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I sawat her vanity table putting on herthe rose brooch I’dand alive Her whole life ahead of her One stupid phone call changed that forever
“You are everything that makes me happy,” I confessed
“Dahlia …” He moved as if to come to me, and I warded him off with a wave of my hand
“If I letht about me, was true She cared about you, and I knew that, and I didn’t care back then, Michael I wanted you soelse et and it would all be okay Even as she lay in that hospital bed, I resented her for hatingwith you She ht in your car ere about toto interrupt, there was a moment, just a flash, when I selfishly wished she didn’t exist”
“God, Dahlia—”
“She’s dead Gone And I’m still here But maybe if I live half a life instead of a full one, then she’ll knoherever she is, that I love herthat and I have to show her now somehow …”
He stared at me, lost, as my broken words echoed around us
Michael rubbed a hand over his beard and hung his head
He got it now
He understood
“I have never”—his head jerked up, his eyes flashing irately—“heard anything so fucked up in my entire life”
I jerked back like he’d hit me
Michael stood, his whole body bristling “You loved Dillon Everybody knows you loved your sister You were never away from her bedside So you resented her a little? So fuckin’ what? She was a great girl, she was, but Dillon had your mother’s nature, and she was spoiled She didn’t love me” He pointed to hiht you’d stolen one of her toys, and she was angry at the world because a fuckin’ asshole tore through a red light and sry about that, but she decided to take that anger out on you And you took it You took it better than most people would because you loved her And it’s okay to have felt resent human, Dahlia
“But this,” he said, gesturing between us, “giving up your chance at happiness to even some fuckin’ cosmic score with Dillon is beyond screwed up!”
Anger seethed within me, and I launched to my feet “Do you kno hard it was for me to tell you that?” I pressed a fist to my chest “I’ve never told anyone that!”