"I think you should talk to her, Xavier. She looks really bad," I said stiffly, stuffing my clothes into my bag. Thankfully I hadn't brought too many things home. I wanted to leave as fast as possible.

When he was silent for too long, I looked up and our eyes locked. I let him see the full fury of hurt I felt from the knife they stabbed into my back. He shook his head, the hard stare in his eyes said he was standing his ground. "No. She did it to herself. She brought this upon us."

I scoffed in disbelief. I could hardly look at him, I wasn't sure I even wanted to talk to him.

"Us… I can't believe you two. Honestly, Xavier, I have nothing to say to you right now, that's how angry I am."

"And yet you are because I'm your brother."

Brother. I turned away. The word blurred my vision and my jaw trembled. I inhaled and swallowed back my stupid emotions. "And Avery is like my sister. What's your point?" I hastily grabbed a shirt and slammed it into my bag. "All the lies. So many lies. I'm so sick of being lied to."

"Aid," Xavier said gently as he walked over to me. He placed his hand on my forearm and I quickly yanked it back. We stood next to each other in silence for a long moment. I could tell he was waiting for me to look at him before he spoke, but I didn't. I was so furious with him, I was worried I'd say something I would later regret.

Angling his head down near mine, he asked, "If you're so concerned about her, you talk to her."

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block out the image of how I left her. So broken and distraught. I should have spoken to her, and for a second, I wished I had, but I just couldn't. My heart hurt because of that.

I shook my head. "I can't. You don't understand. There are things you don't know between me and Ave. I confided in her. She should've done the same with me. Especially since it was you." I paused and clenched my teeth, then said, "God, Xavier. Why did you have to go after her? Of all girls, you pick my best friend?" My emotions were climbing again and this time my sadness swirled into a simmering rage.

Xavier stepped back until he was leaning against my dresser. "Did she tell you what happened?"

"No," I said softly as I stared at my rumpled clothes. I was trying to calm myself down and not lash out, but the weight of their deceitful lies was getting to me. "She tried to, but I wouldn't let her. I'm too hurt over everything to talk to her, because no matter what she says, it wouldn't make a difference right now. Same goes for you."

"I understand. You did get blasted with a bunch of dirty secrets. It's a lot to take in."

"You could say that again."

"Let me ask you something."

I growled under my breath. "I really wish you would just leave me alone. In case you didn't notice, I'm as mad at you as I am Avery."

Naturally, Xavier ignored my plea. "If Avery had told you, had the courage to say that she was in a relationship with your brother, what would you have said?" His voice turned hard, almost defensive. "Would you have been okay with it? Truly be okay?"

I stared at my scattered belongings I had thrown across my bed in my haste to leave, and contemplated his question. "Honesty, Aid," he pushed, his voice deepening with anger. "Look at me and tell me that you'd be straight with me banging your best friend." The hairs on my arms stood up. My fingers tightened around the shorts I had clutched in my hand until my knuckles turned white. His words got under my skin and were meant to provoke me, but I forced myself to stay silent. "That's what I thought."

I swallowed and finished up packing.

"For what it's worth, I really did love her."

Love! My head finally snapped toward him. "Love who?"

Xavier gave me a lopsided grin. "Avery. I cared about her a lot, way more than I ever thought I would, but after what happened"—he dropped his sad gaze to the floor and shook his head—"there's no going back. She completely dissolved anything we had. She ruined it."

"Funny. She said it was your fault."

"It kills me to say this, but I can barely look at her without wanting to strangle her fucking neck and kiss her face." Xavier's voice cracked, and I almost felt bad for him and whatever happened with Avery.

"So you're not going to talk to her?" I asked against my better judgement.

"No, quite the opposite. I'm going to get as far away as possible from her."

My shoulders sagged. Our families would forever be joined. Xavier couldn't ignore Avery for the rest of his life. That would be impossible.

"We've known Avery long enough to know she's a blunt bitch with a big heart. I'm sure she didn't mean whatever she said." His face softened, and I paused, swallowing back the dejection that settled over me thinking about what else had been revealed today. "Did you really not know? About Mom not being my mom?"

His eyes widened with innocence. I didn't need to hear his answer to know it. "No, I had no idea, Aid. None at all. I swear it."

All I could do was shake my head again. My life was a mess, and everyone was a liar. The one thing I had in my life I could count on to bring me happiness and stability was gymnastics, and that's what I needed to be doing.

Gymnastics had always been my outlet.

I zipped up my bag, ready to hit the road, when my cell phone started ringing. I glanced over my shoulder. My phone was on the dresser Xavier was leaning against. He followed my gaze and picked it up. Lowering his brows, he stared at the screen before glancing up at me with inquisitive eyes.

"Coach?" he asked, snooping. "Is that Konstantin calling you?"

My heart dropped.

His eyes hardened. "Why is he calling you?"

My jaw bobbed up and down. I tried to find the right words to say without appearing guilty. I reached for the phone the same time it stopped ringing. Xavier placed it in my hand and I released a breath, staring at the device like it was layered with poison. Thank goodness he didn't answer it.

"Yeah," was all I could muster, avoiding eye contact. Smooth, Adrianna. Real smooth.

"Why is he calling you, Adrianna?" His tone went from tender and understanding to brisk and demanding.

"Probably to make sure I'm keeping up with my cardio. Yesterday Madeline called to make sure I'm seeing my physical therapist. They're always on me for something, especially since it's meet season."

I didn't do cardio. I didn't do therapy. Not while I was home, anyway.

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

His head angled toward me but I refused to make eye contact. "Yes, you are. I can see it in your face."

"Drop it, Xavier."

"If I find out he put more than a friendly coach whatever-the-fuck you want to call it hand on you, he won't live to see the next day. I'm not kidding, Adrianna. I will fucking kill him."

I was a liar just like them. Possibly the dirtiest with the most shameful secrets. The sight of Xavier's balled-up fists and strained forearms spoke louder than his labored breathing. His appearance had changed drastically in the course of a year. He shifted from healthy and charismatic to lean but gaunt. His eyes were sunken in, bruises—both new and old—peppered his body, and there were often scabbed up cuts on his lip. His attitude was dismal at times. And while I hadn't been around him much aside from holidays, my brother was obsessed with social media. He uploaded and posted about every waking minute of his life for the world to see. Tracking his change had been too easy. I didn't know what caused it, and I never inquired. Not while I was presently swimming in a black sea of depravity with something that could taint the family. That would be a dead giveaway. Playing naive was a better alternative.

With my eyes still cast on the floor, I walked back over to my bed and slung my duffle bag over my shoulder.

"So, you're leaving early," Xavier stated, breaking the silence.

I nodded, then turned around. The truth in our eyes collided in a flash—we both knew there was more going on behind the scenes than either of us were willing to let on.

"I need to be back at World Cup…it's my home now. I need to center my focus again."

He bobbed his head and rolled his lips between his teeth, unsatisfied with my response.

"I'm always here if you need me, sis," he said as I stepped past him.

Sis.

The word lodge in my throat and I had to squeeze my eyes shut to stop the tears from climbing. I wanted to shout at him he wasn't really my brother, that he was actually my half-brother. But I didn't. There was too much confusion and chaos in my life now to react unjust toward someone who truly didn't deserve it. Not after he put his emotions and feelings into the one word that held so much weight for me about how he truly felt.