Until Harry(53)

Ally sniffled and nodded her head to Lochlan.

“Oh,” he said, then cleared his throat. “I didn’t know.”

“How could you know?” I questioned. “You never gave me a chance to explain. You came in here pointing your stupid fat finger and jumped to your own conclusion. Typical Lochlan.”

The tension that had left Lochlan’s body came back tenfold.

“I know you, Lane, and you have a way of starting trouble out of nothing,” he sneered.

He might as well have kicked me in the face. It would have hurt less.

“You’re wrong, dear brother,” I mocked. “You don’t know me; you haven’t known me for a long time.”

“And whose fucking fault is that?” he suddenly bellowed.

Ally jumped, but I didn’t. Lochlan didn’t scare me. I was used to his outbursts.

“I’m sorry, Ally,” Lochlan murmured, his voice incredibly soft towards her. “Can you give me a minute with my sister?”

He said the word “sister” like one would say “cancer”.

Ally nodded to both of us, tenderly touched Lochlan’s arm, then scurried out of the room, closing the door behind her. I blinked at the closed door, then looked to Lochlan, and my face lit up when I put two and two together.

“I’m so stupid,” I said, laughing. “No wonder you defended her yesterday in the sitting room and just now: you’re shagging her.”

Lochlan scowled at me. “Don’t talk about what you don’t know.”

I laughed harder. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

He glared at me, his silence screaming a resounding yes.

I shook my head. “For years you never let older boys near me, and now you’re shacked up with someone the same age as me? The exact age as your little sister, Lochlan. This is just bloody brilliant.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he growled.

I ignored him. “Maybe I should take a leaf out of your book and scare her away from you. It seemed to work out well when you did it to me all those years ago.”

Lochlan’s gaze hardened. “That’s different. We aren’t kids anymore.”

“Since when has maturity mattered between siblings?” I asked.

My brother narrowed his eyes to slits. “Leave. Ally. Alone.”

I held up my hands in front of my chest. “No problem, big bro. I won’t be here long enough to screw you out of getting laid. Trust me, the first chance I get, I’m out of here.”

Lochlan’s whole demeanour went rigid. “Stop threatening us with that.”

I looked away from him. “You know I’m leaving when everything is squared away with Uncle Harry’s things. It’s not a threat if it’s true.”

He stepped towards me. “You can stay here if you want to; you know you can.”

“Uncle Harry is gone,” I replied, gazing out the kitchen window. “What’s left for me here?”

“Me!” Lochlan roared.

I almost jumped out of my skin when he shouted. I quickly looked in his direction and backed up against the kitchen counter when I saw how tense his features were. I had never seen him look so infuriated before.

“I’m here,” he bit out. “Layton is here. Mum, Dad and Nanny are here for you. Kale is here for you too, not that you’ve ever given a damn about him.”

It was my turn to shout then.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I bellowed, rage flowing through my veins. “I left for Kale! I left so he could be with Drew and have their baby. I didn’t want to remind him of the bullshit I put him through every time he saw me, and I didn’t want to put a strain on their relationship, because I knew Drew didn’t like me around him. I left so he could finally be happy, so don’t you fucking dare tell me I never cared for him. I loved him with everything in me, you arsehole. I left my entire life for him!”

What I didn’t say was that I also left because I couldn’t watch Kale’s life with another play out before my eyes, but Lochlan didn’t need to know that.

He stared back at me with wide eyes.

I shook my head. “I love you, Lochlan, but you make me hate you sometimes.”

He swallowed as tension left his features. “I don’t mean to be so hard on you, but you didn’t just leave Kale or Uncle Harry when you went away. You left me too.”

My heart hurt for him.

“And I’m sorry for hurting you, but I didn’t know what else to do at the time. I couldn’t be here. It was too hard.”

Lochlan blinked. “And now?”

I frowned. “And now I don’t know how I feel. I’m a bundle of emotions with everything going on. I just need to get a handle on myself and think for a while.”

“I’ve been in a relationship with Ally for the last four years.”

Out of all the things I expected my brother to say, that was not it.

“What?” I gaped. “Four years?”

He nodded. “We’re engaged.”

Thank God I had the counter to lean against because I was sure I would have fallen over without it.

“It’s not just shagging, as you so nicely put it. I love her, and she loves me.”