Beyond Love by Abby Brooks

Author:Abby Brooks [Brooks, Abby]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little Bird Publishing, LLC
Published: 2019-05-13T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Wyatt

Sleep eluded me. For as much as I tried to steer my family away from the accounting errors, they kept asking questions, kept offering suggestions. They only wanted to help, but time and again, I found myself facing the decision of having to continue lying or just finally admitting what Dad had done. More and more, it seemed like the only way I could get my life back together would be if I sat my family down and explained everything—starting from the day he called me into his office and ending with the truth about what Lucas found in the books.

They would hate me when the story finally came out.

And they would have every right.

The problem was, the time for honesty was long past. I should have gone straight to Mom when Dad told me about Madeline. All this time later, with her husband gone, I was the man with the secret. I was the one who would take the brunt of my family’s anger. After eroding my own morals and sense of self, I would be the one they pushed out.

Six months marched by, with that awareness coloring every moment. My family grew stronger and more stable while I learned to live on less and less sleep. Lucas fell in love and got engaged. Caleb and Eli stuck around long enough to know things were okay before they went back to their lives outside The Hut. Harlow settled in, growing closer and closer to Mom. And I drove myself insane, trying to protect everyone from Dad’s final gift.

The one bright point in my life was that after years of silence, Kara and I now spoke often, mostly through text. I cheered her on as she continued to distance herself from her mom and she quietly supported me through my confusion.

I often laughed at how much I used to resent her in my life, because at this point, I couldn’t imagine her not being a part of it. For as much as I supported her throughout her teenaged years, she was a rock for me now, listening as I needed to vent and offering hilarious GIFs in response.

A soft knock caught my attention and I smiled. It was just past dinner time, and I knew, I knew I would find Kara standing on my porch when I opened my door. Bracing myself for whatever madness she had for me that evening—after all, that was all we ever did, run to each other when our world was falling to pieces—I opened the door and found her there, a sad smile pulling at her lips.

“Hey there, big guy.” She brandished a large pizza box. “I come bearing gifts.” She didn’t apologize for showing up unannounced. Nor did she apologize for making the assumption that I would be alone, she simply stepped inside, put the pizza on the coffee table, and pulled out a slice as she took a seat on the couch.

“Come on in,” I said as I shut the door. “Make yourself at home.

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