Page 66 of SINS & Lies

Truffles tilts his head, and my sister coos at the stupidly adorable pup.

I nuzzle him closer to my face, hoping to elicit a broader smile from Trinity. “She’s so precious.” Truffles responds with a sloppy lick to my cheek.

Bleh.

Try as I might, I can’t mask the disgust seeping from every one of my pores, prompting a giggle from Trinity louder than any I’ve heard in years.

It squeezes my heart just enough that I have to blurt out, “He.”

“Huh?” she asks, confused.

“It’s a he,” I explain, lifting him up so she can thoroughly inspect his junk.

She winces and averts her eyes until I set him back down. “You”—she points to the screen—“named a boy dog Truffles?”

“You named a girl cat Thor.”

“I was three. And in my defense, Thor was a huge cat.”

She’s spot-on with that. He’s like a colossal Maine Coon, but with extra fluff. A memory pops into my head. “Remember when you tried to ride him?”

Her laughter fades quickly. “I don’t remember that,” she confesses, her teeth worrying her lip, a habit she falls into when she trips over a chasm in her memory.

It’s become a regular part of her life, something she’s learned to accept. But for me, it slices a deep gash in my heart the way it does every fucking time. The fact that she remembers any of us or even her own name feels like a miracle.

Her attacker managed to wipe memories from her mind like an eraser. I intend on returning the favor. With a power drill.

I veil my anger under a warm grin. “You were very young.”

“No, I’m just losing my mind.” Her laughter is a brittle echo of what it used to be, and it cuts through me like broken glass.

Grasping at straws, I clutch at the only one I have—the damn dog.

I hold his paw to the screen and pull a British accent out of my ass.

“You’re mad,” I declare aloud.

She blinks. “W-what?”

“Bonkers, completely off your head!” I push Truffles closer to the screen. “But I’ll tell you a secret.”

“All the best people are,” she says. A warm rush of color returns to her cheeks as she finishes the Lewis Carrol quote, adding, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” She nods with relief. A small victory against the demons of her past.

I puppet around the little dog ridiculously, ventriloquist-like, as if I’ve shoved my hand up his butt. “Who painted my roses red? Off with their heads!”

In that shared laughter, time stands still, cocooning us in a bubble where time blurs and pain recedes.

She’s not a victim, and I’m not the blood-thirsty monster hell-bent on vengeance.

Here, now, I’m just her older brother, doing stupid things so my little sister isn’t sad. Her laughter fades to four simple words: “I love you, Zo.”

What’s left of my heart wrings out four words in response. “I love you, too.”

CHAPTER 25

Kennedy

I love you, too.

---