Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“You lied to me.” My voice is cold now—cold and hard though inside I feel like screaming and crying. “You lied for two whole years and pretended to be my big brother. Then you came here and took advantage of me—took advantage of how badly I wanted to have family back in my life.”
“But, baby—”
“I want you out.” I point at the front door. “Get your things and leave—now!”
“But there are things I need to tell you—things you have to know about yourself. About what we are,” he says desperately. “Remember I told you about my people? Well, you’re one of them. You need to know—”
“The only thing I need is for you to be gone,” I say.
“You heard her—get out!” Charles snaps.
Kane…no, not Kane—the man who impersonated my brother—gives him a dark look but it’s clear he’s finally going. He goes to the bedroom and comes back with the keys to his truck and his cellphone and nothing else. Is he not even going to take his clothes?
I tell myself I don’t care. He can leave the house naked if he wants to, as long as he leaves.
Charles stands by the door like a sentry with his chest all puffed out but the man who pretended to be Kane walks past him without even looking. Then, at the doorway, he turns and looks at me one last time.
“I’m sorry, Sunny,” he says and his deep voice is quiet and sincere. “I never meant to hurt you.”
Then he’s gone, into the night, and I’m sure I’ll never see him again.
29
CONNOR
Fuck that fucking boyfriend of Sunny’s! I can’t believe he blew my cover like that. I should have known better—should have known I couldn’t keep my lie going forever.
I get in the beat-up pickup truck and start the motor, revving the engine in pure rage. I want to go back inside and wrap my fingers around that fucking Charles’ skinny throat and choke the fucking life out of him!
But that would only make Sunny more upset. She already feels betrayed and lied to and I can’t fucking say that I blame her. She was betrayed and lied to and I’m the one who lied to her. I’m the one who betrayed her. Even if she was willing to listen to me, I doubt she’d ever believe another word that came out of my mouth.
The relationship I had with her is done—it’s over. The bridge is burned and there’s no going back. There’s nothing for me to do now but go home to Fairlane and go back to my old life—the one I had before prison.
I put the truck in gear and roar off, through the empty roads of Singing Rock—the roads that feel as empty as my heart.
Sunny’s gone and I know I’m never getting her back.
30
SUNNY
“Go clean yourself up—you’re disgusting!” Charles makes a revolted face as he looks at me, standing there in the middle of the living room.
“Yes, all right,” I say mechanically. I feel like I’m in shock for now but any minute I’m going to break down. It’s like someone shot me through the heart and I haven’t quite realized I’m dead yet.
I wander out of the living room in a daze. I can’t believe this—it can’t be true! But it is—it feels like a terrible dream but every time I pinch myself I don’t wake up. Because I’m already awake and this is the awful reality of my life.
It hits me as I step into the shower—I don’t even know his real name. The man pretending to be Kane—I don’t know who he is. And now I guess I’ll never know.
How could he fool me like that? I was such an idiot, believing he was my brother! Whoever he is, he’s been lying to me for years. Stealing the letters I sent to the real Kane and answering them. How could he do that to me? What kind of sick bastard pretends for so long to be someone else?
I remember Charles’s other accusation—that the man is a murderer and that’s why he went to prison. The thought makes me shiver with fear. To think, I was sleeping with him—I had him in my bed! He could have killed me in my sleep!
As I wash myself off and watch the stranger’s seed get washed down the drain, I feel sick. I guess there’s one bright spot in this whole mess. If I do turn out to be pregnant, at least it won’t be my brother’s baby.
Actually, I can’t believe everything I did with him while thinking he was my brother. What the Hell is wrong with me? It’s like I was under a spell. I went further and further with him—let’s be real, I actually let him fuck me! Why would I do that? Why did I think it was okay?