Page 140 of The Tempted

“You really did grow up, huh?” I asked softly. I realized that I had missed her transition from the young girl I helped my mother raise to the well-rounded woman sitting in front of me.

“Crazy, I know,” she rolled her eyes before settling them back on me. “You wasted three years of your life in prison for something you didn’t even do,” she said, her voice full of remorse, which made me wonder, how me being locked up had affected her. I never bothered to think about that until this very moment. I started to believe that my sister was right all this time. I had been bitter over what I had lost but never thought about what the people around me felt. Even with Adrianna I had been selfish enough to ignore what she was feeling when I went away. I told myself I was protecting her; but the truth was I didn’t give much thought to how she felt. Instead, I pummeled her feelings with my need to push her away so I wouldn’t feel so guilty for ruining her life.

“And then you wasted another year being an asshole,” she said pointedly, causing me to widen my eyes in shock as she assaulted me with the truth.

“So here’s my gift to you…stop being an asshole and get your shit together and for the love of God, go get the girl!” She ended her words with an exasperated huff.

I leaned back in my chair and stared at her for a moment letting her words sink in.

“You’re pretty good at this,” I said.

“Yeah well, I learned from the best, I learned from my brother,” she leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my cheek before pulling away. “He always tried to give me the best advice.”

“Hey you kids about ready for dinner?” Our mother asked from the doorway and I turned to my sister and smiled at her.

“Yeah, we’re ready,” I replied as I rose to my feet and tugged on my sister’s ponytail. I walked over to my mother and slung one arm around her shoulders, bending down slightly to kiss the top of her head. “Merry Christmas, Ma.”

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