never even suspected until that night.”
Christ, she still does n’ t see it.
“He was a lot more than attracted. Still, he damn well knew to steer clear of you . I’m furious with him right now. He knew doing this could only hurt you . I’m going to knock his ass out for that.”
My gut clenches when she shakes her head at me in frustration. Dammit, she i s going to defend what he ha s done.
“No! Damien. No. This is my fault. He gave me the out, more than once. He was never less than honest with me. He told me from the get go that he would never, could never, commit. I was a fool for thinking I could handle what that meant. I went in to this with my eyes open. I’m just paying the price now for not realizing what that would feel like.”
Just like that, the other shoe drops. I knew this was a ser ious problem, but it’s a lot more than that. This is going to destroy her.
“Oh hell Sabrina… Shit. It ’ s worse than I thought. You aren’t just suffering because it is over. You ’ re in love with him.”
My heart feels uncomfortably tight in my chest as Sabrina’s fa c ade crumbles and tears start to leak out of her eyes. I’m out of my chair and on the couch with her in seconds.
“I ’m…fine … I never cr -cry in front of people. I’m ok.”
“ Shh . Let it out. You need to let it out. Let yourself go for a minute. I’m here.”
I let her cry it out as I rage on the inside at what a fucking moron my brother is. How could he ignore the baggage that we come with? There is no excuse for this!
Finally, I sense that she has wound down and is no longer as fragile. Grabbing a tissue from the side table, I dab away her tears . Sabrina has a lot of the same qualities that draw me to Brooke, and I understand why my brother found her irresistible. It does n’ t make it right, but I get it.
“ You truly are lovely. You manage to be beautiful even when you cry. Got to say, if Dante had not figuratively put up ‘no trespassing’ tape around you the second he met you , I’d have come after you myself . Of course, then I wouldn’ t have you as an honorary sister, and that would be a loss. He i s a damn fool for not locking you down.”
She shakes her head sadly at me, looking as though I’ve just broken off another piece of her heart. “Oh please Damien. You ’ re even less likely to commit than he is.”
Ouch. She packs a punch, just like her sister .
“You’re right. Dante and I both learned early in our lives that commitment in our family is a death sentence. It just isn’ t possible. You a re the real thing, and I’d have run from you at lightning speed long before it ever got to where you and Dante wound up.”
I see the gears turning in her head , and I know what’s coming before she even opens her mouth.
“Damien. I need you to be honest with me. It’s time for me to know what made Dante the way he is. Can you please tell me why the two of you don’ t believe in relationships? What happened that you both feel this way? ”
Tilting my head back, I let out a breath and close my eyes. Internally I struggle with the decision. To disclose or not to disclose? How angry would Dante be? Will this help Sabrina? In the end, I decide that if it helps her at all, I have to do i t. Opening my eyes, I nod at her .
“Your parents died before we met, but there are pictures all over this room of you all as a family, smiling and laughing. I've also heard you and Brooke talk about them enough that I know that you all loved each other. They valued you both, treated you well, too k care of you and parented you. What Dante and I grew up with was… the exact opposite of that.”
“I was four years old the first time I can remember our parents l eaving us home alone. It wasn’ t the fir st time,
Christ, she still does n’ t see it.
“He was a lot more than attracted. Still, he damn well knew to steer clear of you . I’m furious with him right now. He knew doing this could only hurt you . I’m going to knock his ass out for that.”
My gut clenches when she shakes her head at me in frustration. Dammit, she i s going to defend what he ha s done.
“No! Damien. No. This is my fault. He gave me the out, more than once. He was never less than honest with me. He told me from the get go that he would never, could never, commit. I was a fool for thinking I could handle what that meant. I went in to this with my eyes open. I’m just paying the price now for not realizing what that would feel like.”
Just like that, the other shoe drops. I knew this was a ser ious problem, but it’s a lot more than that. This is going to destroy her.
“Oh hell Sabrina… Shit. It ’ s worse than I thought. You aren’t just suffering because it is over. You ’ re in love with him.”
My heart feels uncomfortably tight in my chest as Sabrina’s fa c ade crumbles and tears start to leak out of her eyes. I’m out of my chair and on the couch with her in seconds.
“I ’m…fine … I never cr -cry in front of people. I’m ok.”
“ Shh . Let it out. You need to let it out. Let yourself go for a minute. I’m here.”
I let her cry it out as I rage on the inside at what a fucking moron my brother is. How could he ignore the baggage that we come with? There is no excuse for this!
Finally, I sense that she has wound down and is no longer as fragile. Grabbing a tissue from the side table, I dab away her tears . Sabrina has a lot of the same qualities that draw me to Brooke, and I understand why my brother found her irresistible. It does n’ t make it right, but I get it.
“ You truly are lovely. You manage to be beautiful even when you cry. Got to say, if Dante had not figuratively put up ‘no trespassing’ tape around you the second he met you , I’d have come after you myself . Of course, then I wouldn’ t have you as an honorary sister, and that would be a loss. He i s a damn fool for not locking you down.”
She shakes her head sadly at me, looking as though I’ve just broken off another piece of her heart. “Oh please Damien. You ’ re even less likely to commit than he is.”
Ouch. She packs a punch, just like her sister .
“You’re right. Dante and I both learned early in our lives that commitment in our family is a death sentence. It just isn’ t possible. You a re the real thing, and I’d have run from you at lightning speed long before it ever got to where you and Dante wound up.”
I see the gears turning in her head , and I know what’s coming before she even opens her mouth.
“Damien. I need you to be honest with me. It’s time for me to know what made Dante the way he is. Can you please tell me why the two of you don’ t believe in relationships? What happened that you both feel this way? ”
Tilting my head back, I let out a breath and close my eyes. Internally I struggle with the decision. To disclose or not to disclose? How angry would Dante be? Will this help Sabrina? In the end, I decide that if it helps her at all, I have to do i t. Opening my eyes, I nod at her .
“Your parents died before we met, but there are pictures all over this room of you all as a family, smiling and laughing. I've also heard you and Brooke talk about them enough that I know that you all loved each other. They valued you both, treated you well, too k care of you and parented you. What Dante and I grew up with was… the exact opposite of that.”
“I was four years old the first time I can remember our parents l eaving us home alone. It wasn’ t the fir st time,
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