Page 129 of The Casualty of Us
“It’s not that.”
“You don’t want to be with him?”
His question stops me short because I think I do.
In a perfect world, at least. One where…my voice cracks at the reality. “It’s not safe.”
“O—”
“Leave it, Ollie.” I blink up at him, and another tear falls, that sense of coming home hitting me all over again when his face softens. “I’m figuring it out, but just…let me, okay?”
“Okay, baby sister.” He exhales deeply, like Atlas having finally set down the world again. “Okay…but just know I’m here if you need to talk it out.”
And I can’t help but quip in the silence that follows, lips tipping up. “Even if it takes sixty million years?”
“Yeah,” he snorts softly. “Even if it takes sixty million years.”
I squeeze his hand, waiting a couple of seconds until he does it back to whisper, “I’m sorry too, big brother, and I missed you.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
OPHELIA - AUGUST 2013
I’m standingin the kitchen around dinner time when Hayes finally emerges from the nap he ducked in to tell me he was going to take earlier. An instant regret shooting through me that I didn’t take him up on his offer to join at how his clothes look a little sleep rumpled. Unfortunately, I had other things to take care of that involved a book and a chef’s knife.
Two items I never thought I’d use together, but here we are.
He grins sleepily, stretching his hands above his head while closing the last few steps to where I’m standing in front of the island. “Freckles.”
“Dimples.” I run my eyes over his arms automatically, and the flutter in my stomach has me quickly jerking them back down to find a pretty grin. “Stop that.”
He hums a low note under his breath, stepping even closer and caging me in with his hands. “Nope.” His eyes narrow on mine, and I get a split second to see the frustration in them before he dips his mouth to my ear. “I hope you know how lucky you are right now.”
“Oh, really?” I tease, knowing I’m playing with fire here but unable to stop from pressing back against him. “Why’s that?”
“Because.” His voice drops low and he turns his head just enough to brush a soft kiss under my ear. “I really would finally spank you if we weren’t here.” My breath hitches at the threat, skin under his lips turning sensitive as he drags out the next kiss there. “Don’t ever keep something like this from me again.” I’m still holding my breath when he lifts his head, letting me see something deep there that scares the hell out of me while demanding. “Promise me, Ophelia.”
Shit.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck—
“Ophelia.”
I don’t know why it feels different with him.
Like there’s a weight to it that’s not there with Ollie, but…I’m suddenly struck by the day we had that fight in the library. The way he told me he wasn’t my brother, and he was right. Even the lies feel different with him now.
“O.” He drops his forehead to mine, and one of his hands goes to my hip. “You will never keep something like this from me again.” The hand on my hip drops down to give my ass a quick smack, shocking the literal hell out of me and making my lips pop open before he demands. “Say it. Now.”
And that’s when it hits me the why of it.
It’s because of the intimacy I share with him. It’s different. It means…not more, but there’s a presence there that’s shifted. That carries a different weight.
It’s the difference between someone born to you and someone that chooses you.
“Fine.” I scowl up at him. “I promise, but just so you know, I hate you now too.”
Because I know his history too, and if I ever break that promise…not only would it hurt him in the worst way, but he probably will spank me.
