Page 65 of The Merger

Waverly stumbled through the front door. She’d clearly been drinking. In keeping with our horrible luck, she had Malcolm right on her heels.

“Hey big brother,” she shouted. “We’re all here celebrating perfect Sabrina, I see.”

“Waverly,” Colt sighed. “Keep your voice down, and go find some coffee in the kitchen. While you’re at it, get that asshole out of here.” He glared at Malcolm as if he wouldn’t know he was the asshole he was referring to.

She hiccuped. “But I want to celebrate as well.”

“I think you’ve already done enough of that tonight,” he grumbled. “Besides, if you were really here to celebrate with Sabrina and Stryker you wouldn’t have brought the one person neither of them wanted to see.”

“Waverly, darling!” Annalise greeted her from across the room. “I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Of course mother. I’d never miss one of your parties,” she cooed. Waverly looked back at me and cocked an eyebrow. “I guess I’m wanted here after all,” she said quietly.

With that last barb tossed, she spun around in a swirl of taffeta and hair and weaved through the crowd. Annalise lit up when she made it to them. Sabrina squeezed my hand harder as her mother accepted Waverly with love and acceptance. “You don’t have to watch this,” I told her.

“I do, actually. I need this to be the last time I let myself hope my mother will be anything more than this shallow social climber. More than that, I need to remind myself that my sister is just like her.”

“That’s a lesson I’m catching up to. I’m sorry for all the time I let her off the hook,” Colt apologized.

We watched them mingle without incident. Maybe because most of the people here were in varying stages of intoxication. Waverly did fit into this world, and Sabrina never would. That was a good thing, and if it took forever I’d show her she was so much more than these plastic people ever would be.

ChapterTwenty-Four

Sabrina

Despite the size of my mother’s house, the walls were entirely too close. I couldn’t breathe until Stryker led me out the front doors. I felt a scream bubbling up inside of me, and the moment I stepped outside I let it rip free. Stryker was there with me the entire time, holding me as I let the rage out. He held me as I struggled to breathe through the pain and disappointment I always felt being around my mother.

“I’ll go grab the car,” Colt said. Jana followed behind him, giving us a minute alone.

Stryker took a step back and cupped my face in his big hands. “You are too good for this place and these people. Don’t let them dim your light, Sunshine.”

“Yeah,Sunshine,” Waverly mocked as she crept up on us.

“So you really think this is going to last?” Malcolm asked, and dropped his arm around Waverly’s shoulders.

“What do you want, Malcolm?” Stryker asked. His voice was flat, filled with years of being disappointed by someone who was supposed to have your back.

When Stryker and I turned our backs, our siblings shoved a knife in it. That wasn’t the way family was supposed to work.

Malcolm smiled, and I could no longer see the boy I grew up with. I only saw the same fake people that were in that room. Funny, I’d always thought the two of us didn’t fit in with that crowd. I guess it was only me who didn’t fit in. There was a time when that revelation would have crushed me, but Stryker was right, I was too good for this world.

Mal made a big production out of thinking. He tapped his finger against his lips. “What do I want? Maybe I want my friend back.”

I fought the urge to roll my eyes because that didn’t convey the level of anger I felt over the way he treated me. “Bullshit,” I finally bit out.

The smile on his face turned cruel and he stepped into my personal bubble. “I knew you rebelled against this world, but I didn’t think you’d go so far as to marry down. But, I guess you really don’t belong here. The women in this circle can do better than being an assistant for their stepbrother.”

My eyes traveled up and down, really seeing him for the first time. He might wear the right brands, drive the right cars, and have the right address to impress the people inside, but I’d mistakenly thought he was more than appearances. “See, that’s your problem. You care more about how those people in there,” I pointed back at the house, “see you than how the people who care about you do. Because those people only care as long as there is something you can do for them.”

Waverly rolled her eyes. “That’s the way the world works.”

“What would you know about work? Your parents and Colt pay for everything,” I snapped at my sister.

Waverly straightened up, appearing to sober up. “I’m an influencer. You have no idea how hard I work.”

“Getting drunk and screwing guys who don’t give a shit about you isn’t a career. You don’t even have endorsements. You’re a spoiled little princess, and nothing more,” I shot back.

“You’re just jealous because our mother actually likes me. She ran away from your loser father and you as fast as she could, and she’s never looked back. Just like Malcolm here who picked me over you.” She patted the arm he had tossed around her shoulders.