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“I’d appreciate that. And in return, I won’t tell the moms that you walked through our house like a madman with your work boots on.”

He blanches, dropping wide eyes to the dark brown cowboy boots flaked with dried mud. “Shit.”

I laugh and open the door for him, feeling some of the weight lift from where it’s been crushing me.

“We’ll talk later.”

He kisses the top of my head and slips by me out onto the porch. “Have a good day.”

“See you.”

It takes me until my brother hops into his truck and drives off to realize that I called this place our house. Bryce’s and mine.

I smile to myself. Yeah, I think that sounds just right.

BRYCE

I scroll through the text messages that have filled my phone since last night and swipe them away without replying.

Anna: Are we okay? Can we talk today?

Darren: Call me so Iknow you’re okay.

Pops: I’m so sorry Ice. This is all my fault. Call me please.

Johnny: What the fuck are you doing with my sister?

Johnny: I trusted you with her.

There are a shit ton more, especially from Johnny, but I don’t read through them all before removing them from sight.

The collection of voicemails has only come from one set of numbers. My mother’s, and then when she realized I wasn’t answering her calls, my father’s.

Parked on the rounded driveway outside of their house, I listen to the first voicemail and prepare myself for the attack.

“Hello, Bryce. I’ve had something very alarming come to my attention. Something you must explain to me now.”

Beep.

The second is along the same lines as the first. I play the third.

“Enough of this. Answer your phone. Your father and I are so embarrassed.T’as poussé trop loin!”

I don’t bother with the rest of the voicemails. The only thing I’ll accomplish is hurting my own feelings. There’s no point in hearing how terrible of a daughter I am before I even make it inside the house. She’ll only repeat it in my face.

As prepared as I possibly can be, I head inside. There’s nobody to welcome me in. My mother must know I’m here, but she’s going to make this as hard for me as possible, starting with forcing me to search for her.

“Mom?” I call out from in front of the staircase.

“Upstairs,” she snips from the second floor.

I take the steps slower than usual, stalling this meeting without outright leaving. As much as I’d like to walk right back out the front door and never come back, it’s time I grow up and take care of this. If there’s one thing being with Daisy has taughtme, it’s that I deserve more than what my mother has offered me. And if holding my tongue and dragging people into my messes just to avoid ruining whatever remains of our relationship is what I have to look forward to with her, it isn’t worth it.

I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to make this decision, but when my first reaction to Johnny’s news was fear as to what my mother will do not only to me but to Daisy . . . that’s a sign as clear as any.

The door to my parents’ bedroom is ajar, so I walk inside without knocking. Mom is sitting at her vanity, swiping a powder puff over her cheekbones. When she notices me, she catches my eyes in the mirror and sets her puff down.

“You did not return my calls,” she snaps, her accent as thick as it was in her voicemails.