I wiggled my eyebrows at her. “Can’t wait.”
Kacey laughed and shook her head. “Get your mind out of the gutter. It’s not that kind of gift.” She looked me up and down and licked her lips. “Although, I must say that I’m very thankful to your mother for giving us a free pass to have a long night of loud, unencumbered sex.”
“Normally, she just gives money, but this is much better. Although, I really am going to miss tucking Bailey in and reading a book together.”
“You’re so incredibly adorable. I love how much you love her.” Kacey stared at me lovingly and ran a finger over my arm.
“I love both of you.” I gave Kacey a quick smile before returning my eyes to the road, my focus immediately going to the extra car in our driveway. The car was just inches from Kacey’s and almost sideways. “What the hell?”
Kacey took her eyes off of me to see what I was responding to. “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” she said with a strained huff.
Once we parked and got out of the car, Ariana’s voice cut through the darkness. “My, my, my, isn’t this cute?” I looked toward the sound to find Ariana leaning against Kacey’s garage door, arms crossed, eyes hooded as if opening them was too much work at the moment.
“What are you doing here, Ariana?” Kacey asked sternly, also aware of how drunk her sister was.
“Just thought I would stop by and see the child I created,” she slurred.
Kacey took a few tentative steps and tried to reach her hand toward Ariana, who quickly pulled away. “You know you can’t just show up like this. Especially when you’re wasted.”
Ariana’s eyes burned as she focused on Kacey. “You’re not better than me. You can’t control what I do or who I see.”
“No, but I can control who I let into my daughter’s life.”
Ariana scoffed. “Oh yeah. Hero Kacey. Always swooping in to save the day. But you know what? You adopting Bailey was never supposed to be part of the plan. I was going to give her up and then we’d never have to see her again. It’s your fault she’s still dealing with our family’s shit. You had to take control. Prove that you’re better than the rest of the family.”
Kacey shook her head, tears now running down her face. “Stop. Don’t you dare say anything about Bailey. I kept her because I loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her and have grown to love her more and more with every passing day. You can say a lot about me but don’t even think about trying to say that I had any motive other than love for adopting her.”
I put my hand on Kacey’s arm to show my support, and Ariana’s eyes immediately bounced over to me. “And you. Don’t even get me started. I’ve heard all about your family. Spoiled rich people with so much money you throw it away to have a dining hall named after you. I’m sure your parents like to act all high and mighty, act like they’re doing it to further the education of poor college students. But really, they just want to look good. Have something to brag about at the town country club.”
Kacey took a step in front of me, protectively shielding me from Ariana’s wrath. “You don’t even know them. Don’t you dare talk about them that way. The Adelberg family is the most loving, sincere group of people you’ll ever meet. They welcomed me with open arms from the moment they met me. Same with Bailey. It’s a lot more than I can say for you.”
“Oh really? Is that how it is? You spend the last few weeks acting like you’re happy to have me back, then throw me away the moment I speak a few inconvenient truths about your new family.” Ariana did air quotes as she spoke the word family, her voice now coming out as a snarl.
Kacey lightly grabbed ahold of her arm and motioned for me to follow as she walked her toward the house and opened the door. “We’re not having this conversation outside.”
“Oh yeah? What’s wrong? Are you afraid that your neighbors are going to figure out where you came from? That you’re nothing but trash dressed up in nicer clothes?”
“I can’t believe that I actually thought you changed.” Kacey’s words were barely a whisper and her shoulders slumped as she said them. It was heartbreaking to see, and I felt helpless, standing there with nothing more to give than a supportive touch.
“You always did see the best in people. Like your little girlfriend here. You actually believe she won’t break your heart. But she will. Just like I told her that you will always choose your actual family over her, she’ll eventually choose a better life over slumming it with you. You’ll never be able to escape your past. She’ll choose someone with a better family. Someone who doesn’t come with baggage. And you’ll choose me.”
Kacey shook her head, a look of confusion taking the place of her sadness. “What do you mean just like you told her?”
I wanted to jump in and explain, but Ariana began to cackle loudly before I could. “She didn’t tell you, did she? I thought you guys told each other everything. Anyway, I just let her know where your loyalties would always lie. How you’ll always go back to your roots.”
Kacey locked her eyes with mine and I tried my best to express everything I was feeling with just one look. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to get hurt. She said some pretty terrible things that I was hoping you wouldn’t have to hear.” Tears started to roll down my cheeks, but Kacey put a hand on my cheek and used her thumb to wipe them away.
Our moment was interrupted by Ariana’s terrible cackle once again. “I don’t get it, Kacey. I really just don’t understand what you see in this girl.”
Kacey’s body went rigid as she turned to look at her sister. “I don’t need to explain that to you. In fact, I don’t have to explain anything to you ever again. I don’t know what your angle was coming here and acting sweet, just to blow up like this, but I’m done. I mean it, Ariana. You can’t just show up and put down all of the people I care about. My family. Because that’s what they are. They’re my family. Not you.”
Ariana stuck her nose up in the air, a smug look on her face. “You’ll regret this. You will.”
“The only thing I regret is giving you another chance.” Kacey nodded her head toward the stairs. “There’s a guest room upstairs. You can sleep in there since I don’t want you to be driving when you’re drunk. But tomorrow morning, I want you to leave and never come back.”
Without saying another word, Ariana stomped away and up the stairs. After a minute, a door slammed, causing Kacey to flinch before looking back at me. “I’m so sorry about that.”
“I’m sorry too. I should have told you about what your sister said at dinner that night.”
Kacey sighed. “I wish you had told me, but I get why you didn’t.”
“You do?”
Kacey nodded her head. “I know all about doing what’s hard, and might even be wrong, to try to protect the person you love.”
I thought about her words, struggling with voicing what had been on my mind for a while now. “I have to tell you something else. I hate to admit it, but I think you were right to break up with me all those years ago. You were right. I would have given everything up for you. I wouldn’t have gotten my master’s degree or gone on to become board certified. I probably would have resented you eventually, no matter how unfair that would be. I also didn’t have the maturity level that you did to be a mom. I’m not sure if I could have done it. I’m not questioning whether I would have loved Bailey with all of my heart, because I know I would have. But I’m just glad I came into her life at a time when I was ready to be everything she deserves.”