Page 100 of Stolen Summer

I blinked and the next thing I knew, there was a hole in the wall beside Gianna’s head, and Crew’s knuckles were bleeding. My body had a delayed reaction to the sound his fist made going into the wall, jumping seconds later.

“Crew,” I murmured, his name sounding so odd on my lips. It was the first time I’d called him by his name, and I wasn’t the only one who found it foreign.

He flinched, only the slightest acknowledgment he heard me, but I saw the way his body changed, losing some of its aggressive hardness. “I want you to give your father a message,” he growled at Gianna.

Her eyes glistened with tears.

“If he ever tries to hurt Arie again, he’s a dead man. His problems aren’t mine. They’re his mistakes. He can clean them up. I’m not my brother. I have no qualms about hurting you or your father.”

Gianna tortured herself further by asking, “What do you see in her?” A tinge of her brassiness poked through. This girl didn’t know when to leave shit alone.

Cole remained quiet behind me, but I felt him inhale, waiting for his brother to answer.

“She’s everything you’re not,” Crew whispered, but we all heard.

My heart crossed me, thumping in my chest at his words.

“You won’t marry me, will you?” Gianna murmured, tears shining in her hazel eyes. “How could you want her over me?” She still believed it unfathomable Crew would ever choose me over her—that he’d want someone she believed was so underneath her.

“That’s your answer, Gianna. I hate the way you think you’re better than others. I will never forgive you for what you did to Cole. Never. Now get the fuck out of here before I do something you’ll regret. I don’t want to see you again. Do you understand?”

“It’s fine. I’m leaving,” I cut in before Gianna could say anything further to shred my character and integrity. She might not have ordered the attack that hurt my best friend, but she remained unforgivable in my eyes. “Enjoy my trashing seconds. You can have them both for all I care.” I stepped away from Cole, my spine straightening despite the way my heart splintered.

“You surely did,” she sneered, the snooty sarcasm returning as she sniffled back tears.

My lips curled. “And I bet that just burns your ass.” My eyes bounced between Cole and Crew. I still had so much I wanted to say, but I had to leave. I couldn’t be in this house for another second. I was done with their lies.

I was done with the twins.

Somehow, I steadied my voice, sounding far stronger than I felt, and said with as much conviction as I could dredge up, “I never want to see either of you again. Stay the hell away from me.” My expression might have been the perfect projection of hurt, anger, and determination, but inside, I was a trembling, broken mess.

Crew took a step toward me, but Cole stopped him, putting a hand on his brother’s chest. Thank fucking God. I don’t know what I would have done if Crew touched me just then. Most likely, I would have fallen apart. And so for what felt like the millionth time, I ran out of this house, determined it would be my last this time…for good.

It had been a mistake to come here. One I would have to live with, but at least I’d finally gotten answers—even if they hurt like fucking hell.

Chapter Thirty

For the next few days, I stayed locked in my room, avoiding everyone, avoiding the world. If I thought leaving the first time damaged me, I wasn’t prepared for the injury to my heart the lies caused. How could he do that to me? How could he go on pretending to be his brother? And to make matters worse, I slept with him. I had sex with someone who I thought was someone else—his damn brother.

What. The. Actual. Fuck.

No wonder he flinched when I moaned his name. I thought about the time he told me not to use his name. Now it made sense. It had been Crew, not Cole.

And I’d nearly fallen in love with him.

Another bruise formed on my heart.

My life was in shambles. I didn’t know if I should be angry, sad, confused, or a magnitude of other emotions.

But when the hospital finally released Frankie, it gave me something else to think about, at least for a little while, and despite not wanting to leave my room, I made myself shower and get dressed. My hair desperately needed a shampoo.

I stepped outside into the cheerful sunlight, wishing it would storm instead, wanting moody clouds to match the turmoil churning in me, but I didn’t want to bring my negative energy to my friend’s home. She should have happy vibes to help her heal faster. I might be a mess, but she didn’t need my chaos during her recovery.

Taking a deep breath on my porch, I closed my eyes, listening for a few stolen moments to the ocean at the back of my house ebb and flow over the sandy beach. Salty air brimming with moisture and hints of seaweed filled my nostrils. A flock of seagulls mewed.

And when I opened my eyes again, the world felt more centered as did I. An ache still panged in my chest when I breathed, but the pain was a little lighter. Tossing my hair on top of my head, I headed to Frankie’s, keeping my eyes averted from the house next door. I didn’t want to know if they were home. My days of breaking into my neighbor’s house were over.

Frankie’s mom let me in when I arrived. She hugged me and then left for work, leaving me in charge of Frankie, not that my best friend couldn’t take care of herself, because she’d always been independent. A few stitched-up wounds wouldn’t keep her down.

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