Page 3 of Bitter Lies

“Excellent,” Mom claps before waving her hands excitedly.

Turning away, I hide my frustration. Mom wants me to be who I was before, and Griffin just wants to be an ass, but neither sees what this does to my soul, a shriveled seed trying to grow under the waning light.

The expectation makes me restless and itchy, which I have to ignore because I have to be better in this, or they will never let me be.

Left to my own devices, thank fuck, I unpack grimly and settle in, before standing on the porch four hours later as Mom and Dad pull out of the drive. I passed the fucking paintings on the way out here, now displayed for all to see in the fucking living room.

Once they’re out of view, with hate pulling at my heart for Griff and the naive girl I used to be, I escape down the hall because to top it off, Mom pulled me aside right before they left and said, “Don’t forget to take your meds, dear.”

“I know, Mom,” I mumbled, flushing when Griff stopped beside her with a curious stare.

“I know, it’s just, it’s important, you know. I don’t want to think about it happening again…” She trailed off uncomfortably.

It’s not a secret, at least not from Griffin because he’s been an integral part of our family for years, which apparently means even my fucking mental health isn’t sacred, but imagine being confronted, an intervention if you will, while the boy who broke your heart sits in a fucking wing chair and lies, knowing he doesn’t give a fuck about you.

Yeah, it’s that painful.

Thankfully, Griff walked away after that, but I didn’t hear a word she said, and now she’s gone, leaving me here, the last place I want to be.

Chapter Two

What the fuck do you know about pain?

Assoon as our parents are gone, the boys commence with pulling out the boxes of alcohol hidden in Max’s room, which by the way is a second master bedroom with an attached bath, I note with a snarl.

“Jealous?” Griff says with a smirk because although he spends most of his time ignoring my existence, he also enjoys baiting me when the occasion presents itself.

Although I’ve come to hate the vitriol, I still feel the same ache in my stomach when he curls that damn lip, though, and I turn away in frustration.

“Aw, H, don’t be a bitch. You’ll be glad for it when we have pussy over and you don’t have to meet up with them in the bathroom,” Max sneers.

Ignoring the pulse of pain in my chest at the thought of Griff with pussy, other than my own anyway, I say acidly, “Don’t be crude. Besides, what if I have a guest over?”

Max laughs rudely in my face. “Why don’t you worry about your little blue pills. I hardly think you can handle that and dick right now.”

He saunters away before I can reply, and I stare after him sadly, disheartened by his cruel words.

Somewhere along the way, I not only lost Griff but my brother too, and it’s like walking around missing a limb because where once Max and I were inseparable, now he stares at me like I’m an annoying stranger.

But I don’t know what to do about any of it. Doesn’t he see I’m as lost as he is?

“No dick,” Griff says, reminding me he’s still looming over me.

“What?” I ask, turning to look into his beautiful hazel eyes, the pretty peepers more green than brown as he looks me over with a frown.

“I said, no dick.”

Raising my brows incredulously, I say, “Let me get this straight…you can have chicks here, but I can’t have a guy?”

“Yep.” He smirks, but his eyes are hard in warning as he walks away.

Let’s be clear, I’m not exactly on the lookout for a one-night stand but fuck me if the hypocrisy doesn’t annoy me. Fucker.

Locking myself in my room, I collapse to the bed and stare at the ceiling because this is sure to be a fuck show of epic proportions.

∞∞∞

The bass thump thump thump of the music crawls through my brain as I try to sleep, tossing and turning with visions of Griff with some big-titted brunette with perfect silky hair and thick thighs running through my mind.

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