"I liked what you said about starting over tomorrow," I told Kelsey. "We should all do that. Let's not go back to the way we were. Let's remember that we're sisters before anything else. We don't need to criticize each other. We should celebrate our differences, not disdain them."
"I know you're talking mostly to me," Brooklyn said. "I've never given you enough credit, Willow. You slid into the shadows of our lives, and I let you stay there."
"And I thought you were too boring and not enough fun, Willow, so I turned to Brooklyn," Kelsey said with an apologetic smile.
I smiled back. "I was boring and not very much fun. But that was partly because you two shined so bright. No one saw me; they could only see the both of you. Melanie was the one who made me realize I had to find my own light. But after she died, I couldn't. Until I was forced to come back here and face all the horrible feelings. Then you went missing, and I knew I couldn't be that shy, boring girl who stayed in the shadows. You needed me, Kelsey."
"And you were there. You saved me, Willow. And Drake saved you. Where is he now?"
"Talking to his parents."
"That won't be easy," Brooklyn murmured. "I was too hard on Drake. He worried me, and you might not believe this, Willow, but most of my worry was about you. You couldn't remember what happened, and I thought that made you vulnerable. I told Mom we needed to get you off the island."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"Well, you are my sister."
"Speaking of sisters and sharing secrets," Kelsey said, a gleam in her eyes. "What's going on with you and Drake, Willow? When he came looking for you, he was shaken to the core when I told him you were running away from a murderer. There's something between you again, isn't there?"
"What do you mean again?"
Both Kelsey and Brooklyn rolled their eyes.
"We weren't blind," Brooklyn said. "We knew you liked him."
"Yeah, you had a big crush on him," Kelsey added. "I felt sorry for you. He was way out of your league."
I laughed. "He certainly was."
"Did something happen between you two back then? Or this week?" Kelsey pried.
"Maybe."
"So…"
"It's complicated."
"Well, that isn't a no," Kelsey said with a sly smile.
"It's also not a yes. Drake lied about some things, too. He's the reason your original venue got canceled, Kelsey."
Her jaw dropped. "Are you serious? How could he be the reason?"
"He wanted to get everyone back on the island. He had a friend with corporate clients booking events, and she made sure they wanted your date and your venue."
"That is incredibly devious," Kelsey said.
"And it turned out to be very dangerous," Brooklyn added, an unhappy look entering her eyes. "Maybe I don't feel that sorry for him."
"I don't like what Drake did. I like it even less that I didn't find out about it until earlier today, but he was desperate to get answers and we all stonewalled him."
"His actions could have gotten Kelsey killed," Brooklyn said.
"I told him the same thing," I replied.
"On the other hand," Kelsey said. "Maybe I would have always been in danger. I slept with Carter. As soon as Eileen found that out, she would have killed me for sure. And if it hadn't been that, it would have been something else. If I'd married Gage, if I'd offended Eileen, who's to say I wouldn't have faced the same danger? I'm not saying what Drake did was right, but he forced the issue, and Dillon, sweet, stoned, crazy Dillon, saved me."
"How can you call him sweet after he chained you up?" Brooklyn asked.
"He didn't hurt me. He gave me everything I needed except my freedom." Kelsey paused as my parents returned to the room with tacos and salad.
"Yum," Kelsey said. "Tacos are my favorite."
My mom smiled. "That's why we made them." She paused. "Will you help me with the drinks, Willow?"
"Sure," I said, getting up to follow her back into the kitchen. It quickly became obvious she wanted to speak to me alone. Apparently, getting drinks was a familiar ruse since it's what had brought Sean into the kitchen with her several days ago.
"Did Eileen say anything about Sean?" my mom asked, worry in her gaze.
"No. She never mentioned him. I don't think he knew anything."
"I can't believe she cheated on him with Tom Ryan, that she passed off Gage as Sean's son."
"You really can't believe that?" I challenged. "Didn't you have an affair with Sean?"
She paled at my question. "Did Eileen say that?"
"Is it true?" I countered.
"It was a long time ago. I was going through a rough patch in my marriage to your dad, and Sean was there. It was wrong. And I regret it."
There wasn't a lot of emotion behind her words, but that wasn't unusual. With the exception of this past week, when terror for Kelsey had taken down her defenses, my mother was always in control. "Does Dad know?"
She hesitated. "Yes, but that's between us. I hope you aren't going to make this a thing. There has been too much pain the last few days. I don't want there to be more. I know we haven't had the best relationship, Willow, and I'm sorry about that. You don't understand me, and I don't understand you, but I do love you. You might not believe that, but it's true. I just never imagined I'd have a child who was so different from me."
"We are different."
"You know I was jealous of Sylvie."
"Melanie's mother? Why would you be jealous of her?"
"You liked Melanie's family better than ours. You used to rave about Sylvie, how she made you soup and cookies, how kind she was. She was the mother you wanted, and Melanie was the sister you wanted. I think your sisters and I got a little upset about that. We turned away from you, because we felt like you were turning away from us."
"I had no idea you felt that way. I didn't think you cared that I was spending time with Melanie and her family."
"Well, of course, we cared."
She was rewriting history, but since this was the first honest conversation we'd had in decades, I went along with it. "I didn't like them better. But I did like myself better when I was with them. I could just be myself. When I was here, I wasn't as pretty as Kelsey or as smart as Brooklyn. You and Dad had your favorites. There were two of you and three of us, and I was left out."
"You never got over the time we left you behind at Disneyland."
"It was traumatic, Mom."
"I know. You were the middle child and sometimes you got lost or forgotten, but that was also because you were so quiet. You were always reading or playing with your camera."
"Now it's my fault?"
She sighed. "I'm being defensive."
"Yes, you are."
She gave me another sharp look. "You really have come all the way out of your shell."
"You should get used to it."
"I hope I'll see more of you so I can get used to it. I said some harsh things to you when Kelsey was missing. I'm sorry about that."