Page 90 of Replay

“And you know what, Nate? I don’t blame you anymore, but I certainly won’t be made the bad guy here. I thought you had moved on, and I was barely hanging on, trying desperately to do the same. I’m sorry it was him, and I’m sorry that hurt you, but I trusted him, and to me, that was enough.” The emotion in her eyes as she plops down on the hotel bed makes my chest burn with the realization of how much of an asshole I’m being finally breaking through.

“I know, Berkley… Shit, I’m sorry.” I hate that I let my attitude from today and my insecurities overcome me.

“Fuck…” I tug on my hair and sit beside her. Surprisingly, she lets me take her hand in mine. “I was so fucking bummed from our loss and my family acting weird today that the one thing I was looking forward to was seeing you up close and in my jersey.” I gently run my finger across the hem of my old practice jersey. “But the minute I did, his arms were wrapped around you, and maybe the way I acted was shitty, but it’s a whole lot better than what I considered doing in that moment.”

A loud knock on the door startles us both, but the panicked voice on the other side has my blood running cold.

Twenty-Three

Aloud banging on the door effectively halts our argument.

“Open up, it’s me.” Willow’s distressed voice sounds through the closed hotel door.

Her unusual tone has us both rushing to the door.

She hurls herself into Nate’s arms as soon as the door swings wide. Her face is stained with mascara streaks.

“What happened?” I ask while Nate hugs her tightly. Too concerned with Willow’s well-being, I don’t notice she isn’t alone until Nola slowly shuts the door behind him.

“She—she called me in hysterics, asking if I could bring her up to you,” Nola says, concern etched on his face as well.

Nate wraps his arm around Willow and walks over to the bed to sit beside her.

“Will, talk to me. What’s going on?” Nate asks and holds her hands in his.

“I’ll leave you guys alone. If you need me, call me, okay?” Nola says as he takes a hesitant step toward the door.

And I wonder if I should do the same as my gut churns with thoughts of what could have Willow so upset right now.

“Do you want privacy? I can leave you two to talk,” I ask them, and Willow’s sad blue eyes meet mine.

“No, stay. You're going to want to hear this, too,” Willow says, reaching for my hand. I hear the soft click of the hotel door close, and the anxious energy radiating off Willow fills the air.

“Fuck, Will, you're scaring the shit out of me. What's going on? Are you pregnant or something?”

“God, no. Nothing like that…but it does involve children.”

“You’re worrying me being so damn cryptic right now.” Nate’s unease rises to a new level.

“There’s so much that happened. I'm trying to figure out how to say it…”

I reach for her hand and squeeze it lightly. “Why don’t you start at the beginning? Maybe that will help you get your thoughts straight.”

She takes a deep breath, and her eyes linger on mine like she’s seeing something in them for the first time. A strange sensation washes over me as she begins talking.

“Okay, well, I was talking to Mom this week. I know nothing good comes out of interacting with that woman; however, I haven’t seen her in months, even though she’s been making an effort to see me. So I reached out to her, asking if we could get breakfast and then head to the game together to watch you. Well,while I was there at her house, she wanted to give me a tour of her new place. She even showed me a room that was supposedly mine. She asked if I wanted to stay there, that she missed me and wanted me to move back in with her. I told her I wasn't ready for that yet…” She shifts ever-so-slightly, angling her body toward Nate, her hands laced together in her lap. “That I was still hurt by her actions and what she did to Dad and our family. I saw the switch flip inside of her, her mean streak rearing its ugly head. I braced myself for whatever venom she was gonna spew after I turned her down. But I was not prepared for what she actually said…” Willow takes a shaky breath, and I hold mine.

“She said she didn't understand why I wouldn't want to be with my actual parent.” Willow pauses, looking between Nate and me expectantly. Before either of us can form a thought, she continues, “I’m pretty sure time froze in that moment…” Tears begin dripping down her face again. “And when I asked her what she meant, she flat out said… She—” It breaks my heart to watch her struggle so badly with what she is trying to tell us. “She said that Daddy wasn’t my father.” Willow’s eyes lock with mine, and her next words don’t just stop time, they tilt my whole world upside down. “And when I demanded answers, she told me thatyourdad was my biological father.”

The air is sucked out of my lungs like a vacuum. All three of our gazes bounce between each other’s.

“Wait, what?” I say, trying to comprehend fully what she just said. “You’re my sister?”

Willow curls her lips and starts to cry again, and I wrap my arms around her, letting my own tears fall. Not only for her, but for me…and the loving family I once thought I had. But slowly, that fairy tale has been stripped down piece by piece.

A sister.

Willow is my sister.

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