She brushes a strand of hair from her face and I can see the struggle to keep back the tears I know are coming. “It’s one thing for you fool around with some random girl and have it not mean anything.” She looks over at Tess briefly. “But it’s another thing for you to do it with her.”
I lock my eyes on hers. “I’m not fooling around, Sloan.”
She presses her lips into a hard line staring back at me. It’s so quiet for a moment, but it doesn’t give me the peace to figure out what to say next.
Sloan adjusts the strap of her handbag on her shoulder and for the first time I notice her hand is missing a certain piece of jewelry.
“It’s my own fault for leaving you alone with her. There isn’t any obstacle to keep you apart anymore.”
A tear falls down her cheek and I reach for her without thinking again. She pulls back from me and takes off down the street. I give a look back to Tess over my shoulder.
“I’ll be right back,” I say quickly.
I don’t let my eyes linger too long on her face before I jog to catch up with Sloan. I know what disappointment looks like—it’s all I ever see.
35
Collateral Damage
Perry- Then
I’ve been distracted lately. My sister Mackenzie’s been getting ready to go off to college and between trying to keep Walker in check and trying not to piss off Sloan—I’ve been wearing pretty thin. That being said, I can tell something isn’t right with Mack. She should be out of her fucking mind excited to be going to Yale in a couple months to study Art. It’s her passion and she worked her ass off to get into that school. So why does she seem like she doesn’t even want to go?
I lean in her doorway, watching her pack another small box. She giggles when she notices and the sound fills my heart, causing a smile to crack on my face.
“Perry, you could actually help instead of standing there staring at me.” Mack flicks her long chestnut hair over her shoulder and gives me a look.
I take a few steps into her room, resting my hands on the back of her desk chair. “You good?”
She cocks her head back to me and smiles. “Yes, I’m perfect. Why?”
“I don’t know, you seem off to me.” My jaw ticks. “Is Sean being a respectful little shit?”
Her eyes drift away from mine and she continues to put desk items in the box. I move to catch her hands when she reaches for a stapler. “Mack, look at me.” My voice is forceful as I remove the object from her hand.
She sighs. “Sean is fine. Everything is going to be perfect when we leave for Yale at the end of summer.”
“But it’s not perfect now, is it?”
“It’s complicated.”
This causes me to laugh, but it’s more bitter than anything else. “I’ve never said a relationship was complicated if it wasn’t completely fucked.”
Mackenzie rocks back and tucks her legs underneath her, abandoning the box. “I’m looking forward to going somewhere where people don’t know who he is.” She looks over at me and the sadness in her eyes makes me violently angry. “I think that will make things so much better.”
I highly doubt that will be possible. Sean’s dad is a recruiter for the New England Patriots and Sean is the starting quarterback for Yale next year. Did he earn it? Yes and no. He plays good ball, but it’s the inside connections that sealed the deal for him.
I kneel down and gently grab her chin. “Mack, I’m only going to ask you this once.” I pause to take a breath while she nods. “Does he hurt you? Has he ever hurt you?”
“No,” she whispers.
“No?”
“No,” she says a little more confidently.
I don’t believe her, but I move to stand anyway.
With my hands planted on my hips I stare down at her as she continues to fill the small box with notebooks and pens.
“I love you.”
She raises an eyebrow. “I love you, too.” She pulls her hair up into a bun, eyeing with suspicion. “What’s wrong?”
I laugh once. “Can’t I tell my sister that I love her?”
“Sure you can,” she says, standing up and reaching for the masking tape. She proceeds to seal off the box before turning back to me. “It’s just, you only really make a point to say it when something is wrong.”
My teeth clench together so I don’t speak. If I tell her what I’m really thinking we’ll get into a fight, and I hate fighting with her. Especially since she’s leaving soon.
She crosses her arms. “Why don’t you tell me what you’re thinking and we can work through it together?”
I grip the back of my neck. “It’s not that simple.”
Mack rolls her eyes and steps past me into the hallway. I follow her down the stairs to the living room. My mom is in the kitchen cooking dinner and I spot Sloan seated at the breakfast bar where I left her. My parents love Sloan. She’s like the perfect daughter-in-law. Sweet, beautiful, comes from a nice family—basically the total package.
My mom smiles at me when I round the corner of the stairs. “Perry, we’re just about to sit down to eat. I hope you’re hungry.” She gives a loving smile to Sloan. “Sloan baked an apple pie for dessert.”
I stifle a laugh. I would bet my life Sloan picked it up from the bakery downtown, but I’ll let her have it. She tries to do nice things. I walk by on my way to the fridge and plant a kiss to the side of her head. She smiles back at me so bright I almost forget why we’re all here.
My mom pulls a large pan of lasagna out of the oven and sets it on a cooling rack. My father’s working late so he’ll have to miss most of the announcement. Not that he would care anyway.
“So,” My mom says, passing around a bowl of salad while the lasagna cools. “I hear you have made some new plans.”
I nod, scooping lettuce and tomatoes onto my plate. I shove the cucumbers onto Sloan’s because I know they’re her favorite. I reach for the bottle of dressing and turn my attention back to my mom. I feel Sloan grab my hand from under the table and give it a squeeze.
Before I can begin, Sean comes strolling through the kitchen, casually late as usual. He walks directly to Mack and kisses her hard on the lips. He makes my blood boil for some reason, but she really likes him so I keep my murderous thoughts to myself.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Sean says taking the seat next to Mack. “Practice ran over.”
My mom flashes a smile. “That’s no problem at all. We just sat down.” She turns to me. “Would you get a place setting for Sean please?”
I move to stand, but Sean beats me to it. “Oh, it’s no problem at all Mrs. Michaels. I’ll get it.” He winks at me and it makes me angrier. There’s something not right about that kid.
My mom laughs, “Please, call me Diane.”
Sean gives her a megawatt smile and I almost gag. I keep shoving large forkfuls of lettuce into my mouth.
Sloan nudges me with her elbow. “What?” she whispers.
I shake my head and continue to fill my mouth with salad so I don’t act like a dick.