Chapter Six - OLLIE
Pax’s island was a goddamned mess after all that shit went down with West and Tori last year. The other island, which I can see from this beach, was also blown up. But he took it better than I expected. He hired a demolition crew to come out, take down whatever was left standing, and raze it to the ground. It took out a lot of trees too, but he filled it back up with sand
Pristine, white sand.
I think these two islands are worth more now with nothing but palapas and huts than they were with those two houses.
Katja and I just got here this morning, but Pax and Cindy have been here for about a week. Their hut is pretty nice. It’s got solar power and running water from a giant cistern. It’s even got a ceiling fan.
But the only thing I can think about is… he’s in that hut fucking my sister.
While I’m out here.
“What he’s doing breaks all the rules,” I snarl at Katja. She does one of those backward motions with her head. Taken aback, I think that’s called. “Sorry,” I say, trying to pull her close as she drags me down the beach. “It’s just… he knows this drives me crazy and he does it anyway. She’s my baby sister!”
“And in two days she’ll be his wife, Oliver. You need to let it go because he’s here to stay.”
“I know.” I sigh. “I know,” I say again. Like I’m trying to convince myself. “But I only have one baby sister. One. Why the fuck did he have to fall in love with her?”
“Well,” Kat says as we stop at the dock to wait for Five to come pick us up. “It’s my understanding she sorta stalked his ass. She wanted him so she went and took him. I mean look, she’s your sister. That alone is enough to explain why they’re together. But beyond that, they’re just soulmates. You can’t stop that, even if you want to. You can’t.”
I sink to my knees in the sand and pull her down with me. “And on top of all that, fucking Five has been keeping secrets from me too! It’s like… it’s like I don’t even know these people. I mean, my sister was alive all those—”
“Your parents kept that secret too,” Kat says, interrupting my rant. “And Sparrow, and Kate.”
“I know!” I say. “See what I mean? Who are these people? I don’t know any of them. Not really. What do I know, Kat? Tell me. What do I know about them?”
“Well,” Kat says, looking out at the ocean. It’s a beautiful day. Sunny and warm, but not too hot. There’s a nice ocean breeze and the water is the color of paradise. “You know they’re family. And I guess that’s all you need to know. I think you should count yourself lucky if you truly know one person in your life. It’s impossible to really know people unless you’re sharing things on a very consistent basis. I understand that better than anyone. It was a mistake to leave my sister alone all those years. It was a mistake to depend on some institution to take care of her. And now she’s gone.”
Well, shit. I rub my hand down my face and let out a long breath of air. “Sorry,” I say. “I know you miss her.”
“No,” Katja says, turning her head to look at me. “No. I don’t miss her.”
“What?” I ask.
“I didn’t even know her. I don’t miss her at all, Oliver. I think that’s probably the most disturbing thing I’ve ever realized about myself.”
I… have no idea what to say to that. So I just stare down the beach at the dock.
So many things are happening right now. Now, as in like in this very moment.
Pax is fucking my baby sister in that hut over there, Katja is coming to some false realization about herself, Five is in his plane, on his way to pick us up. My parents are probably at home on the farm, packing for this trip. Two daughters getting married on the same day.
It’s some kind of event, right? Huge milestone.
Pax’s mother is doing the same. Hell, even Nolan’s mother is coming. And Ivy’s parents. Five’s mom and dad are bringing Kate and his little brother and sister. Even the infamous Sasha is showing up. And her FBI husband, Jax. James and Harper will be here with my cousins. Even Merc is coming to this thing. Not to mention all my sisters.
It’s a big. Fucking. Deal.
Right now, all those people are thinking about this trip. Thinking about me and Kat. And all the other Misters. Thinking about why we have to hide out here in the middle of the ocean, thinking about how we’ll all be together, in one place, for the first time ever. Thinking about the risk that comes with this celebration.
“You do miss her,” I finally say.
“No.” Katja shakes her head. “I feel nothing. Not sad, not broken. Not anything. In fact,” she says, wrapping her arm around my biceps as she turns, “I feel better than ever, Oliver. I’m glad it’s over. I’m glad we won. I’m glad we’re here together. I’m glad you’re going to marry me. But most of all, I’m glad she’s not here.”
I just stare at her.
“Because she’d ruin it.”
“How, Katja?”
She frowns, shakes her head. “She didn’t love me. Me being her sister meant nothing to her. Yeah”—she sighs, waving her hand over towards the hut where Pax is fucking Cindy—“that’s kinda rude.” She smiles at me. “But… you love him. He’s your best friend. He loves you back, even though he probably won’t ever admit it. He’s not doing it to hurt you, Oliver. He’s doing it because he loves her. It’s really got nothing to do with you at all.”
“Hmm,” I say, staring at the hut. “Maybe. But what’s that got to do with you and your sister?”
“Everything she did when I came back to town was done to hurt me. So I’m not going to miss her. I don’t need family like that. If that’s what family is, then I don’t need it.”
I lean into her, wrap my arm around her shoulder, and pull her close. “That’s not what family is, Kat.”
“I know,” she says, smiling up at me. “This is family. So just get over it, Ollie. Let them have their fun.”
She’s right. So I roll my eyes and sigh real loud. “Fine. I’m over it.”
And then she snuggles into my embrace and then points off into the distance as a pod of dolphins swim by.
“You know what I’m really looking forward to?” I ask, staring at the dolphins as they rise and dive to show us their fins.
“What?”
“Seeing Rory and Five together again.” I laugh a little. “They were meant to be together.”
“I have to admit,” Katja says, “I’m a little surprised that you took that news so well. If someone came at me and said my dead sister was actually alive, I’d kinda freak out.”
“Yeah, but I never bought into it. I can’t tell you why. I can’t point to like, one thing and say, ‘This is why I never believed she was dead.’ I just… I just knew Five would never let it happen, ya know? That if Rory was in that kind of danger, and things went wrong and she got hurt, he’d never stop until he got his revenge. So there’s no way he’d go back to London, start a business, and turn flying sea planes into his favorite hobby. But it’d be delusional to dwell on that kind of thing, right? Illogical as well. So I just told myself, ‘OK, she’s gone. And I’ll probably never see her again.’ But never say never.”
“Never say never,” Katja sighs back at me.
“Look!” I say, pointing to the sky. “There he is, right on time.”
Fucking Five Aston. You really can set your watch to that guy. Always shows up when he’s supposed to.
“Pax!” I yell, pulling Katja up from the sand with me. “Put it back in your pants, asshole. And let’s fucking go!”
We walk over to the stack of luggage piled up on the dock just as Pax and Cindy come running out of their hut. His hair is all messed up, her top is all crooked, and I’m just about to open my mouth and say something about that shit when Katja leans in and kisses me on the neck. “Let it go,” she says. “Just let it go.”
I take a deep breath, huff out my frustration, and see them for what they are.
Just two people in love.
That’s all this is.
Just love.