Page 131 of Bitter Lies

He strikes his chest and I raise my head, running my fingers over his fist now clenched against his heart. He flinches and I pull away with a sad smile, but he grabs my hand and wraps his fingers around mine.

“It was all Max?” he asks with a curl to his lip.

With a shrug, I acknowledge his question, and he turns me to my back and looks into my eyes with a fierce desperation. And my heart thumps in my chest as he says, “Hals…I don’t know how…fuck.”

He buries his face in my shoulder and I breathe him in. I understand his pain. I do but I will never understand his cruelty. I don’t know if we can move past this but for now, I’m willing to be here…with him. I’ve craved a moment like this for too long to deprive myself. But tomorrow…

“I need to tell you something.” He raises his beautiful eyes to mine and I smile, covering his lips with my fingers.

His eyes darken as he kisses the tips before I drop my hand and relax into his caress as he softly strokes my hair. Staring into each other’s eyes, he traces his finger down my cheek and when he reaches my bottom lip, I part them with a smile.

His eyes flash with fire, as I suck the digit inside. With a groan, he rolls between my legs and lays his head on my chest. Breathing deeply, I run my hands through his silky hair.

Even though Max is losing his mind in the living room, I feel a warmth in my chest that’s been missing since Griffin kissed me on my fourteenth birthday, and I revel in it because I know all too well how fleeting happiness can be.

“You’re the one.” His tone is savage as he leans up and I search his earnest gaze before my eyes soften. “Ditto.”

And maybe it’s not the right time, but neither of us cares, as he helps me remove my jeans and slides inside of me, staring into my eyes with a softness I’ve never seen before. We come together sweetly and he swallows my cries in his mouth as he brings me to completion, following behind.

After, we lie together, breathing each other in until it’s almost time for my parents to arrive, and we have to dress and prepare for the confrontation.

We don’t speak further about our feelings because it’s hardly a good time, but lying in his arms, I have hope in my heart that maybe we can make this work. Maybe it’s naive, after everything, but he’s the one who makes my soul sing, and after everything that’s happened, I know now more than ever that our time is short. Do I want to waste it?

I don’t. I really don’t.

∞∞∞

“What the hell is going on?” Dad sputters as he looks around with a shocked expression, spying Max tied to the chair.

But before I can answer, Mom sees my face and gasps, tears filling her eyes as she grabs my cheeks. “Halsey? What happened?”

My heart pulses at her devastation because once again, I can see her perceived failure in her eyes, and looking at Max, I hesitate because despite everything, I love my brother until he raises his head and glares fiercely at me.

Turning away with a deep breath, I say, “Max. He did this.”

There’s a shocked silence after my statement as Mom and Dad look at me silently until my dad roars, “Did you hit your sister, son?”

Max shrinks under his disapproving glare but says sullenly, “She’s not my sister. Right?”

Dad pauses, his head swinging toward my mom, and her face falls even as she steps forward with a firm look of disapproval. “Why would you hit your sis—Halsey?”

“Because she wouldn’t fucking give me what I want!”

“Max—”

“No,” he screams. “You lied to me. You lied. I’m not your kid.”

Looking between them desperately, he begs with his eyes for answers he may not be ready for, especially in his fucked-up emotional state, but sadly, I realize we’re going to be forced to talk about the adoption now.

Griffin shifts behind me, and I meet his confused stare with a small smile, to which his face softens as he caresses me with his eyes, creating a gentle warmth in my heart.

“Honey,” Mom says softly, “we wanted you to live a life without thinking about the past. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea, but we thought it would be at the time. And I’ve loved you as my own, no matter what.”

“Why? Can you just tell me why?” he pleads.

“Because, well, my sister, Kathy, she had a baby—you, my son,” Mom says with a gentle smile, “but she couldn’t take care of you. And we agreed to take you, but she made us promise never to tell, and well, we wanted you so badly, Max…”

“She was afraid for you, son, because of whoever the father was,” Dad interjects quietly.

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