Page 13 of Lies in Promises
Which is why I’m currently sitting in the lobby of a lawyer’s office with papers in hand that will probably damage me more than my parents’ death. But it needs to be done.
If I want Bennett to have the best life possible, one that doesn’t include me hating our parents for dying, I have to do this.
Thisthingis something I’ve been thinking about for a few months now, before and after my eighteenth birthday.
At first, I thought it was just a throw-away thought about how it would simply make things easier for all involved, but then I started thinking about it until it was the only thing on my mind.
I was reluctant because if I did this, there would be no going back. But the more I thought about my brother, the more I concluded it was the right choice.
I will forever hate myself for this, but it’s the right thing to do.
There’s no doubt Bennett hates me already, so this will just be the cherry on top. After I do this, there’s a chance he willnever speak to me again, but as long as he lives a good life, one I’m not tainting, it will be okay.
At least, that’s what I keep telling myself.
Trying to take my mind off what I’m about to do, I try to concentrate on some of the things surrounding me.
It’s a decent enough space, definitely not the lawyer’s office I saw whenever I went to visit one with my dad, but it has a modern touch to it.
The walls are white and decorated with random art pieces, a plant here and there, giving the place some life. In the twenty minutes I’ve been waiting here, sitting on this hard chair, I’ve been the only one to walk in. If not for the receptionist sitting on the other side of the window, I would think the place was deserted.
I look down at my watch, the same one my father gave me, the one thing I couldn’t leave behind, I see it’s fifteen minutes past my appointment time.
Great.
Not wanting to wait any longer, I walk over to the receptionist, who looks like she’s playing a game on her computer instead of working.
“Excuse me?” I tap against the small window, grabbing the receptionist’s attention.
The girl, who can’t be more than a few years older than me, nearly jumps, like she was so enthralled in what she was doing, she forgot I was here. “Yes?”
“How much longer do I need to wait?” I ask, nervous about why I’m here, coating my voice.
I get a smile before the receptionist responds. “Let me check,” she says before getting up from her chair and walking away.
I doubt she even checks, because she comes back ten seconds later.
I’m about to ask if it’s my turn yet when the door that separates the lobby from the back opens.
A sigh of relief leaves me, but that relief quickly turns into something else when I see someone who isn’t my lawyer walking through the doorway.
The second my eyes meet theirs, my body goes up in flames. I don’t know how to explain it, but the more I look into this individual’s eyes, the more it feels like I’m finally able to take in a full breath after not being able to do so my whole life.
For what feels like an eternity, I stare into light brown eyes.
It’s not until the owner of the light brown eyes looks away shyly that I do too and get a better look at the person, the woman, who literally stopped me in my tracks.
It’s when I truly see her that I feel everything all at once.
This woman is fucking gorgeous. She looks about my age, with long black hair down to her waist and skin I know will forever glow in the sun.
You need to stop staring.
Right.
Time and place.
I clear my throat to bring some sensibility back into my head and give the girl a smile.
