“And the money, of course.” My dad smiles as he steps back to stand by my mother.

“Holy fucking shit,” I hear Vince curse behind me.

“I want you both to open your ears because this is the last thing you’ll ever hear me say to you. By doing this, you’ve takeneverythingfrom me. You chose money and your fifteen seconds over protecting your own daughter. Fuck. You. Both. And Liv is not, and has never been, a fucking failure. She’s a best-selling author whose words will make a lasting impact on her readers, which is more than you’ll ever be remembered for. One day, none of us will exist, but her work, her stories, and my videos will live longer than you ever will.”

Tears fall from my eyes as I grab Vince’s hand and walk out of their house, knowing the two of them won’t say anything back to me anyway. As I walk with my head down towards our car, I hear another door slam, and I jump.

A few seconds later, I feel Liv’s arms wrap around me. I recognize her perfume, and when I feel her squeeze me, Vince lets go of my hand so I can wrap my arms around her.

And I break.

“I’m here, Bree. I’m here,” she says as she rubs circles on my back. I hear Vince and Tristan mumbling something, but all I can focus on is my sister and how comforting her touch is.

“How did you know I was here?”

“Vince texted me. He thought you might need a shoulder to cry on.”

I detach from my sister and turn to face him, a silent thank you passing between us. His eyes are full of longing, like he wants to comfort me, but there are cameras everywhere, and we can’t do anything—not in public, and not until we’ve talked about everything in full.

“Thank you for coming over here for me.”

Liv tucks a stray piece of my hair behind my ear as tears fall from her eyes. “Always, Bree. You’re my family, and family is there for each other no matter what.”

“I love you, sis. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me. I don't think I’ll ever be able to—”

“Bree, stop. I’m your older sister. You should know by now that I would do anything for you. Driving over here was the easiest decision.” She hugs me one more time before we pull back and take a look at the house our parents inhabit.

I think the two of us have known for a while that we would never invite them back into our lives, but today was the final nail in the coffin. Liv and I are on our own now. Our parents are mere flecks of dust that will eventually fly away as our stories continue.

But, actually, Liv and I aren't on our own—we have each other. And we have Tristan and the entire West family to surround us with love whenever we need it. The two of us have made our own little family, and that’s all I’ll ever need.

As long as I have Liv, everything will be okay. As long as I have Liv, my home exists.

“Ready?” Tristan asks us as he pats Vince on the shoulder.Are they buddies now?Liv and I nod at the two of them.

“I’ll follow you back,” Vince says, moving toward me as we walk back to our car. I can feel his hand behind my back—not touching me, but guiding me to the car, and that almost touch has me buzzing with energy.

Or that could be because of knowing how Vince’s lips taste.

Or the adrenaline of the past few hours is running out.

Despite the craziness of the past few years, I know who my real friends are. I know who I want to go through life with. I’m certain it was meant to be me and Liv against the world. Now, thanks to Tristan, we have a few more people headed to our final destination with us.

Friends by chance, family by choice. I think home is something we can create, and I’m one thousand percent sure I have one with Liv, Tristan, Vince, Teags, and the rest of the West family.

Chaptertwenty-five

Two Weeks Later

— I, CARRION (ICARIAN) BY HOZIER

Sitting next to Breein this stuffy conference room is testing my patience. It has barely existed in the past two weeks, and waiting for Connie for the past hour has been even worse.

My leg bounces as I try not to get up and walk out of this room, but Bree told me this was important, and since she hasn't seen Connie in a while, we have to stay here.

It doesn't help that all of my thoughts are clouded with her—the girl who sits on my right. Ever since we spent those days together in the mountains, I’ve been itching to do all the things we could while up there—grab her hand, caress her face. All those small touches and stolen kisses can’t happen while we’re back home, and it’s killing me.

Bree is off-limits when we’re in public—hell, even in private. We haven't had a chance to talk about everything, but I don't think it’s top of the list for either of us. We’ve barely had a minute to breathe since we got back.