She looks away. “That I fell.”
I turn her chin toward me. “Don’t be ashamed.”
“It’s hard not to be.”
“Don’t be.”
“I was so good that first year. Mom reminded me that Dad was running for mayor and that if I behaved, I’d be able to come home.”
“But he didn’t win.”
“No. Parker said that shipping me off to boarding school made it seem like Dad couldn’t take care of his own household, let alone run Bayview.” Tears cling to Hartley’s eyelashes. “And they wouldn’t let me come home. Dad wouldn’t talk to me. Mom said I hadn’t shown that I was a good daughter, and that because I was bad, I had to be kept away from my sister. That I was a bad influence.”
“I don’t get it. How are you the bad influence?” Hartley cares a shit ton about her family. More than her sister, from what I can see.
“My baby sister is…complicated. She’s the sweetest girl, but sometimes…” Hartley trails off.
I fill in the blanks. “Sometimes she wants to scream at the world for no reason? She’s happy one day and frustrated the next? She can get violent and aggressive without warning?”
Surprise flares in Hartley’s eyes. “How did—” She stops, understanding dawning. “You, too?”
“Mom was like that. I get it from her. I’m guessing your sister doesn’t like her meds, either.”
Hartley nods back. “She’s bipolar, or at least that was the diagnosis a child psychologist gave. I heard my parents arguing about it because Dad refuses to believe that mental illness is a thing. He thinks she just needs more discipline."
Where have I heard that before? “Poor kid.”
“Is that your diagnosis?” she asks hesitantly.
I stare at the water, not ready to see any judgment on Hartley’s face. “I don’t think so. It was ADHD for me. I started taking Adderall when I was seven. It was supposed to mellow me out, but after a while it didn’t work. I didn’t want to tell my mom that it wasn’t helping and that my head was getting noisier, because she was pretty messed up herself. It’s easy to get those drugs at school. Someone’s always willing to sell their share of their prescription. And from there it was an easy slide into oxy and other stuff.” I mumble the last admission.
“Our parents are supposed to be there to help, not hurt us.”
There’s a prickling behind my eyes. I blink a few times. “For real. When’s the last time you saw your sister?”
“Three years ago. I’ve talked to her a handful of times, but that’s only because she answered the phone before one of my parents got there. Sometimes she misses me. Other times she hates me for abandoning her. They can’t send her to a boarding school, Easton. Boarding school is terrible. I was so lonely there. I haven’t had a Christmas or Thanksgiving or birthday with someone who loved me in three years. Do you know what that’s like?”
“No,” I say hoarsely. “I don’t.”
Beside me, her body trembles. “I wouldn’t wish that on Felicity, let alone the person I love most in this world. She’d be destroyed there. No one would understand her or take care of her the way she needs.”
“How were you able to come home, then?”
“I found out last year about that trust I told you about, the one from my grandma? The Bayview Savings and Loan oversees it, not my dad. But food and rent isn’t considered educational, so that’s why I work at the diner.” Her expression becomes sad. “I thought if I went to the best school in the state and kept my nose clean without saying anything about my dad’s shady dealings, they’d let me back into the family.”
“But then you got suspended for cheating.” The guilt rips into me again, burning a path up my throat.
“Yes.”
“This is all my fault.”
Hartley tips her head to meet my eyes. “Yes.”
That one syllable tears me apart. It’s brutal. Fucking brutal.
“I told you, trouble follows you wherever you go, Easton.”
I have to break the eye contact before the shame eats me alive. I stare hard at the water and mentally punch myself for all the bullshit I’ve put this girl through. The bullshit I put everyone through. Ella, my brothers, my dad. I’m a screw-up. They all know it, and they all love me in spite of it.
What is wrong with them?
“But this was bound to happen, with or without your involvement.”
I look over in surprise. “You think so?”
Hartley nods glumly. “The minute I moved back to Bayview, my whole family was on the alert. Parker’s probably spying on me for Dad. Mom’s doing everything to keep Dylan away from me. My parents were just waiting for me to mess up, I guarantee it. Waiting for any excuse to get me out of Bayview again.”
That makes me feel better. Just a tiny bit. But it doesn’t stop me from accepting responsibility for my part in all this.
“Felicity wouldn’t have fucked with you if it wasn’t for me, Hartley. That means it’s on me to fix this.”
“You can’t fix it.”
“Sure I can.”
She tips her head in challenge. “How?”
I pause. “I don’t know. But I’ll figure something out.”
She gives a humorless laugh. “Yeah, well, you’d better figure it out before ten o’clock tonight. That’s when my dad’s showing up to take me to the airport.”
“You’re not going to the airport,” I say firmly. “You’re not going anywhere.”
She just shrugs.
Dammit, she’s actually planning on leaving. I can see it in her eyes. Hartley will do anything to protect her little sister, even if it means going back to the boarding school she hated.
“I need to get back,” she tells me, stepping away from the pebbled waterfront. “Can you take me home now?”
I nod.
We climb into the truck and once again make the drive in silence. I study her profile at every stop sign, every red light. The first time I saw her, I thought she was kinda plain. Pretty but plain. Nice legs, sweet ass, kissable lips.
Now that I know her better, it’s her face that draws me in. All those disparate features come together to form one beautiful image. She’s not plain. She’s unique. I’ve never seen anyone like her before, and I can’t believe I might never see her again.
The desperation triggered by that awful thought is what drives me to kiss her. The truck barely comes to a full stop in front of her house before I’m yanking her toward me and covering her mouth with mine.
“Easton,” she protests, but soon she’s kissing me back.
It’s intense. Her lips are warm and taste a bit salty, probably from her tears. I thrust my fingers through her soft hair and pull her even closer.
Soft arms wind around my neck. Her beaded nipples press against my chest. I raise a hand between us to cup her breast in my palm, rubbing my thumb over one of those peaks. She shudders. My own body quakes in response.
I kiss her harder. My hands rove desperately around her body, trying to keep her anchored to me. Somehow her legs straddle mine. I stroke a hand up her thigh and around the curve of her ass before pressing her tight against me.
I’m beyond aroused. And I’m a guy. Guys don’t always do or say the right thing when they’re turned on and their brains are overpowered by their dicks. Still, I regret the words the moment they leave my mouth.
“Let’s go inside where we can be more comfortable.”
Hartley jerks her mouth away from mine. Her eyes narrow. “Comfortable?”
“Yeah. You know…” My breathing’s kind of labored from all the heavy-duty kissing. “Comfortable,” I repeat lamely.
“You mean naked.” Her tone is flat.
“No. I mean, sure, if that’s what you want.” Shut up, man. Shut the hell up. “I just…we’re sitting out in the truck, and you said you were worried about your dad watching you—”
“Right. I’m sure that’s exactly why you wanted to go inside,” she mutters. Shaking her head, she unbuckles her seatbelt and shoves it aside. “You’re unbelievable.”