Page 13 of Make Me Fool You

She turns and stomps off, her high heels clicking on the floor. I sigh and then open the door to the room where my sister was supposed to be getting dressed for the ceremony. Her slim figure is hunched over in a way that I know our mother would never have approved of.

“Hey, sis. How ya doing?”

She shrugs and sympathy wells in me. It’s been a long time since I’ve been friends with my sister. When we were little we got into all kinds of trouble. Until she got old enough that my mother saw how beautiful she was. How much like her. And overnight she no longer had fun. She turned cold and focused on all the things my mother did. Power, money, our old family name and everything that entailed.

“Are you okay with all of this?”

Her blue eyes lift and there’s a lost, shamed look in them that makes my heart twitch. “I guess I have to be, don’t I?” Her lower lip wobbles and tears well in her crystal eyes. “I don’t understand how he could do this to me. I thought we understood each other.”

“Did you really love him, sis? Or just what he stood for?”

A single tear rolls down her alabaster cheek. “I don’t know,” she whispers. “I thought I did. But I feel relieved. Like I had a lucky escape. What does that say about me?” she wails. The trickle on her cheeks turns into a waterfall of tears.

“Oh, baby. I know what you mean.” I reach for her and hold her shaking body while she cries like her heart’s broke. And maybe it is. Maybe it isn’t. Maybe she just convinced herself that she was in love with Cameron because of Mother’s machinations.

It doesn’t mean she’s not hurt by his cheating.

She sobs and shivers until I feel a shudder run through her and I lean back, grabbing a tissue off the vanity. I wipe the tears off her perfect cheeks, marveling that she still looks fresh as a rose. I’d look a mess. My eyes would be red and swollen and my nose would be running. It’s amazing that she looks even better.

“You know…I swear to god, you’re an alien. Nobody looks better when they cry.”

She chokes on a watery laugh. “I’m sure I don’t!”

I push a strand of her smooth blond hair behind her ears. “You do. It’s freaking annoying. I’d be a damn trainwreck.”

She shakes her head. “You would never let yourself be in this situation. You’re too strong to get caught in a mess like this.”

I sigh and turn away from her bright eyes. “We all have baggage and make bad choices based on it.”

She sniffles into the tissue and eyes me with bright, sharp eyes. “Is that why you broke up with James?”

I stand and pace the room. “He should have told me what he saw last night. He lied to me.”

Trinity snorts. “He didn’t cheat on you or lie to you. He just didn’t know how to tell you something so he put it on the back burner.” She shrugs a slim shoulder clad in an ivory silk robe. “I’m not sure why you lost it like that but considering that Mother is so happy about it she’s practically gloating…I’d say it was a mistake.”

My stomach drops as I consider her words. Did I overreact? I can still see the hurt on his face, the way his emerald eyes widened when I told him to leave and then closed in pain.

I shake my head. “No. I can’t trust him. He’s just like all the other men out there. They leave you and break your heart.”

Trinity grimaces. “Because Dad passed away? It’s not like he wanted to leave us. He had a heart attack. You can’t blame him for that. Sometimes we just get a shitty hand from life. Doesn’t mean that you close yourself off from all the good things that life can give you. Every day is a gift. You can’t just throw it away. How will you feel if James is the one that you’re meant to spend your life with? If he’s the love of your life and you push him away?”

My heart clenches and pain streaks through my body. My eyes close and tears well up. “He pushed me away once. It hurt so damn bad that he didn’t want anything to do with me. It was like my heart was ripped out of my chest. I can’t let him do it to me again,” I whisper, voice rough and ragged.

“Did you know that Dad talked to him before you guys left for college?”

I whirl to stare at her, my mouth dropping open. “No!”

She nods and sniffles, blowing hard into the tissue. “Yeah. I think Mom got ahold of him.”

“What happened?”

“He told him that you needed to finish school and you couldn’t do that if you were stuck back here or with him. Mentally, that is.”

“Why would he do that?” I gasped.

“Because he thought you needed to keep all your focus on school. We all knew that you wanted to be a doctor so damn much. It was your calling. I always wished that I had something like that. Something to give my life purpose. But I never did. I just have myself to trade for a future.”

“Oh, honey. Don’t sell yourself short. You can change all that. Throw away all that shit that Mother stuck in your head and just let someone love you for the person you really are. Not the fake one that she tailored you into.”

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