Page 7 of Fake It True

“Are you sure?” my mom prompted.

“Mom, I love Alaska. Leo and I are really happy here.” Okay, that was only half a lie.

“Nathaniel is willing to wait for you. It would make everyone so happy for you to come home,” she pressed.

I gritted my teeth. “Mom, that’s not going to happen. I’m in love with Leo. I’m humoring you and we’re seeing a couples therapist before we plan the wedding.”

For fuck’s sake. My lies were getting out of control. It was crazy enough I made up a fiancé and dragged him into a therapy session with me, but now I was pretending like we were about to plan a wedding. Oh. My. God. I figured I would humor my mom until I found a way to tell her what really happened.

I knew my parents were hurting. It almost felt as if I were betraying them deeply by not staying there. But I couldn’t. It reminded me too much of my sister and it always would.

My mother’s sigh was quick and sharp. “We would sure love to hear a little bit more about Leo. I wish I could understand why you were being so secretive about him.”

“Maybe because you want me to fall in love with someone else,” I said dryly. At least, I could be honest about that.

“Okay, okay.” My mother sounded resigned. I knew she wasn’t going to give up her hopes. Not until she heard the whole story, but that meant blowing up her life, and Ireallydidn’t want to hurt her. I wanted to protect her from the painful truth.

“So, tell me how you are. Should be pretty hot there by now,” I said.

I managed to steer my mother onto updating me on all the things about her daily life. Although there was a part of my heart that would always hold memories of that small coastal town, I also understood life meant accepting change. I’d grown up in my childhood home with my sister and parents on one of the barrier islands in North Carolina. Storms upon more storms were driving the cost of living there up dramatically. My parents were in the process of preparing to move inland. As it was, their home had been renovated twice after nearly being destroyed instorms. Their pending move helped me feel less guilty about the fact that I never planned to live near there again.

Nathaniel’s parents lived next door. I didn’t like thinking about what he’d done to my sister. I shied away from it over and over. Lately, the news was filled with stories about accidental overdoses. That was technically how my sister died. It was only after Callie died that I learned Nathaniel had been her dealer. I was in possession of reams of texts and more about how he knew he had gotten her hooked, and he kept increasing the ketamine and fentanyl to keep her addicted because that meant more money for him. Until it killed her. I knew she wasn’t the only one.

I had to figure out how to make sure the people who contributed to my sister’s death could actually be held accountable. After that, I would tell my parents the whole story.

Chapter Six

CASEY

I tried to ignore how good it felt to have Leo’s big strong hand holding mine, but it was impossible. He kept doing this thing with his thumb where it would idly brush once or twice along the side of my hand. Each passing touch felt like flames searing over my skin. The heat sizzled up my arm and spun through the rest of my body. I tried to get my pulse to calm down, but it kept racing along like a wild pony kicking up heels in joy.

“So, how was your week?” Delaney asked, her smile warm as she glanced between us.

“It was great!” I practically yelped.

Leo slid his gaze to me before answering like a normal human being with, “Pretty good week.”

Our therapist nodded. “Before I check in further, I want to add that when I talk about the concept of homework in between sessions, I don’t intend for it to be a requirement. It’s more a suggestion.”

“Oh, of course,” I said, my voice sounding breathless.

“Did you try to have that conversation?” she asked next.

I scrambled mentally, trying to remember what she had suggested. Leo, apparently a better therapy client than me,chimed in, “Oh, do you mean the part about what it meant to feel safe in a relationship?”

She nodded, staying quiet.

I was hot all over. I wasn’t sure if it was because Leo was making me hot, or if I was embarrassed because I was doing fake couples therapy with my fake fiancé.

“We did,” Leo said, just rolling with it.

Wow, I was really looking forward to his thoughts on this.

“To me, feeling safe is not so much about the good parts. Because those are easy. It’s being able to feel like I didn’t have a great day and I don’t have to pretend for her. It’s knowing that she’ll be there for me no matter what and feeling like I can be myself with her,” he explained.

My head bobbed along, because, of course, that totally made sense. “Yeah,” I said when he gave my hand a subtle squeeze. “All of that, and I guess for me, it’s also—” I paused, realizing I wanted to give an honest answer, but it was a complicated answer. “Maybe this part is a little different for me because I’m a woman,” I began. “But it’s important to know that I’m safe-safe.”

“Safe-safe?” Delaney prompted, confused by my vague description.

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