Page 29 of Mercy Lake

I hummed. “We really do have terrible taste in men, don’t we?”

“Mum got the last good one.”

I agreed as our thoughts turned to our father.

Alicia sighed. “It’s been a week, and my work has been calling, asking for a return date.”

She was in the middle of some major case at work which could quite literally make or break her career. Alicia had worked so hard the past couple months to make sure everything was perfect. I knew that opportunity was important, and I didn’t want her to lose it for circumstances out of her control.

“What do you want to do?” I asked.

“Dad… I can’t leave him.”

“Yes, you can. I will move back temporarily with Austin. Having him around will help with Dad’s recovery while also keeping Mum busy.”

“Alexis, you don’t have to—”

“I want to,” I interrupted. “You know I’ve been contemplating moving Austin out of the city for a while. I can also help Dad if I stay here with them, use my presence as an excuse to bully him into listening to the doctors instead of ignoring them.”

Alicia fell quiet, contemplating. I didn’t want her to feel guilty. “Are you going to be okay, though, Ali? Coming back there, I mean… If you see him? I don’t want you to be alone if that happens.”

She scoffed, suddenly angry. “Fuck him.He will not run me out just because ofhisfucked up actions. I have nothing to be ashamed of. And, oh”—she checked the video on her phone again—“three million random people on the internet agree with me so far.”

And with that realisation, a lot of the tension seemed to slowly melt away. We talked for hours into the night, and when we finally gave in to sleep, we had a plan.

Chapter 17

OWEN

I had just finished another session with Phil, Alexis chattering away with her sister in the corner, acting like I wasn’t there.

Over the past week or so, we had ignored our previous interactions and settled into a strained truce, Alexis detaching herself. We werecivil—extra polite, even. As if we were strangers, as if my heart wasn’t being ripped out of my chest every time she didn’t meet my eyes, every time she didn’t address me directly.

Seeing her didn’t diminish my feelings of desperation. If anything, her proximity caused them to writhe and spin out of control. I knew my one-sided attachment was unhealthy, that I was on the verge of dipping back into depression. But I couldn’t help myself. I lapped up every second in her orbit.

I’d also unintentionally become fond of her boy, Austin. He looked nothing like Alexis, so he obviously took after his father, whoever that was. And yet, all I saw was a cute kid who reminded me a lot of my nephew of the same age—intelligent, hilarious and full of mischief. He’d dropped the daddy act, and instead settled on being my closest friend—his words not mine. Most days, Austin broke the tension, his innocence creating a buffer between our complex past.

So when I overheard the Thorne sisters talking about packing bags and leaving for the city—their home—Ihadto escape that stifling room before they saw me spiralling.

She was leaving—again.

Mumbling a quick goodbye to Phil, I bolted out of there and out of the hospital altogether.

As I reached my car, a sense of déjà vu sparked as Alexis called to me from behind. “Owen, can we talk for a minute?”

I inhaled a deep breath or two, then faced my living nightmare.This is where she tells me to go fuck myself, right?It’s what I deserved, but still, panic stirred at the mere thought.

As I took her in, she seemed agitated, twisting her fingers, avoiding eye contact. “I thought it would be important to let you know what’s going to happen with Dad. It’s not my intention to make you uncomfortable…”

I internally tried to raise those barriers to protect myself from the inevitable pain when her next words shocked me to my core.

“I’m moving back to Acacia Falls to help Dad… I know it’s a small town, and our families will most likely run into each other often.”

My brain ran so fast my mouth was sprinting without a command. “Why would that make me uncomfortable?”

She gulped, her face reddening. “Well, I have a son now, and I don’t want anything affecting his transition here. I guess I wanted to give you and Everly a heads-up.”

“Everly?”What the fuck is she talking about?Then it clicked, causing frustration to rise in my voice. “You don’t know, do you?”

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