Page 4 of He's The Reason Why

“You have to actually ask the question, Della. You can’t just assume you know the answer.” Piper picked up Della’s abandoned coffee cup and tossed the contents into the sink with a little more force than necessary. Liquid splashed all over the side of the sink and onto her shirt. She swore and lunged for a paper towel.

“I asked.” Della sounded defensive. “You said we should move on.”

“No. You didn’t ask anything.” Piper dabbed at her shirt, but the stain had already soaked into her white shirt. “You apologized for ripping our family apart, and I said I forgive you. I thought for a minute there that’s actually what you came here to do, but I should have known better.”

“Thatiswhy I came here. I came to tell you I’m sorry, and I meant it, dammit.” Della’s voice got louder and higher, just like it used to do when they’d squabbled over a toy as kids.

“I know you meant it.” Piper’s voice rose to match.

“Then why are you so mad at me?”

“I thought you’d finally figured things out. But you haven’t figured out a damn thing.” Piper thrust the dirty paper towel into the trash. She sucked in a calming breath and deliberately lowered her tone. “I have to go.”

“Wait.” Della held out a hand to stop her. “You said you’d let me finish.”

“Finish what, Della?”

“You said I have to ask then you don’t let me.” Della glared at her. “I want all of us together again. No more solo. Mattie already said yes. Lizzie thinks it will work. But you’re right. I haven’t asked you. So now I’m asking straight out. Will you come back with us? Will you be part of The Bellamy Sisters?”

There it was.

The question Piper had planned on hearing for almost six months was finally out in the open.

Funny, it didn’t feel anything like she thought it would. She’d expected a dozen different scenarios. In some of them, she’d actually been tempted to say yes.

She missed performing with her sisters. Sometimes, when she was on stage at the small VIP concerts she held for her fans, she missed her sisters so much she ached with longing. If Della had asked her then, she might have said yes.

But now she realized with absolute clarity what her answer had to be. “No.”

Della’s mouth dropped open. “No?”

Piper shook her head. “No.”

“But…why?”

“Think about it. I’m sure the answer will slap you upside the head eventually.” Piper stared down at her coffee-stained shirt, then stalked out of the kitchen toward her bedroom.

Della chased after her, hot on her heels. “You said you missed us. You haven’t even put out an album since. I thought—”

Piper threw open the door to her closet and stormed inside. “How did you see this playing out? When you pictured us all together again on that reunion tour, who did you see singing the lead on the new songs?”

Della stilled. The look of astonished confusion on her face would have been funny if the whole thing wasn’t so irritating. It hadn’t even occurred to her sister that anyone other than her wouldeverbe center stage.

“That’s what I thought.” Piper tugged off her ruined shirt and snatched a replacement off a hanger.

“I don’t get what you’re saying,” Della said.

She backed out of the way as Piper pushed past her out of the bedroom.

“You aren’t capable of sharing the spotlight.”

“Yes, I am,” Della protested. “I share it all the time. I have a whole orchestra on stage with me, plus the backup singers and the dancers. It’s not like I’m ever alone out there.”

“Backup is the key word here, Della. You don’t share. Never have, never will. It’s who you are. I thought maybe you would change. You know, grow up. Mature. But I was wrong.” Piper grabbed her bag from the side table near the door but didn’t see her keys.

“Oh yeah, you’re being real mature right now. You can’t evenlook me in the eye and give me a real reason why you won’t say yes.”

Piper turned to stare Della down. “I can’t—won’t—share a stage with you because I’m done coming in second. I want more than that, and you aren’t capable of giving it. If we got back together, you’d be front and center while Mattie and I would sit in the backseat like we’re part of the crew, and it would just cause more resentment and more fights. I won’t do that to Mattie, or us.”

---