is a huge mystery, and I knew you wanted answers. I also knew this place held special memories for you. There was no need to destroy that, and if what we found helped protect you better, then so be it.” He stood beside his brother, and as identical as they were, right now, I could easily tell them apart. Blake had an apologetic air to him, while Theo stared at me with a cool, calculating expression as if daring me to dispute him.

“I understand that. But how am I supposed to trust you all when you don’t trust me enough to keep me in the loop?”

“The inner circle of trust must remain small, but sometimes it’s better not knowing. What we did to Axel, you’re better off not knowing. How we make our money, you’re better off not knowing. What we do for Lawrence is also on a need-to-know basis. It’s not a trust issue, and neither was tonight. There is just some shit you’re better off not knowing, it’s that simple. The same goes for all of us. I don’t tell Blake everything, and Nash holds things that he knows could get us killed back to protect us.”

I stood in frustration and tossed my coffee in the microwave, thankful for the whirring to help break up my thoughts.

“So many damn secrets. I don’t agree with your thought process, but let’s pretend I do for a moment. Did you find anything?”