Winning the Heir Who Bullied Me
Chapter 118
I spend the next fifteen minutes talking to June,
They’re on the car ride to school, and she excitedly tells me about her first night in Penny’s home. They had dinosaur nuggets and fries for dinner, and this morning, pancakes and scrambled eggs.
She introduces me to Jackie and Jamie–two caramel–skinned children with obviously opposing personalities. While Jackie greets me with almost as much enthusiasm as June, Jamie barely looks up from his sketchpad, offering a small wave instead.
As we talk, it’s hard to keep my tears at bay. Because while I’m glad June isn’t having a hard time settling in, the ease with which she’s done it makes me feel like she never really needed me.
And when we have to say goodbye because they’ve arrived at her school, it’s all I can do not to wail as she waves and hangs up.
My hand drops to my side, and I slide down the wall to the floor, hugging my knees to myself. Nathan joins me and places a hand on my
knee.
“Why do you look sad?”
I shake my head. “No, I’m happy, it’s just…” I sniff. “It’s silly, but seeing her so happy without me makes me feel awful.” I shrug. “I guess I’ve always needed her more than she needs me.”
Nathan shifts, sliding beside me, and gathers me in his arms, resting my head against his warm chest. The sound of his heart beating in my ears soothes me. “June will always need you, April,” he says firmly. “Never doubt that.”
“She also needs space,” I whisper. “And a normal childhood.”
There’s silence in the room for a while, and then Nathan asks, “How did they die?”
I stiffen.
Instantly, Nathan backtracks. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked. You don’t have to-”
I shake my head. “It’s okay.” I lift my head from his chest and gently cup his face. “I…” As the words form in my mind, I’m shocked by how much I mean them. “I want to tell you.”
Somehow, I’m no longer the April who wanted to keep all the ugly parts of herself hidden. Maybe because he’s let me in, too, slowly, gradually. He’s not perfect, and neither am I.
Nathan knew he would have night terrors, and yet he came to me last night. He let me see that broken part of him, and I find that I want him to see the broken parts of me, too.
“When I was fifteen, my dad had a car accident and had to undergo surgery.” My voice sounds rough and hollow, and as I start the story, my stomach churns. “He was given a shit ton of painkillers, and by the time he came home and started getting better, he was hooked on them. Instead of helping wean him off them, my mom joined him.”
I’ve never voiced out the details–not even June knows the full story–and it feels like I’m peeling back the scab of an old wound. Still, I forge ahead.
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16:12 Thu, Oct 9
Chapter 118
“It wasn’t obvious at first, and they could still function as human beings and parents. For the first year, I didn’t even notice. But then June, who was only fom at the time, gol diagnosed with diabetes, and trips to the doctors were long and suspicious. Echureble Strerty. “Sometimes they’d go without her.
found myself shouldering more and more of the responsibility in the house. Taking care of June, especially. Eventually, it became clear that something was seriously wrong with my parents.
“They would stumble home at odd hours sporting all kinds of injuries.” 1 glance at Nathan, whose eyes are fixed unblinkingly on me. Somehow, his gaze gives me the strength to continue. “That’s how I know how to treat injuries so well, I tell him. “I practiced on my parents, not June.”
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