I Flipping Love You (Shacking Up #3)(84)

My stomach clenches, and not in a good way as I open the door. He looks angry. Maybe angrier than he did the last time I spoke to him. “Hi.”

I don’t get so much as a smile in response. He glares at me with stormy eyes, full of confrontation. “Why didn’t you tell me who your family was?”

I clasp my hands so I don’t fidget under his rightfully angry gaze. “I didn’t think it was important,” I say meekly.

He purses his lips, eyes moving over my face. There’s no warmth, just hurt. “You didn’t think it was important to tell me that my sister’s fiancé’s family were responsible for exposing your parents?”

“I didn’t put it together until I saw that article when I stayed at your place.”

“Is that part of the reason you bolted then? Was everything else just a way to push the blame off on me?”

Shame and fear make it hard to speak. Shame over who my family is, fear that my omissions are going to cost me so much more than some embarrassment. In hindsight, maybe I’ve made a bigger deal out of it than necessary, but explaining who my family is and what they did is mortifying beyond belief.

“Where are your parents, Rian?”

I look down at my feet, unable to see his disdain for me. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know or you don’t want to tell me?”

I curl my toes under, hating the way my stomach knots. “I haven’t heard from them in three years.” They could be dead, although I have a feeling if that was the case, I would probably get a call.

“Three years?” His voice is laced with disbelief.

I twist my hands, remembering the last time I heard my mother’s voice; the sound of her laughter, the music in the background, the crashing of waves. “The last time my mom called was our twenty-fifth birthday.” There’s bitterness in the memory I don’t want.

His face falls, his anger ebbing slightly. “And you’ve had no contact since?”

I bite the inside of my lip, trying to keep the tears they don’t deserve from falling. “They said it was too dangerous, someone could trace the calls. We had a small trust come due that birthday, so…”

“They called to get money out of you?” I loathe his pity because it confirms what I already know—my parents are beyond horrible.

There’s no point in keeping any of this from him anymore. Whatever his reaction, I’m done hiding the truth. “When we wouldn’t wire them money, they tried to redirect it into their account. Of course, it didn’t work because the money was in our names. After that Marley and I changed our phone numbers and switched over to new accounts so it wouldn’t happen again. It was too painful to hear from them, especially when we knew it wasn’t because they cared or were worried about us, but because they wanted something.” I smile, but it’s pained and my throat feels tight. Marley’s been my only person for so many years. I haven’t let anyone else in; I’m haunted by a legacy anyone would be ashamed of.

Pierce’s lip curls. “That’s disgusting.”

“It is,” I agree. “You see why I wasn’t eager to share any of this? My parents are bad people. They’re cheaters, liars, and thieves. My dad used me to swindle people. I didn’t know what he was doing, and when I realized I’d helped him … it was devastating. Marley and I did everything we could to separate ourselves from them. We legally changed our last name to sever the ties. My dad left us ten thousand dollars in cash and no way to contact them. Why would I want you to know that about my life? Tell me it doesn’t change how you see me.”

He shakes his head, and I despise how sad he looks, because it makes me feel pitied. “I can’t, because you’re right, this most definitely changes the way I see you.”

I drop my head and wish my hair wasn’t in a ponytail, that it could provide a curtain of protection for the pain I can’t hide. I hate that I have to carry this past with me forever. I press my palm to my mouth, fighting back a sob, because even though they’ve disappeared from my life, my parents still manage to ruin all the things I love.

“Hey.” Pierce’s rough, callused fingers skim my jaw. I can’t handle this gentle affection, not when I know it’s coming from a place of pity, and that the end is inevitable.

I twist my head, unwilling to see how this truth changes everything. And it’s now that I recognize how much I wanted to keep this, us, him. I want him to want me regardless of who my family is.

“Rian, you need to look at me.”

“I don’t want to.” I sound petulant, and my voice cracks.

He ducks down so his face is right in front of mine, and his nose brushes the tip of mine. “I think you need to ask me how what you’ve told me changes how I see you.”

“I already know.”

“You think so?”

“You feel sorry for me. You’re going to tell me how awful that must’ve been, but I’ll understand if you can’t be with me anymore. I know I should’ve told you the truth right from the start, or maybe I shouldn’t have gotten involved with you in the first place. But I didn’t think it was going to get complicated like this. I thought—”

“Can you shut up for a second?”

“You don’t need to explain. I get it, P—”