Page 2 of Only You and Me

I walk out of the room, appreciating that my tears wait to fall until I’ve turned my back.

When I get far enough from their sitting room, I run and don’t stop until I’m in my room and on my bed. Once there, I let the salty streams flow from my eyes. I swear I cry for an hour. Finally, when there are no more tears to come, I sit up at the side of the bed and make myself a promise.

Mom and Dad may not want to be around us, but I’m going to be the best older sister to Emily that I can. I’ll do anything I have to do so that she knows she’s loved, protected, and special. It’s too late for me, but not for her.

I’m torn from my trip down memory lane when a gentle voice interrupts my thoughts.

“Trina, honey, are you okay? You’ve been standing over here by yourself for quite some time. And I don’t see a smile on that beautiful face of yours.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “Yes, I’m fine, Mrs. Donley. I’m sorry, I was lost in thought. I’m so thankful for you and Mr. Donley including Emily as part of this celebration.”

“Oh, there’s nothing to thank us for. It’s our pleasure. Shayna and Emily are inseparable, and Emily is like a daughter to us after all this time.”

“Well, thank you anyway. Are you sure I can’t give you some money toward the food and cake?”

Mrs. Donley flaps her hand toward me. “Trina Flynn, absolutely not. John and I won’t hear of that. Now, please, let’s go get you a drink and then enjoy the party a little. It’s okay for you to have a good time. Emily is having a great day. Okay?”

I smile at her. “Sure.”

I follow her back to the main patio and, once I have a drink in hand, I smile at her again before I awkwardly hug her. When I walk away, I sit in the first empty seat I find near the periphery of the party. I’m not sure I have it in me today to be smack dab in the middle of everyone.

The Donleys are one of those families that every child should get to grow up a part of, but so few do. They have five children. No family is perfect, but anyone who’s spent time around them knows that John and Rose are good people and that their kids know they’re loved.I’m immensely grateful that in the four years Emily and Shayna have been friends, she’s seen this example of what a family can be like.

I’m occupied watching Emily and Shayna laughing with a group of their friends as they play cornhole, so I don’t notice when Ben, a twin and the oldest of the Donley siblings, sits in the empty seat next to me until he speaks.

“Hey there, Trina.”

I turn to gaze at Ben, trying to ignore the fact that he’s so attractive, though I suspect he’s probably not even trying to look good. He’s wearing a T-shirt and cargo shorts but it’s his stupid smile with those damn dimples and his pale blue, almost gray, eyes that annoyingly draw me in.

“Benjamin.” It’s all I say in response and, rather than deter him from further conversation, he chuckles.

Ben and his twin brother, Jack, were two years behind me in high school. While Jack had a serious girlfriend during those years, Ben had a reputation as a ladies’ man—the exact type of guy I try to avoid in life. Unfortunately, because our little sisters frequently found themselves in some sort of trouble they couldn’t find their way out of, I’ve gotten to know Ben way better than I’d planned.Even if he is charming and easy on the eyes.

“I heard you’re about to start the fire academy. Congratulations.”

Ugh, I have to be polite.

“Thank you. And I heard you’re working on your criminal justice program and applying to the police academy. Is that right?”

A huge grin spreads across his face.

“Why, Trina, are you asking around about me?” He winks, and I roll my eyes.

“You’re impossible. No, I’m not asking anyone about you. We’re unfortunately connected forever by those two goofballs,”—I gesture over to Shayna and Emily—“so it’s natural I hear news about you.”

“Let me take you to dinner.” Ben’s voice goes from playful to serious in no time flat.

I rub my hand over my eyes. He’s so predictable.

Looking down at my watch before I lift my eyes to meet his again, I shake my head. “Wow, that took you all of three minutes this time. Why do you keep asking me out? Do you have a vacancy to fill in your rolling calendar of women?”

Ben has flirted with me and asked me out nearly every time he’s seen me since we met in high school. I have to give him credit, few freshmen would have been ballsy enough to ask a junior to homecoming his first year at the school. But Ben did. He’s relentless. It’s a little flattering, or it would be if I wasn’t one of many women I’m sure he flirts with.

“Why do you keep saying no?” he quips.

I snap my eyes up to peer at him, tilting my head to the side, and stare at him for a few seconds before answering.

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

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