Page 42 of Bring Me To My Knees

“Don’t ask me,” I tell her, walking around her, grabbing a seat at the island in the center of the kitchen.

“When can we expect the arrival of your lovely lady?” Delaney asks, grabbing the seat next to me, every single word from her mouth dripping with disdain.

I take a drink and let my eyes roam over to Marley. She’s got her hip resting against the counter, a drink in her hand, as her eyes connect with mine.

“Honestly, I have no idea. Hopefully she changes her mind,” I say.

“Clark, you’re a mystery,” Delaney says, putting her hand on my shoulder before getting up to toss her beer in the trash.

“I’m going to take a shower. Everyone be ready by seven, sharp,” she says, before heading down the hallway.

“She’s fucking bossy,” I say, making Marley laugh.

“That she is. You get used to it the more time you spend with her.”

“She’s kind of scary, too,” I tell her, getting up to toss my own bottle in the trash.

“You got that right. She’s very intimidating.”

“What are you about to do?” I ask her.

She shrugs in response, taking a drink and eyeing me over the bottle.

“I can’t believe he let ya’ll drink,” I tell her.

“He didn’t. I think he just knows I’m going to do it anyway,” she says.

“Wanna go out to the beach?” I ask her.

She glances over at the clock. It’s only three. According to Riley, she plans to get here around six.

“Sure,” she says, tossing her empty bottle in the trash, following me out the back door. “Mitch told me the good news,” she says, smiling over at me.

“I’m pretty excited.”

“I know Mitch is. He was smiling from ear to ear, and I know how badly he wants out of Spencer’s house,” she says.

“Can you blame him?” I ask.

The two of us sit down next to each other on the sand. I watch Marley pull her flip flops off, digging her toes in the sand.

“No, I can’t. I’ve only been back for what, a month? I can’t wait to get the hell out of there,” she admits.

“Are you excited about school?” I ask her, ignoring the feeling in the pit of my stomach at her leaving.

“I'm excited to start my life. A life on my own terms,” she says, wrapping her arms around her knees, staring out at the water.

“That’s understandable,” I tell her.

“My life has been shit since Mallory died. I constantly feel like there’s a piece of me missing. I don’t know who I am without her, even all these years later,” she says, opening up to me.

“You’re a twin. That’s a bond like no other. Nobody understands that loss,” I tell her.

“I know she wouldn’t want me to feel like this. She wouldn’t want her death to continue to pull me under. I just don’t know how to be just Marley.”

“Hey, there’s no rush on grief. You take as long as you need,” I tell her, putting my hand on her back but immediately regretting it, because there’s no way she didn’t feel that bolt of electricity.

She stares at me intently. She’s never afraid of looking someone directly in their eyes.

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