Fuck. “What about them?” Neither of us has had any contact with them in a year. What the hell could they be doing now? I thought they forgot Liv and I existed.

“Bree…I don't know how to tell you this.” I hear her sniffle across the line, and the pit in my stomach grows heavier, my heart beats faster, and I start to get warmer.

“Tell me what, Liv? You’re scaring me. Are they okay? Did something happen to them?”

“No, but something might if I ever fucking see them again,” I hear Tristan say, realizing I’m on speakerphone.

I switch my phone to connect to Vince’s car so he can hear, too, wanting to cue him in on this if it involves something big. “Vince is on too. Liv, what’s going on?”

“They leaked your story in an exclusive interview. It aired this morning, and now the whole world knows what happened,” Liv says, her voice breaking, and if I could hear through the ringing in my ears, I’d probably say she sounded angry, too.

“No…” is all I can manage.

My own parents leaked the details of what happened to me on the worst night of my life. Theonething I had for myself, the one thing I didn't think I would ever share with anyone online, was leaked because of my parents.

I feel the car come to a stop on the side of the road, and I exit, needing to get out of the car, my mind, and my body. I need out. Vince stays in the car; I know he hates my parents, but Liv is probably telling him the entire story of why we don't talk to them anymore. He already knows that they kept the house I was attacked in, but he doesn't know the rest.

All I can do is scream toward the sky and hope somewhere that my parents hear the echo of it and realize how much they’ve hurt me. Will they ever feel bad? Will they ever care about us more than themselves, money, and their jobs? Will they ever reflect on their lives years from now and regret the things they’ve done?

I can’t see them ever doing that, because in order to feel bad about something, you have to have emotions in the first place.

They’re cold, soulless versions of what I wished my parents were, and I’ll forever be that little girl who chased them around the house. Only now, I’m chasing the versions of them I wish existed, and my legs will disappear before I ever reach them.

Vince doesn't know about our childhood and how they ignored Liv and smothered me. He knows about how they concocted some plan to break her and Tristan up because they hated him. Liv is probably telling him the rest of it, and I’m grateful for that because I can barely get two words out.

Liv is the only one who ever understands because she grew up in the same household. I can confidently say that they are no longer our parents anymore.

Not after this. Not after all they’ve done. This was the final cord for me, because this is unforgivable.

I’m done. So fucking done.

I hear the car door slam before Vince all but crushes me in a hug. His strong arms wrap around me, and I can feel my thoughts start to make sense. That’s what he does for me—he calms every bone in my body. He might be engulfing me in his strong grip, but I’ve never felt safer. I canbreathe.

And when he pulls back, I know I have some things to fill him in on.

“Take your time, angel. I don't need it all right now. We can do this in pieces.”

“They’re my parents, you know? You grow up with them, and they’re your biggest role models, your biggest fans. And I thought it was good for a while, but when I was old enough to understand things, I realized they didn't give a shit about either of us. They started to work more and talk to us less. The thing I remember most growing up is Liv feeding me every single night. She was always there, and she used to help me with my homework. When I got my period for the first time, she explained it all to me.”

Tears start to come, but I keep going. “Liv has always been more of a parent than they ever were. Despite her feeling so alone and alienated by our parents, she was the person I leaned on the most, and some days, I regret doing that, but I was just a kid. Hell, she was just a kid too. And as the years passed, and I started to gain a following online, they started to pay attention to me.Onlyme.”

“I feel the same way about my sister. She was nineteen when our parents died, and in an instant, she turned into my legal guardian. It was…insane. One minute, we both had parents, and the next, one of us was becoming one. I think that’s why she doesn't want kids as an adult. She had to deal with me growing up as an asshole teenager who just wanted his parents back.”

“I’m sure you were a wonderful kid, Vince. Let her know that, despite it all, she raised a wonderful man. She should be proud.Youshould be proud of who you are, because I know your parents are proud of who you’ve become, despite it all.”

I swear, I see tears rush to his eyes as he presses a quick kiss to my forehead. “Thank you.”

“Thankyou. You do way too much for me, and I feel like I rely too much on you sometimes.”

“Christ, angel, do you realize how much you cloud my thoughts? Do you understand that I never want you out of my head? I don't mind you relying on me because it feels good. It feels good to be wanted by someone, and when that person is you, it feels even fucking better. So, lean on me, rely on me, knock me the fuck over for all I care, but don't you dare apologize because I’m welcoming it with open arms.” He pulls me into his embrace again, wanting to be closer, and I bury my head in his chest as a few tears escape.

When we pull back, Vince doesn't let go of my hand as he squeezes it, a silent way of telling me to keep going with my story. “Liv chose to be my anchor. She chose to fill the role of the parents we never had.But my parents never dismissed me. They would always harp me about something—my next video, my next brand deal, anything they could. It felt like they cared more about the money I was bringing in, rather than me or Liv. I was burned out a few times, struggling to get out of bed, to feel like a person, to brush my hair, and they never let up. I was in school, trying for college, trying to manage my overnight fame all as a teenager. It was hard, and eventually, college faded away because I was already making a decent amount of money. But I never made that decision—my parents did. They thought college was a waste, but I saw college as an opportunity to get the hell out from under their roof. So, I started to accept more brand deals that would take me away because it helped me breathe a bit easier. Liv was in college, so I never felt bad leaving.”

“You just hated coming back,” he says, his voice tight with an emotion I can’t place.

“This place, that house, my parents—they never felt like home. It felt like prison I was sentenced to for life. And then Ralph came into the picture.”

“I hated them from the start, you know. That first day I met you, I disliked them.”