LOGINSara I stared at him, my mouth still open because my brain was stuck on whatever mess he just dropped and I could barely keep up after the phone call with Mom and everything else crashing down tonight. “What the hell Renaldo you said Rowan isn’t my biological dad or something like that but now you’re backtracking start over and actually make sense this time because I’m two seconds from walking out and pretending none of this happened.”He rubbed the back of his neck again and his eyes kept flicking down to my chest for a second before snapping back up to my face like he was trying not to but couldn’t help it and that just made my face heat up more. “Okay okay I messed it up before I was trying to explain but yeah Kacy is your stepdad right not your real dad and he’s my uncle too so that whole cousin thing we thought was going on it doesn’t actually work like that Rowan is your dad and he’s my dad too but with Kacy in the mix as stepdad for you guys and uncle for me it makes us more l
Sara Saphira reached out again her face all twisted up with worry. “Sara that was rough but you said what you needed to she’s probably thinking about it now at least.”I pushed her away harder this time stepping back toward the door because everything felt too close and too much. “I don’t want to talk about it right now I just need some air or something I’m going downstairs for milk or whatever I don’t even care.”She followed me a couple steps her voice soft. “I’ll come with you we can sit and calm down together like we always do.”“No” I said sharper than I meant to my hand already on the doorknob. “Stay here I need a minute alone seriously Saphira just give me that much.”She looked hurt but she stopped and nodded and I slipped out before she could change her mind closing the door behind me a little too hard. The hallway felt quieter than it should after all that yelling downstairs earlier and I headed down the stairs trying not to make too much noise even though my mind was still
SaraI grabbed my phone off the nightstand before it could ring one more time even though my stomach was already twisting up because I knew talking to Mom right now was probably the worst idea ever. Saphira sat up straight next to me on the bed her eyes going all wide as she mouthed don’t you dare but it was too late my thumb had already hit the answer button.“Hey Mom” I said trying to sound normal but it came out all flat and tired like I’d already run out of energy for whatever this was going to turn into.Mom’s voice came blasting through right away all sharp and full of that tone she gets when she’s fishing for trouble. “Sara where are you right now and is your sister with you because I swear if you two pulled some stunt together after everything that happened tonight I don’t even know what I’m going to do with you girls.”“Yeah she’s right here” I said glancing over at Saphira who was already shaking her head and reaching out like she could snatch the phone from me and fix the w
SaraNow back to when I just arrived here and Kayla came home and saw me.Kayla was standing right there waiting like she knew something was up, her arms crossed tight and her eyes narrowing the second she saw my bag. “Rowan, we need to talk now,” she said quickly , grabbing his arm and dragging him off to the kitchen before I could even say hi or put my things down. I heard them through the wall, her voice sharp and fast. “What is this? You bring her here without asking? We’ve got Renaldo to think about and I’m not opening up our home to Liv’s problems again.”Rowan jumped in right away, his tone getting that stubborn edge. “Kayla, she’s staying. Sara can’t go back there tonight with the way things are. I’m her dad and I’m not turning her away.”She cut him off with a loud sigh. “Of course you’re not. It’s always the same with you, playing the hero for your old life while I deal with the fallout. Renaldo doesn’t need this drama right now with football season coming.”“Yeah but she’s
Sara Kayla rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might stick, stepping closer to Renaldo and putting a hand on his shoulder even though he shrugged it off quick. “Figure it out? That’s rich coming from you, Rowan. You sneak the girls over here to talk about Liv like she’s some victim in all this and expect me to just nod along? I’ve put up with enough of your hang-ups about her over the years. Sara’s been here dealing with our fights already, and now you want to add more? No. Not happening.” “Mom, Dad, can you both just stop?” Renaldo snapped back, voice rising over hers, and he looked right at me and Saphira like we were the problem even though we were just sitting there trying to keep up. “You’re always like this. Arguing, making promises, then everything falls apart. That’s why I pushed so hard into football, to have something that was mine, away from Dad’s hockey dreams and all the yelling. Coming back here made it ten times worse and now this? Twins showing up like some plot
Sara I grabbed the edge of the couch cushion because my hands wouldn’t stop shaking after everything Rowan just dumped on us, and then the front door swung open like it had been kicked and Kayla stormed in with this boy trailing behind her. Her face went from normal to straight-up pissed in half a second, eyes narrowing right at Rowan like she’d already guessed this was coming. “Rowan? What the hell is this?” she snapped, voice loud enough to make me flinch.The whole living room exploded into chaos right then, everybody talking at once, and I swear my heart was pounding so hard I could feel it in my ears because this was not how I thought tonight was gonna go after Rowan dragged us over here with that big story about Mom and the poisoning and all the old heartbreak. Saphira shot up halfway off the couch, her cast banging against the coffee table again, and she didn’t even wait for anyone to catch up. “Great, another sibling I didn’t ask for,” she blurted out, all sharp and angry lik
~Mia I couldn't believe Rowan was serious about this batshit plan when he laid it out to us the night before the big game.Brett's living room again, all of us staring at him like he'd lost his damn mind, which he probably had."So, listen," Rowan said, pacing back and forth with that manic energy
~MiaLiv stood there frozen for what felt like forever but was probably just a second, her face all twisted up with leftover terror from thinking he was dead, eyes wide and shiny with tears that hadn't stopped falling yet, and then bam, she launched herself at Rowan like a damn missile, crashing in
~Mia~I just stood there, staring at Liv after we both told Kacy to shut up, and the room felt like it was closing in, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears, and before I could even think straight, the words just tumbled out because fuck it, everything was already ruined. "You know w
Rowan"Fine," I muttered, standing up, "lead the way, but if this blows up, it's on you."We headed upstairs to this private lounge area, dim lights and plush couches, and Brett pulled out a joint from his pocket like it was nothing, lighting up and passing it to me. "Here, this'll mellow you out,







