Page 81 of On the Double

“And are you? What the fuck happened at breakfast?”

I rolled my eyes. Yet another person who was totally clueless about my less-than-stellar relationship with my parents. He just didn’t get it. “Can we not talk about this?”

“Why not? You don’t want me to know the reason you’re so against wearing Mom’s dress?”

“Maybe I just don’t want to wear it.”

“Or maybe there’s something else going on,” he snapped.

“Oliver, what’s the big deal? I’m not actually getting married, so why does it even matter?”

“Because you were different the rest of breakfast. Why the hell won’t you just tell me what’s going on?”

“Because you idolize them!” I shouted. I was shaking without realizing it. I was so angry. Pissed that they had been taken from me before I could figure out how to make them happy, but even more disappointed that no matter what I did, I couldn’t make them love me the way they loved him.

“They were our parents and they’re gone. I don’t idolize them, but I do love them and miss them. The question is, why don’t you?”

He would never understand. I couldn’t even begin to explain to him the deep pain I felt whenever I remembered the last look on Mom’s face when she stared at me over the seat in the car. I had disappointed her once again, and nothing would make it better.

“Do you even remember what happened that day?”

His brows furrowed in confusion as he shook his head. “What day?”

“The day they died. Do you remember that?”

“Of course I do. It was the worst day of my life.”

I huffed out a laugh. “Not mine.”

His shoulders stiffened as he stared at me. “What do you mean?”

Maybe that seemed like a harsh thing to say, but the day they died, I felt…relief. Pain and relief. It was a strange combination—one that I couldn’t entirely explain to him.

“Just forget it.”

I tried to leave, but he blocked me from going, grabbing me by the arm. “Harper, tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“I said forget it!” I shouted. “Leave it alone.”

“No, you obviously have this hatred for our parents. You make it very clear that you want them wiped from your memory, so just fucking tell me why!”

“Remove your hands from her.”

The deep voice startled me, making tears swell in my eyes. I didn’t want him here, but I also needed to leave. Oliver eyed me in confusion, then turned around, staring at Edu.

I finally looked at him, feeling my heart beat faster than it should, but it wasn’t because of his good looks. It was because of what he might have heard.

“You need to calm the fuck down and get away from her,” Edu bit out.

Oliver would never hurt me. He loved me more than anyone in this world, but Edu was a protector by nature. He didn’t understand the situation. Only that someone had touched me, and he wasn’t okay with that.

“What the hell are you doing in my house?” Oliver bit out.

“I heard yelling.”

“So, you were eavesdropping?”

Edu’s eyes flicked to mine, but I immediately dropped my gaze, unable to look at him.

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