Chapter 88

88

Brianna got in her car. Bethany lived at the far north end of Hughes Avenue. Brianna was going to go see her big sister. Find out what Bethany was hiding from her. And maybe they could do something sister-y together. They were sisters. And that mattered.

Brianna realized that now.

It took her fifteen minutes to get to her sister's home. It wasn't as big, as nice as Brianna's. Definitely not decorated in Brianna's elegant traditional style. Bethany preferred light, breezy coastal. It was still really nice, though. It had been a while since Brianna had been there. She and Bethany didn't exactly hang out together or anything.

When they'd been teenagers, Bethany had been so busy or with her head stuck in a journal or something. And Brianna had been busy with cheerleading and people at FC Academy. But they were adults now. Sisters.

That mattered.

Brianna understood that now.

"What are you doing here?" Bethany asked. She looked a little like Brianna, but she was kind of plain. She looked like a girl version of Banks, really. Of Brianna's stepfather, with just enough of Brianna's mother thrown in for her to look like Brianna too. But secretly, Brianna thought she looked more like Timothy than she did her own mother.

"I am your sister. I wanted to see you tonight. Isn't that answer enough?" Bethany was wearing jeans and an FCU sweatshirt. Her sister actually owned jeans and a sweatshirt? Brianna had missed some things lately, apparently. "Why are you wearing that?"

"Because I signed up to take a few business classes back in January. Get a degree. So that I know what I am doing more than I do. Dad tried to teach me a few things, but I, well, I didn't like to be with him and Banks. What's going on?"

There was a nice dinner on her sister's stove. Bethany was actually cooking ? Crazy. Didn't she have a staff for that? Brianna never cooked. The housekeeper always made sure she had perfect meals ready before she left for the day. "Do you have company?"

"Nels is coming over soon. We are celebrating. I got an A on my business mid-term."

Brianna didn't think celebrating a grade was all that interesting, but Bethany had an odd, almost uncertain look on her face. One that said she cared what Brianna thought and everything. "That's wonderful, Bethie."

Brianna wouldn't exactly want to celebrate with Nelson Harvey either, but, well, what if Nelson treated her sister the way Powell's father treated Powell's mother? Or the way Gunnar treated Powell?

Did the amount of money he had truly matter? Her stepfather had had lots of money, and he was a really mean asshole most of his life.

Bethany had more than enough money, and Nelson knew how to help her manage it. Who cared if he didn't have as much as Bethany?

She didn't want some guy marrying Bethany just for her money either.

Really, she just wanted her sister to be happy more than anything. That was all. Like Powell would be with Gunnar and everything. The idea that Powell was going to finally settle down and everything had upset Brianna more than she thought, apparently. Made her think about a few things. And…Leena. Brianna wasn't ready to let herself think about Leena right now. "Are you sleeping with Nelson?"

Bethany's mouth thinned. She turned to Brianna and crossed her arms over her chest. "Is that any of your business? I know you don't like him."

"I don't not like him. I just want you to be with the best man you deserve. You deserve that." Her sister did. Bethany deserved to be happy. Of course, her sister did.

"I didn't always," Bethany said. "We weren't very nice a few years ago, Bri. We just weren't. Banks's death, well, it opened my eyes to the kind of woman I was becoming. I didn't like who I was. I just didn't. And...I'm trying to be a better person now. Nelson's a good man. I definitely don't deserve him. Not really. But he loves me just the way I am."

"That's what matters, right?" Nobody was perfect, after all. Brianna definitely wasn't, even though she was beautiful and smart.

"What has made you sad? Where is that little girl you had staying with you? Whose kid was she? Someone said she was your roommate in college's daughter. But you never went to college."

"Timothy's. Trey's...sister." Bethany knew about Timothy being her father. Even though they never spoke about it. "She's my little sister. Timothy took her away a few hours ago."

"I see. So she is your sister too."

"Yes. Like you are. But...we...you and I, we're different. We've been together forever." Brianna looked at her sister and said something she had never said before. "I love you, you know. I loved Banks too. And I miss him a lot. I do not love Trey. He's a jerk."

Bethany's face tightened. "He's a monster. I hate him. I hate him so much, Bri. He's pure evil inside."

"Why? Does it have anything to do with Steve?" Steve and Trey had been on her mind for the last hour. Something…something didn't make sense. Those two had done everything together for years. If Steve had been into really bad things, she bet Trey was too. Those men, those friends she'd seen near the park, they were the bad kind.

The wrong kind.

They'd had no business in Hughes Heights. Brianna knew that.

Bethany paled right before eyes. And just crumbled.

A rush of panic went right through Brianna. She reached out. "Bethie, what's wrong? Talk to me. Tell me."

"I know what Steve did. I know what he did to Heather Coleson. I know . And I hate him so much."

Brianna would never forget what her sister said next.

She just never would.