Without a Hitch(95)

“I don’t understand you, Dad.”

“You don’t have to understand me, son. But do you understand this girl?”

I nod, weighing his words.

“Why did you ask about my mom?” Nova whispers.

I stare at her sad eyes for a beat too long. When a tear slips free, I want to throat punch myself.

Just because I’m miserable doesn’t mean I want my family to be.

“I was just wondering how long this feeling would last,” I finally admit with a painful gruffness to my voice.

“So, you do love her?”

“I’ve only known her for a few months. We’ve only really gotten to know each other the last two weeks.”

“Like my Lila and me,” my dad surmises.

“Do you love her?” Nova asks again, handing me a bottle of water.

My gaze bounces to each member of my family before falling back to my sister. “She got me to wear bloody baby trackies.” I shrug like that’s answer enough.

Nova’s eyes sparkle as she regards me with a smile. “You’re worried that she’s like Christine.”

“No. I’m not,” I bellow. Unable to make eye contact with anyone, I start tossing Skittles wrappers out of the tub. “She’s nothing like Christine.”

“Then what are you scared of?” my mother asks with none of her usual primness.

My head throbs, and I close my eyes. How long have I been awake?

“I told you recently that Christine changed you long before she deceived you. Do you remember that?” Nova says.

I nod, but keep my eyes closed and feel her hand take the bottle of water and bring it to my lips. I drink greedily, washing down the Skittle scuz.

“Do you know what I meant by that?” Nova’s voice wavers in my ears, but I fight the urge to sleep.

“No,” I grunt, forcing one eye open.

“She was playing mind games with you from the day she walked into that hotel, Loch. The very first time I met her, she was diminishing the award you had just received for excellence in hospitality.

That’s something you worked your ass off to achieve. How do you think Tilly would have responded to that award?”

My head sways as my entire body smiles. “She would have thrown a bloody fantastic party.”

I don’t have to look to know Nova’s smiling. “And what did Christine say when you told her you were uncomfortable with her ‘friendly’ flirting with hotel employees?”

“I’ll answer that one,” my mother hisses. “She told him his emotions were his responsibility.”

“What about when she’d come home hours later than she said she’d be?”

Jesus, Nova is really knifing me about this.

“That I always remembered things wrong, or I was making a big deal out of nothing.” The words taste as bitter as the bile rising in my throat. “If we’re going down this road, let’s not forget when she gave me chlamydia and told me it was my fault.” My voice is hoarse by the time I get the last word out, and the room sways.

Nova lays a hand on my shoulder, grounding me. The room stops swirling, and I stare up at her.

“Do you see what she was doing, Lochlan? The systematic way she twisted things? You loved her.

You loved her hard, and that’s the only thing you were ever at fault for. You simply chose the wrong girl. She spent years gaslighting you, and there was nothing we could do about it. We spoke up when we could, but when we did, she tried to turn you away from us.”

I reach out, clutching Nova’s hand for support. “That never would have happened,” I vow.

Three sets of misty eyes land on me. “She was very good at what she did. They both were.” My mother’s disapproving tone is weary, and my father reaches out to comfort her. “We welcomed her into our home, our family. Nova is the only one who had concerns, and by the time we realized she was right, well, you were moving ahead with the wedding at breakneck speed.”

I swallow the bile inching closer to an exit.

“What is it that draws you to Tilly?” my father asks, then encourages me to drink more water with a nudge.

“She’s so strong, but no one sees it. She’s the support beam of so many structures but never asks for a hand. She takes care of everyone around her effortlessly. She gives herself so completely and freely that it’s hard not to…”

“To what?” he gently coaxes.

“To…to fall in love with her. Bloody fucket. I love her.” My stomach lurches, and I swat Nova out of the way as a rainbow waterfall erupts from my mouth.

She gasps and jumps away. “Gross, Lochness. Jesus, how many freaking Skittles did you eat?”

“It seems my boy has been existing solely on Skittles and beer.” My father chuckles while rubbing my back like I’m a sick child.

“Bloody hell.”

“Well, what are you going to do about it, Banny?”

“I’ll clean it up, Mother.” I force the words out inbetween a dry heave. There’s a reason I never drink beer. Christ, it’s like the devil himself is trying to evacuate my body.

“Not the vomit. What are you going to do about Tilly?”

My head snaps up, and I swear my eyes roll around my skull like a pinball machine. “She wants a wedding.” I see the concern in my mother’s gaze. “Not today. I don’t think, anyway,” I say, rubbing the back of my head. “But that’s the only thing she’ll ever ask of me. That commitment. The promise to choose her every day.”