Page 77 of Protecting Christina

I swallowed and stared at my sister. Her hair was shorter than when she was seventeen, and her eyes were more tired.

For the first time, I tried to look at her, not as the person who abandoned me, but as someone who had lost her parents, too. Someone who was just as scared as I was. Someone who was just as lost as I was.

I fell back onto the couch and dropped my head into my hands.

Rubbing my face, I exhaled loudly.

“So, what are we going to do about it?” I asked.

“About what?”

I pointed back and forth between us. “This. Us. What do you want from me?”

“A little understanding. A little sympathy.”

I nodded. “You’re right. I’ve had my head up my ass, but you could have come to me. Two, three, hell, even five years later. But you never did. So, yes, I never considered what you went through, but you never considered me, either.”

She sat back down, too, and sighed.

“This fucked us up, didn’t it?”

I nodded. “Yup.”

“I let a man I knew was trouble use me because I just wanted someone to take care of me for once.”

“I walked out on a man who would’ve given me everything because I’m afraid he’ll grow tired and leave me.”

She looked at me. “You’re an idiot.”

I laughed out loud, and she chuckled, too.

Rubbing my tired eyes, I looked at her. I mean, truly looked at my sister. I hardly recognized her and knew so little about her. But I knew I wanted to learn more.

“Want to go grab some lunch?”

She scrutinized my face for a few minutes, then stood and grabbed her purse. “Sure. Let’s get out of this hellhole.”

I wasn’t sure if she was talking about the neighborhood or our past, but either way, I couldn’t agree more.

19

Will

The space next to me in the bed was cold. I’d never run my hand over the sheets there before. But now that I wanted someone beside me, the emptiness felt overwhelming.

Not just someone.

Christina.

Rolling over to the nightstand, I texted Christian if he wanted to go for a run. Running always helped clear my mind and Christian was a good listener. He didn’t ask a lot of questions. None of us did, but Christian, least of all.

He texted me back right away. “I’ll be right out.”

I changed into an old pair of army sweats and met Christian outside our building. He was already stretching.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.”

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