Broken kingdom

I follow her to make sure C.J.’s okay. 

Furious, Crystal sticks her daughter in her highchair and gives her some Cheerios. Then she plants a bunch of kisses along her head. “I’m so sorry, honey bu

Stick the knife in deeper why don’t you? 

Fortunately, C.J. doesn’t harbor the same resentment toward me because once the first Cheerio hits her mouth she stops crying altogether. 

Crisis averted. 

Only it isn’t…because Crystal’s still mad as hell. 

“I can’t believe you let this happen.” 

“It was an accident,” I tell her. “I didn’t mean—”

“She’s a baby, Oakley. You have to watch them all the time.” She snorts. “Not that I expect you to understand that, because like I said, you’re the most irresponsible person on earth.” 

The words are out of my mouth before I can stop myself. 

“Right. Because fucking your stepson behind your husband’s back is the epitome of responsible.” 

I regret taking it there when I see the horrified look on her face and she starts screaming at the top of her lungs. 

“You were a mistake!” 

It’s on the tip of my tongue to point out that a mistake is something that happens once…not multiple times. 

“Was it a mistake before or after you got what you wanted from me?” I grind out, because I’m sick of this shit. 

I came here to meet my sister and try to work on my relationship with my dad. Not be dragged through the mud by her. 

It takes two to tango and I’m tired of being the only one to shoulder the burden of all this guilt while she gets to live her life like nothing happened. 

I was still a teenager the first time we fucked, and I ended up paying the ultimate price and losing my family because of our mistake. 

Hell, I’m practically an orphan now since I had to distance myself from my dad, and if it wasn’t for Jace and Cole saving my ass back when shit went south and taking me in, I’d have no one. 

“My God,” she snarls. “You really need to get over your sick obsession with me.” 

Obsession? More like revulsion. 

However, I know exactly where to hit her so it hurts. 

“Don’t flatter yourself, sweetheart. I’m over chasing women who like to fuck teenagers because they looked in the mirror and realized they’re not nearly as hot as they used to be.” I snort. “Fuck you and your mid-life crisis.” 

The slap from her palm co

And then Crystal hits me where it hurts. 

“I thank my lucky stars every day that she’s not yours.” 

It’s a blow I wasn’t prepared for. 

But she isn’t finished yet. 

“Because you’re such a screwup.” 

She’s right, I’ve done a lot of fucked-up shit in my life…fucked-up shit that ended up hurting the people I care about most. 

But I don’t want to do that shit anymore. I want to be a better person. 

“I get why you think that, but I’m trying—”

Tilting her head back, she cackles. “Oh yeah? For how long?” Her eyes narrow into tiny slits. “You know as well as I do that it won't last. If you actually cared about your dad and baby sister, or this new girlfriend of yours, you’d go far away and leave them alone, because sooner or later you'll screw up again. Because that’s what you do. You destroy lives and leave everyone else to clean up your messes when you’re done. No wonder your mother left you. Dealing with you wasn’t worth the crap you bring to the table.”

Every word out of her mouth feels like a bullet burning through my chest and leaving me to bleed out. 

 “You’re a fuck-up, Oakley. Always have been, always will be. Do the world a favor and OD already you worthless piece of shit.”

Chest caving in, I brush past her and out the front door. 

My dad is pulling into the driveway as I’m getting into my car. 

“Hey, Oak.” His face falls when he realizes I’m bouncing. “What’s wrong? Why are you leaving?” 

I don’t say a word as I drive off. 

There’s nothing to say. 

Because she’s right.