Page 44 of Stolen Fate
I looked back down at my cup, listening absently as Katie told a work story I had already heard to my dad, and smiling a bit when he threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh.
After all that took place six years ago, Katie finally moved out of Liam’s apartment. They stayed pretty close—and are still—but I didn’t think she liked staying at his place much. Like my brother, Katie was independent, and she didn’t want help from anyone.
She went back to school part-time at Boston University on a merit-based scholarship and was also working part-time at the bar I had met Jace at.
Thank God she wasn’t there that night.
I still hadn’t told anyone about my night with Jace.
A flash of blonde caught my attention then, and I stood up and ran to my little sister.
“Evelyn!” she shouted excitedly, just as I wrapped my arms around her slender figure.
“My God. Let me look at you! Look at how much you’ve grown!”
She rolled her eyes at that, though she was smiling.
“You’ve changed, too,” she said, though her smile did dim a little. I knew I had changed—and not just physically.
I shook my head. “It’s called growing up.”
“Growing up? Or growing old?” she joked.
I poked her sides playfully and laughed. “I forgot what a smartass you are.”
Though she had lived in London for the past six years, she had been able to come home for some holidays, except the previous one.
The dancers tend to have a pretty strict schedule year-round, so I hadn’t seen her in over a year. But she looked good, and she looked happy. The one and only good thing about my decision was that Emilia had been able to go to school and train with the best in the world.
Though she still had to work part-time with odd jobs, I never once heard her complain about the hard work.
She truly thrived at the school, and I was proud of her for it.
“Let’s go see everyone,” she said, trying to get me to the table.
I pulled my hand away and shook my head. “Go on without me. This is your reunion.”
She shot me an odd look, but thankfully didn’t say anything. I watched her head to the table, as Ethan helped Dad up to engulf my little sister in his large frame. Ethan stood nearby, trying hard not to cry.
The scene made me wonder when I started to feel like an outsider in my own family.
When did the distance grow so wide, and how could I get it back to the way things were? And, most importantly, did I even want that?
* * *
“What?”Emilia could be heard through the entire restaurant. “I just got home and you’re leaving already?”
I didn’t say anything. I waited until she calmed down before I spoke. There was no reason to try speaking over her and draw more attention to us.
“Emilia, calm down,” Dad said, tugging on her arms and trying to get her to sit down.
Katie was sitting next to me, and she was playing with the condensation on her glass of her lemonade. Ethan hadn’t said anything since I told them, and I hadn’t looked at him, either.
Perhaps someday I could find a way to forgive my brother for his fuckup. I love him and I could be around him, but I hadn’t found it in me to forgive him fully, and I honestly didn’t think I could forgive him any time soon.
He knew that.
“Calm down? Dad, she’s leaving us again.”
