Page 4 of Love at Second Down

With a sigh, I shake my head. Arguing is pointless. Mom will never see my side.

“My best interest, or yours, Mom?” I ask.

“All of ours,” she says, and the answer is so predictable it doesn’t even faze me.

“What about what I want? This ismylife?”

God, I feel like a broken record.

“Oh, honey. You have to trust me on this. You’re better off without him. There are things you don’t know. Things I can’t tell you, but you can still have an incredible life. I think the question you need to ask yourself is whether loving Damon Huhn is really a risk you’re willing to take if it means hurting your family. Hurting Katie.”

I swallow over the guilt Katie’s name evokes. It’s not the first time she’s used my little sister as a weapon, and it certainly won’t be the last.

My eyes grow damp at the thought of my sister. She’s the best one of us—pure and sweet and perfect in her imperfections. “Is Katie there?” I ask.

“She’s here,” Mom says, her tone brightening with the leverage.

“Put her on.”

There’s a pause, some muffled movement, and then a quieter voice comes on the line, soft and breathy. “Avery?”

The ache in my chest sharpens instantly. “Hey, Lady Katie.”

A delighted giggle. “Nobody calls me that anymore.”

“Well, that’s because nobody else knows how cool you really are.”

She laughs again, and I can almost hear her smile through the phone. “I missed you. Christmas was boring without you. Mom made that weird casserole again.”

I sit down on a bench near the snow-dusted path, my eyes burning. “Ugh, not the mushroom one?”

“With the crunchy onions on top. It wasgross.I tried to feed it to Bramble under the table, but he ran away.”

“Smart dog,” I murmur, a quiet laugh escaping. “I missed you too, Katie. So much.”

There’s a beat of silence on her end, and then her voice softens. “Why didn’t you come home?”

My throat tightens, and I glance down at my boots as I push snow around with my toe. “It’s complicated, sweetheart.”

“Because of Mom and Dad?”

“Yeah,” I whisper. “Because of them. And because I had to make a choice. One that made sense tome.”

She’s quiet for a long moment, then says, “I heard Mom yelling. Is it about Damon?”

Of course she heard. “Yeah. It is.”

“Do you still love him?”

My lips part at her bluntness, and a choked laugh slips out. “Yeah, Katie. I do. I never stopped.”

There’s a rustle, like she’s shifting in her chair. “Then I’m glad you didn’t go back to Harvard.”

My heart stutters. “You are?”

“Mmm-hmm,” she hums. “I remember how happy you were when you were with him. And how sad you were after. I don’t like it when you’re sad.”

“Oh, Katie . . .” My voice cracks. “That means everything to me. You have no idea.”

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