‘For sure.’ Krystal’s tone showed she wasn’t going to push the next meeting.
Reen walked across the street, tucking her hands into her back pockets. Her skin prickled, and her heart raced. She wasn’t sure why she’d reacted that way. Clearly, she threatened Krystal in some way. Brody would be the type of guy to talk about his past relationships with someone. That was in high school though. They were adults now. Did their relationship still matter to him? He’d taken her in when she needed it, but he couldn’t have wanted more from her. Not when he had a girlfriend.
Reen wondered if Brody and Krystal’s relationship was the real thing. He’d said it was casual, but to Krystal, it seemed serious. Some men were weird that way. They could say those three little words behind closed doors and act like friends in public.
Numerous scenarios filled Reen’s mind, but then, she shook them loose, burying them. None of this mattered. She wasn’t sticking around long-term anyway. Brody could do whatever he wanted and so could Reen.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Saturday afternoon, Nadine volunteered Reen and Brody for a repeat performance of lunch duty. There was no way Reen could refuse, but she wished her friend would have asked first. Though, if Reen were more open with her conflicted feelings about Brody, she doubted Nadine would have requested her. But it was too late now since Brody was already on his way.
It was even hotter than the day before. Reen’s hair stuck to her bare shoulders, so she pulled it into a ponytail as she made her way to the parking area where Brody had left his truck. She’d managed to avoid him all day, and she wondered if he’d done the same. She hadn’t seen a glimpse of him since last night.
As she approached, Brody lifted a bigger cooler from the back. This one didn’t have wheels.
The Siren’s logo was etched into the plastic sides.
‘Hey,’ she said, not wanting to startle him. ‘You need a hand?’
‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘We’re going to have to carry this.’ The muscles in his arms tensed as he lowered the cooler to the ground. He stood up and raked a hand through his hair before lifting his shirt to wipe his face.
Her gaze shot to his flat stomach.
‘You don’t have a cart or anything?’ she asked, focusing on his sunglasses instead.
‘No. I keep trying to get Missy to buy a new cooler, but she refuses.’
‘Tough boss.’
He smirked. ‘The toughest.’ Bending down, he lifted one side.
She let out a grunt as she lifted the handle.
‘It’s not that heavy,’ he said grinning.
Using two hands, she adjusted her grip. ‘Let’s empty this and then it won’t be.’
‘I hope things weren’t awkward between you and Krystal yesterday,’ Brody said.
Reen forced a shrug. ‘Why would they be?’ She hoped he didn’t hear the tremble in her voice. As much as she thought she could outrun their past, until they talked about it everything was going to be weird between them.
‘I did tell her about you. About us.’
‘What did you say?’ Reen asked.
He cleared his throat, squinting up ahead. ‘She asked why I didn’t date locals. Somehow it came up in conversation.’
‘What does that have to do with me?’
‘I shouldn’t have said anything – you coming back here makes this hard. I just – I wanted to clear the air and make sure we were good.’
Reen dropped her side of the cooler to the ground. At that moment, there was nothing more she wanted than for him to explain himself. ‘You mentioned it for a reason. Tell me.’
He held on to the cooler as if keeping it between them protected him somehow.
For a moment, she saw the boy she’d dated all those years ago. It had been an awkward first few weeks before they got into the swing of things. The man standing in front of her was the friend from before they took their relationship to another level, as well as the one she’d snuggled with in the back of the movie theater.
‘What do you want me to say, Reen? I know Missy already blurted out how I felt about you leaving. While I don’t want to get into how pissed I am with her for doing that, I want you to know how I feel.’ His voice grew louder, and more than one person looked their way.
‘How do you feel?’ she asked, a little breathless. When she’d first left, she was so angry with Mom. She didn’t think about how Brody might feel. At least not right away. As she’d wanted to leave The Burrow quickly and without ties, she didn’t contact anyone. Eventually, she knew it was a big mistake, and when she tried to connect with him again, Missy had stepped in and warned Rose, who, in turn, told Reen not to try to speak with him after what she’d done. Reen wondered if Brody knew that.
‘Now? I don’t feel much. But when you left, it hurt.’
Her cheeks flamed, and she wasn’t sure what to say anymore. Nothing could have prepared her for this conversation. She’d expected to be in and out of this town in one day. Now a question faced her, which had riddled her brain for years. All the ‘what if’ scenarios flew from her mind and she didn’t have anything to say.
He stared at her, waiting for a response. He deserved it. Everyone she’d left behind did. Yet, she couldn’t offer one.
‘We should keep going before this food goes bad,’ she said, lifting her side of the cooler.
His usually playful and sparkling eyes turned dull and emotionless. Without another word, he nodded, and they carried on their way.
The last fifteen minutes were torturous. Neither of them spoke to each other, even though there were plenty of words zipping through her mind. Once they’d dropped off the last meal, Brody lifted the cooler on his own and headed back to his truck. She didn’t run after him, and he didn’t say goodbye.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
When Rose initially allowed the real estate company to rent their childhood home to strangers, she’d put their belongings in a storage facility. Since Reen was home, Rose wanted her to clear out the things she’d left behind, donating what she didn’t want or need.
Reen had nothing better to do on a Monday morning, so she went with Rose to a nearby town to check out the contents of her earlier life.
The storage facility looked like any other. It was off the highway, a place Reen had driven past a million times, but never given a second look. She didn’t even remember what she’d left behind. They were all inconsequential to her life.
The need for a distraction grew over the weekend. Sunday was the worst day out of the three at the festival. She finally spoke to Nadine about Brody, so her friend didn’t push them together again as she had when they were kids. Nadine was Team Reen and Brody all the way, even when they were just friends. Nadine didn’t say much since she said it was clear that Reen had already come to a conclusion on her own.
She wasn’t too sure about that.
At night, Reen went over her and Brody’s conversation in her head, wondering how it could have turned out differently. Compassion came to mind, but there was no going back.
Reen cut off those thoughts as Rose opened the door to the assigned storage room. ‘I couldn’t bear it if I got rid of your things and you wanted something back. Everything is over there. I labeled the boxes with your name.’
It was hard to believe Rose had stored the contents of Reen’s life in the corner of the room. The clump of boxes seemed much smaller and less significant than she remembered. Their childhood home wasn’t a mansion. But it was a place with larger-than-life memories and events.
There were five boxes in total, and Reen started with the top one, lifting it and placing it on the floor. She flipped it open. Several vacuum bags filled the inside. Each of them held the dark clothing of her youth.
‘You kept my clothes?’ Reen asked.
Rose’s head popped up between two boxes. ‘You didn’t take much with you.’
‘You could have donated this stuff.’
‘Well, we can donate whatever you don’t want anymore. I didn’t want to ma
ke that choice for you.’
Reen lifted an eyebrow at that. Pulling open one of the bags, she saw that the clothes appeared to breathe back to life. She grabbed a T-shirt and pulled it out. The faded picture of the Piano Man stared back at her. She brought the black shirt to her face and inhaled. It kept the smell of the event. The scent brought her back to when she was sixteen and Brody took her to a Billy Joel concert in Hartford. He bought the tickets with money from waiting tables. His mom drove them and remained in the parking lot until the show was over.
She turned her body away from Rose, unwilling to show how much she cared about a stupid T-shirt. At the time Brody could barely afford the shirt, but he bought it for her anyway. It was their first real date, and she wore it to bed almost every night until the day she left. The fabric was still thin from so much washing, but she’d never give it up. It had been in the washer when she left, and it took her a while to remember leaving it. She went through the clothes, keeping a few other shirts. She buried the Billy Joel one between the others so that Rose wouldn’t notice her nostalgia.
‘Reen,’ Rose said. ‘Over here.’
‘What is it?’
Rose leaned over a blue bin. Several frames rested on the lid next to her. ‘Shane suggested I check out some of our parents’ things to find any link to Mom’s past.’
‘You’re still on this?’ Reen asked.
Rose glanced at her sister. ‘Humor me.’
Reen glanced down at the bin and a breath caught in her throat. Photographs of their parents, ones that had peppered almost every flat surface of their house, stared up at her. Her hand curled into a fist. She wanted to pick one up and bring it closer.
‘Here,’ Rose said, handing over a photograph. ‘This picture was inside a frame, behind a picture of Dad and Mom.’
Reen didn’t recognize the people in the picture right away.
‘Is that Dad?’
‘And Uncle Harry, and Aunt Carolina.’
Reen shook her head. ‘That’s not Carolina.’
‘It is,’ Rose said.
Reen brought the picture closer, trying to find their aunt’s scowling expression in the smiling girl’s face. ‘But Dad has his arm around her. They look close.’
‘They do,’ Rose said, standing up from the floor. She rubbed the debris off her knees and moved closer to Reen. ‘Much closer than Aunt Carolina let on.’
The three of them were on a dock somewhere. Reen didn’t recall seeing her aunt ever smile. ‘They look happy together, almost friendly.’
‘Maybe she was different as a teen.’
Reen snorted. She couldn’t imagine Aunt Carolina any way other than she was now. ‘Or this was before he met Mom.’
‘Why would they keep this photo?’ Rose asked.
‘It does show Uncle Harry. Maybe it was a good memory for Dad?’
‘I know that. But it was behind another one. Almost as if it was kept there in secret.’
‘Aunt Carolina said Mom went to see her when she was pregnant with you. Do you think it’s possible Dad wanted to make amends too?’
Rose raked a hand through her long hair. Reen hadn’t missed her long locks until that moment. ‘We can bring this to her and ask for answers.’
Reen shook her head. ‘I’m not going back there.’
‘Why not?’
‘She made it clear she didn’t want us anywhere near their family.’
‘But here is proof that their relationship was strong at some point. We could go to her—’
‘Rose, are you listening? I’m not going back there.’ The heat from her cheeks rose to the top of her head, prickling her hair. The walls moved in around her.
‘Why not? Don’t you want answers?’
‘She isn’t going to tell us anything about mermaids. If you bring it up, she’ll think we’re crazy and slam the door in our faces.’
‘What do you suggest?’ Rose asked.
Reen handed the photograph back. ‘If we don’t find anything here, I think we need to drop it. Mom kept her past a secret for a reason. We shouldn’t mess with it.’
‘I can’t believe you’re giving up so easily.’
‘What else can we do? You realize how crazy this all sounds?’
‘Don’t you think I’ve gone over every logical reason for all of this? I’m not naive, Reen. I know mermaids aren’t supposed to be real, but I know what I saw.’ Rose’s words cut off, and her gaze went far away.
‘What’s wrong?’
Rose opened and closed her mouth a few times. ‘I have an idea, but I’m not sure if it will work.’
‘Does it involve Aunt Carolina?’ Reen asked.
‘No,’ Rose said, placing the photo on top of another box. She started to stack the rest of the photos neatly in the container. ‘It involves Mom, though.’
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Later that afternoon, they arrived at the Whinding House. When she got out of the car, Reen lifted her chin, trying to appear unfazed by Rose’s secretiveness about what they were doing there. She expected Mom to be sleeping since Rose had told her that was what Mom did most of her day, but when they walked into the room, Mom was wide awake.
At least Reen wouldn’t have to wait long to see her sister’s plan.
‘Good morning, Pearl,’ Rose said, walking to Mom’s side.
Reen couldn’t get over calling their mom by her first name.
Mom’s glossy eyes roamed around until they found Rose. Even though it didn’t appear as if she knew either of them, Rose placed her hand on Mom’s and squeezed.
‘I thought we could take a walk out to the ocean,’ Rose said, smiling. It was as if she were speaking to a small child.
Reen wasn’t sure what to expect, but Rose’s lips curved downward into a frown. Did she think Mom would jump for joy about it?
‘I’ll be right back,’ she said.
Reen shook her head. ‘Should I be here alone? Remember what happened last time?’
‘Just stay here,’ Rose said, patting her arm. ‘She’s still Mom. I’m going to get a wheelchair.’
Reen wasn’t too sure about that.
Rose left the room while Reen kept her distance from Mom. She didn’t want anyone to think she was here to stir up trouble again. She’d learned her lesson. Mom glanced at her and then back to the window. It was as if Reen were a random visitor instead of a family member.
Rose conversed with Katrina in the hallway, and as they entered, Reen stood straighter as if they’d caught her doing something wrong, even though she hadn’t done much at all in Rose’s absence.
‘Fresh air will do you some good, Pearl,’ Katrina said, walking into the room.
This woman’s cheerfulness toward Mom was unwavering.
Katrina and Rose helped Mom into the wheelchair. Reen wasn’t sure what to do with her hands. But at her angle, she didn’t miss the way Mom’s spine jutted out from under her skin. Tears brimmed her eyes. Her mother seemed so frail, even more than on her other visits.
With their attention on Mom, Reen wiped at her eyes and turned around until she was sure she’d cleared all emotion from her face.
#
A thin concrete path weaved down from the side of the building to the beach. Rose still hadn’t disclosed why they were taking Mom to the water, and why she was so excited by the idea. There were times Reen preferred to be in the dark, especially when it came to Mom. Rose had been there for her through the tough times. Reen felt more like a stranger in her family now than ever before. Mom and Rose had years behind them. Years Reen would never get back.
Outside, it was harder to hold back her emotions. The salty air was much stronger, and the scent coaxed her to the water. It was all she could do to keep her pace behind Rose instead of pushing by her and running into the surf.
‘The water is beautiful today,’ Rose said to Mom.
Mom’s hands curled in her lap, but she said nothing.
Reen glanced upward. The sun was high in the sky, and even though a breeze
flowed from the water, it wasn’t cold by any means. She wondered how long they had before heading back inside and if Rose would get what she wanted out of the encounter with the water.
‘Tell me we’re not wheeling this thing onto the sand,’ Reen muttered.
‘No,’ Rose said. ‘We’ll get close, though.’
At the end of the path, where the concrete stopped, Rose pushed the brakes on the chair. She knelt next to Mom, pulling the photograph from her bag.
‘Pearl,’ Rose said. ‘I wanted to show you this picture.’
Mom leaned closer, and Rose did as well.
Reen held her breath, enough for her chest to ache.
‘Do you know this man?’ Rose pointed to Dad.
Mom muttered something.
‘What was that?’ Reen asked.
Rose flicked a glance upward, unable to hide the smirk from her lips. ‘That’s your husband. Do you remember?’
Mom blinked a few times but said nothing.
Reen let go of her breath and went to Mom’s side, taking her hand. Mom glanced toward Reen, and for a split second, she thought something sparked between them. Instead, Mom looked at the ocean, and her shoulders relaxed. It was as if she’d entered a place Rose and Reen would never be able to touch.
Rose stood up. The picture remained pinched between her fingers.
‘Was that the reaction you were looking for?’ Reen asked.
‘Don’t,’ Rose said. Clearly, it wasn’t.
‘Can we drop this now?’ Reen asked, unsure of where the burning anger in her heart stemmed from. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected either. Hope had somehow grabbed her, and now there was nothing. Mom’s clarity from the other day wouldn’t come back. Mom wouldn’t ask Reen about her life. Or explain more about the past she kept hidden inside of her.
At that moment, she couldn’t help feeling the mirror image of herself within Mom. Was this what Rose felt like when Reen ignored her? Reen had built up brick walls against her family, firm and unwavering. Yet, Rose continued her attempts to chip away at it.
Now, Reen somehow understood what her sister had gone through all these years. It wasn’t Mom’s fault that she’d lost her memories and carved away into a shell of herself, but Reen wanted answers.
The Sisters' Secrets: Reen Page 10
