“That’s not an excuse,” Dom says coldly as he walks over to him. “You weren’t a kid. You were nineteen. A horny, worthless fuck who fucked his brother’s girlfriend. Emma and I had a life planned, Sin. And you ruined it.”
Sin holds up his hand. “Dom, calm down. It was a long time ago. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I thought it would blow over and you’d go away to college and you’d never know. I’m sorry. She was sorry. She cried afterward.”
Dom stares at him, an empty gaze filled with ice. “And that’s supposed to make it better? What am I supposed to do with this?”
Sin’s eyes are filled with guilt. “Dom, I swear to Christ that I didn’t know that I had anything at all to do with her death. I honestly thought that she’d screwed around with Cris and that you couldn’t forgive either of them. The dickhead in me was glad about that, that you could focus on that and never find out what I did. I put it out of my mind and tried to pretend that it didn’t happen.”
Dominic scowls. “But it did happen. You fucked Emma. I thought all along that my best friend fucked my girlfriend, that he got her pregnant, that I forced her into an abortion. I thought I caused her to commit suicide. But all along, it was you, Sin. It was you.”
Everyone pauses, everyone stops. And while it doesn’t really matter now what actually happened because both Emma and the baby are dead, it matters in a million different ways.
Dominic has blamed himself for so long, carried a guilt that might not have been his to carry. It makes this whole tragic situation a thousand times worse. I turn to him.
“Dom,” I whisper. “It’s going to be okay.”
He looks at me, his dark eyes so filled with pain, then he looks at his brother.
“Is it? I’m pretty sure it’s not. My fucking brother, Jacey.”
I start to interrupt, but Dom looks at me. “I know that I’m the one who insisted that she get an abortion. I know that. But that’s when I thought she cheated with Cris. I thought that I could forgive her. But if I’d known that it was Sin, I couldn’t have gotten past it. If I’d known, I would’ve walked away. Because there’s no way I could’ve forgiven that.”
Cris stares at us, his face pale and bloody.
“You thought that Emma said my name at the end because there was something between us. But she was saying my name because she wanted me to tell you the truth. She couldn’t do it herself and she wanted you to know. I’ve always loved you and Sin like brothers, Dom. I don’t want to drive a wedge between you.” ”
“You aren’t the one who drove the wedge between us,” Dominic spits angrily, turning his back on Cris. “My brother did that for himself.”
He takes a step, then clocks Sin squarely on the mouth. Sin falls back, stumbling onto the floor from the force of the blow. Blood streams from his mouth as he looks up at his brother.
“Dominic. I love you. I never wanted to hurt you. It happened and it shouldn’t have.”
Dom looks down at his brother. “Yeah, you’re right. It shouldn’t have. But it did.”
And then he walks away, leaving us all staring at each other.
I start to go after him, but Sin grabs my arm. “You might want to give him a little space right now. Trust me.”
I stare at him. “Trust you? Trust the guy who couldn’t keep his dick in his pants?”
Sin looks wounded, and I look away.
“I’m sorry. I know you were just a kid too. This is all just so… tragic and terrible. I don’t know how we’re going to help Dominic. He was crushed by this before he knew the truth. I don’t know how we’ll reach him now. I really don’t.”
Sin hands me a bottle of whiskey and I take a long drink, relaxing when the warmth spreads to my belly.
“Tell me this,” he asks, his eyes urgent. “Do you believe me that I didn’t mean to do it? That I didn’t mean to hurt Dominic?”
I stare at him, at the gorgeous rocker that the world adores, shaking as he stands in front of me, awaiting my judgment. The world should see him now, I think.
“I do believe that you didn’t want to hurt him,” I say quietly. “You were only a kid too. What were you, nineteen? It was a mistake. Unfortunately, the situation is more tragic than it would’ve been because Emma died. Because everything is so fucked up, I don’t know how you’re going to fix it with Dom.”
I hand the bottle back to Sin. “You’re going to need this more than me. I need to go after Dom.”
I don’t know how I’m going to fix him or what I’ll say to him to make it better; all I know is that I have to try.
“He’s running,” Sin says raggedly. “Give him some time to calm down and then meet him at his house. I know that’s where he’s going. You can take my jet.”
I stand in front of Dominic’s door uncertainly. The flight to California had taken a few hours, and each of those hours was excruciating because I couldn’t reach Dominic.
But I know he’s here.
I know in my heart that he retreated here to his quiet hideaway. I know it because Sin called and asked the private hangar if Dom’s jet had been used and where it was going. They had confirmed that he was flying home, just as Sin had suspected. Also, Dom’s Porsche is sitting in front of the house and the hood is warm.
He’s here.
But he’s not answering the door. Fortunately, when I turn the handle, the door swings wide open. It’s not locked.
“Dominic!” I call out as I walk in. My heels click on the tiled floors. There’s no answer. I walk through, glancing outside to see if he’s there, but he’s not. I walk through the living room, through the dining room, through all of the rooms on the main floor.
When I approach the stairs, I hear something from upstairs.