Page 5 of Just This Once

“How dare you come here?” Hope railed, marching right up to Alec and looming over his chair, her hands balling at her sides as if she wanted to punch him. “You can’t mourn him. He lived withme. He lovedme. We’re not even sure if you were actually his son or not.”

“But I—I—he said I was,” Alec tried to defend himself, cowering lower in his seat as his chin began to tremble. “He gave me birthday presents.”

“Yeah? Well, he gave me presents too,” Hope argued. “And told meIwas his only child. So he must’ve lied aboutsomething. And it’s probably you because everything was just fine untilyoucame along and just—you took him away. I losteverythingbecause of you! You?—”

“Hey!” I snarled, surging to my feet. “Leave him the fuck alone. Jesus! Can’t you see he’s just as torn up about it asyouare?”

The girl whipped her angry gaze my way, momentarily startling me with how brilliantly blue her eyes were.

And wet, too.

Damn. I swallowed, feeling shitty for yelling at her while she was crying. It reminded me that her words had cost her a parent too. She’d yelled at her dad; now he was dead. She probably suffered with the same dark, guilty shame I did. The gut-wrenching loss. The helplessness.

But gah, there was no reason for her to lay into poor Alec. The friendly little dope never meant anyone any harm.

“Who are you?” she snarled at me through all her tears. “You don’t know anything. Just butt out.”

“Excuseme?” I countered, stepping toward her and feeling rage tremble over me. “I don’t knowanything?” Jabbing a finger into my chest, I hissed, “Fuck you. I know what it’s like to losebothparents, kid. At the same time. So just stop whining abouthow you lost everything. At least you still have your mother.” I motioned toward Alec. “Plus a new brother.”

Her mouth dropped open as if I’d just struck her. Then her eyes narrowed, and I swear, I almost saw steam hiss from her ears. “That murderer isnotmy brother.”

“Oh really?” I challenged. “Then why does he look like your damn twin?”

She blinked her blue eyes once and then glanced toward Alec. Her face paled when she really looked at him and knew she could no longer deny the truth that he was her father’s son.

Sobbing out her defeat, she whirled back to me and screamed, “I hate you!” before she raced from the room, weeping.

“So what?” I shouted after her. “I don’t exactly love you either.”

Breathing hard after she was gone, I clutched my chest and stumbled a step back because fuck… “What a brat.”

“Whoa! Hope, wait!” Matt called, obviously just then finding his words—because where the fuck had he been ten seconds ago? “You can’t just—” Surging toward the door, the counselor started after her, only to pause briefly and lift his hand at us, saying, “I need to—just stay here. I’ll be right back.”

After he hurried into the hall, utter silence filled the blue aquarium room.

I took that moment to blink in astonishment, soaking in what Hope had screamed. It seemed all wrong. The very three words I’d last thrown at my parents had just been hurled atme.

Over the past eight months, I’d convinced myself that those condemning, taboo words only killed people. But here I was, still alive, not even harmed. Hell, I wasn’t even mad at her for saying them. I totally got where she’d been coming from. The anger and fire in her eyes was the very same anger and fire that fueled my blood every time I thought about how unfair life was.

But I remained flabbergasted, anyway, because—for the first time since I’d learned my parents were dead—I wondered if maybe Ihadn’tkilled them. Maybe my words hadn’t upset them into being unable to drive properly when they’d left me at the Eisners to go on their trip. Maybe their car accident had just been…an accident.

Not sure if I wanted to accept that theory as fact just yet, I turned to check on Alec, only to discover that everyone in the share circle—Alec included—was gaping atmeas ifI’dbeen the one accused of killing my father.

“What?” I snapped self-consciously.

“Dude.” Hudson whistled in a low tone and lifted his eyebrows as if impressed. “You just talked.”

“A lot,” Foster piped up, looking astonished.

“And you cuss like a high schooler,” Keene added with relish, obviously appreciating my potty mouth.

“It was so cool,” Alec breathed in awe, as if I’d just saved him from drowning. “You stood up to her for me.”

Damien merely bobbed his head, agreeing with the others, while Thane blinked before sending me a slow, slightly confused but definitely approving smile.

“I knew you’d talk again,” he said.

Realizing they were right—I’d just fucking used my words—I glanced toward the door where Hope Langston had fled, utterly floored.

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