Elliott
Hearing the knock on my bedroom door, I get off my bed and open it. I’m surprised to see Sailor staring back at me, gnawing on her lip.
She’s gorgeous. Way prettier than her sister was, and I didn’t think that was possible. Rebecca was a knockout.
“Hi. What do you need?”
“Jake asked me to stay here until I find a permanent place. He claimed he ran it by you first, and I trust that he did, but I wanted to be sure he didn’t pressure you into agreeing. He’s quite persuasive.”
“He can’t pressure me into shit, especially in my own damn home. I agreed because I felt it was the least I could do after everything that happened. He doesn’t want you to be alone, and he insists you have no one else. I admit … that last part was hard to believe.”
“When I left my parents’ home, I didn’t go back. I guess you were delusional and thought my last years of high school would be all rosy, or some shit, but that wasn’t the case. I killed my sister. Do you think I got a welcome reception when I returned to school?”
Grabbing her arm, I yank her into my room and swing the door shut behind her.
“What are you doing?” she asks rudely.
“I don’t want Jake to hear. Don’t say you killed Rebecca. We both know that’s not true.”
“Yeah, well, everyone else thinks I did, and they’ll go to their grave believing it. After a while, I believed it myself. It’s all I’ve known, and you weren’t around to remind me differently.”
She leans back against my closed door and gazes up at me. We’re so physically close, yet I feel like I don’t know her. Sailor used to be kind to me. She looked up to me–loved me even.
Now, she looks at me like I’m the devil, and I have to change that because I fucking hate how it makes me feel.
I clutch her chin. “I should’ve never let you take the fall. I was wrong, and I’m sorry. I was young, afraid and stupid, and although I knew it would change your life, I obviously didn’t know how much so.”
“That’s what you think I’m mad about? How you let me take the blame for Rebecca’s death?”
I swallow, and the coward I am looks away.
“I know that’s not the only reason.”
“You abandoned me, Elliott, and I waited. I waited years for you, thinking you’d come back for me.” Her eyes well up with tears, and it crushes my soul.
Lifting her chin, she clears her throat. Huge tears fall to her flushed cheeks, but she pretends they don’t exist. “There’s no excuse you could give me to make what you did OK.”
I do have an excuse, a reason, but I can’t tell her. I can’t fuck up her head more than I already have.
“I didn’t come to your bedroom to give you the chance to apologize or explain yourself. I came here to be sure you’re fine with me staying in the guest room, which I’m only doing for Jake.”
She shakes her head, and I notice the way her silky jet-black hair sways over her thin, delicate shoulders. “You don’t know how reserved I am. How by-the-book I’ve lived. This isn’t like me to let a guy sweep me off my feet, but Jake’s doing just that.
“Maybe I’m foolish, but it’s the first time in a decade I’ve done anything risky, so I’m going to be brave and take a chance on him.”
I slam my hands on the door at each side of her head, startling her. Staring up at me bravely, her lips quiver.
“You’re going to get hurt. Jake fucks chicks, and they leave the next morning, usually pissed over something idiotic he’s said or done, or they’re gushing over him because they think he’s going to call again, when actually, he’s forgotten their name before the elevator door even closes.”
“He says I’m different.”
I eye her lips. “You are different, but it doesn’t mean he won’t fuck it up. I want you here so I can ensure he doesn’t. I’ll break his limbs into a dozen pieces if he hurts you, and the sixth precinct will need another homicide detective to identify his body.”
“You’re being ridiculous.” She crosses her arms. “You haven’t spoken to me in ten years, yet suddenly you want to babysit me? Stake some claim on me?
“Well, here’s a news flash; aside from my friend Carrie, I’ve had no one since you left me in the Hamptons, so I don’t need you butting into my business or acting like you suddenly care. I’ll be sure to stay out of your way, so you stay the hell out of mine.”
Sailor shoves me in the chest, so I step back and let her leave. As soon as she’s gone, I throw a punch at the door, causing the wood to bust open and sliver. I look down at my knuckles and examine the blood on them.
Being a doctor, it’s vital I don’t injure my hands, so I need to get my shit together. I wish I could tell Sailor the reason I haven’t contacted her all these years. Maybe then she’d forgive me, and I’d finally get these heavy bricks off my chest.