Page 51 of Reclaim

“It’s complicated,” she exclaims. “Which is also really cliche, but very true.”

“I bet, but you can still talk about.”

“I’ve loved him for a really long time.” As if all she needed was an invitation, she continues, “But I think I’ve hated him longer.” Her unfiltered confession blows me away. And still brings me no closer to figuring them out.

“Did Jagger tell you how Dakota was conceived?” she asks.

“No. But that’s because he’s usually blaming himself for every wrong thing in everyone’s life. You and Hendrix included.”

“Jesus Jagger,” she scoffs. “He’s a modern day martyr.”

“In the flesh.”

“I asked him to get drunk that night. I used him so I could forget about my broken heart. I put a rift between those two brothers.” She glances over at them, and back at me. “And I’ve been paying for it in loneliness and heartache ever since.”

“I’d hate to state the obvious here, but you guys could just talk to each other.”

“Dakota is the only reason we’re ever in contact, and the older she gets, the easier it is for them to forge a relationship without me.”

“Do you even want to be with him?”

“I think we’re just hung up on what we could've been. We haven’t been friends since before before Jagger went away. And anything we’ve shared over the years has been tainted. We’re different people. We might not even like the new versions of us, and that scares me even more.”

“When was the last time you dated someone?” I fire off questions, amazed she hasn’t told me to shut the fuck up. I have a horrible habit of always asking questions most people don’t want to answer, but Sasha impresses me and takes it in stride.

“I don’t date.”

“Sex?”

“Occasionally,” she admits.

“You should hang out with my friend Taylah and me. We can have a girls night. At least try and move on.”

“Maybe.”

“And what about you?”

“What about me?”

“You can’t have me spilling my secrets and not tell me anything. What’s going on with Jagger?”

I watch him and Hendrix flank Dakota, like her very own bodyguards as they make their way over to us. “You want the short version or the long version?”

“Seeing as he’s walking towards us, lets go with the short version.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m in love with him.”

* * *

“We won. We won. We won!”Dakota shouts all the way to the car. “Let’s have a special dinner, Mum. All of us. You, me, Emerson, Dad, and Uncle Drix.”

Sasha looks around, her discomfort obvious.

“Why don’t you and your mum and dad go out. Just the three of you,” I suggest. Jagger looks at me and shakes his head and I nod, disagreeing with him.

“Can you give us a minute,” I say politely, while dragging Jagger to the car.

“Why am I spending the evening without you?” he snaps.

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