Entice (Hearts of Stone #2) by Veronica Larsen

over by a semi-truck, I want to say. Instead, I groan. Like a bear. Like a bear that's going to reach out of the window and snatch up those goddamn birds. And gnaw on them until they can't chirp anymore.
    I squint to filter out some of the room's light and feel around one of the kitchen drawers for the bottle of aspirin I've seen in it before. Finding it, I pop two pills in my mouth, and dry swallow. I lay my head on the cold countertop and groan again. Lex laughs but I don't care. The cold granite feels good against my face.
    "Drink some water," she tells me.
    I drink two glasses of water, chugging them down noisily and without a break, then slink over to the table and sit beside my sister. I lay my head on the wooden surface, which isn't cold and soothing, but at least it's not moving like the walls are.  
    "Maybe you should cool it with the drinking," Lex says. "You've been doing a lot of it lately."
    I narrow my eyes at her, not realizing what she's talking about, and she points toward the bottle of vodka.  
    "I didn't have any of that last night," I say. "Just a whole lot of other…beverages in tiny little glasses."  
    "Yeah, but what about every other night this week?"
    "Cut me some slack. I've had a rough week. How was it with Jacob at the Christmas party last night?"  
    "It was…interesting," she says.
    I open my eyes a crack and see the conflict on her face. She almost looks like she doesn't want to tell me. But she does. I keep my head pressed to the table and watch her expression as she tells me how Leo cornered her and tried to get her back. Swearing ending things the way that he did was all a big mistake. How he wants nothing more than to be with her.  
    Blah. Blah. Blah.
    He used the 'L' word. Motherfucker . It's the commitment phobic's kryptonite. I imagine Lex toppled over and played dead until he gave up and walked away. I can't imagine how else my sister would react to him telling her he's in love with her.
    I'm not good at consoling people, but breakups are fairly easy. All you have to do is agree the guy is an enormous asshole and the woman is better off without him. List out all the shit he did wrong and remind her why she should hate him.  
    Easy.
    I really believe it when I tell her Leo's full of shit. He's messing with her and I'm not going to sit here and play the 'what if' game about this guy who's plucking away at my sister's bruised heart like she's a damn violin.  
    I don't play devil's advocate . I play drag the motherfucker through the mud .
    These last few days have been awful for me to witness. My big sister trying hard to pretend she isn't hurting as bad as she is. The worst part is that I can't relate to what she's going through. I'm trying, but I can't. I've never been in her shoes, never missed someone the way she misses Leo. Never been in a position where I had the maturity to not be with someone when I realized he wasn't good for me. Lex is intent on keeping a broken heart over a man who isn't right for her.
    I have to wonder what's going on in my sister's head. And as my worry for her grows, there's a thought lurking in the back of my mind: I'm set to head back to San Francisco, after Christmas.  
    It's not that I don't think she'll be okay on her own. I know she will be. Lex has always been on her own. I wish she'd allow herself to lean on someone for once. And I wish there was someone that could help pull Lex out of this funk. Who, I don't know. A Leo exorcist? Such a person ought to exist.  
    Perhaps it's me.
    My headache's finally dulled by the time Lex finishes her breakfast. I go to fix myself a plate of eggs, but she does it for me. I pull the laptop out and set it beside my plate. I check the news to get some perspective. Someone out there is having a worse start to their day than me.
    Oh! Flood, up north. People stuck in their cars. Yes . That really sucks.  
    Lex and I make light conversation. She tells me about Leo's ex-girlfriend Katy who showed up at the