Duplicity by Kristina M Sanchez Read Free Book Online Page A

me.”
    “That’s good, though. You should have a good time. Why didn’t you
head to Vegas?”
    “Are you kidding?” Lilith snorted. “I’ve heard all the stories.
I’d have blown my rent money at the airport just because I could.”
    “Well, there is that.”
    He surprised her again by launching into a story of his own
twenty-first and how miserable it had been. He’d gone with a friend, and they’d
had a huge, friendship-ending fight.
    “Your mother was there, you know,” he mused toward the end of his
story.” On the same weekend, at the very same casino.”
    Lilith sat straight up in bed. “Really?”
    “We didn’t find out until much later, of course. Her birthday was
the day after mine, remember?”
    “I remember you told me.” Her heart panged, missing the woman
she’d never known. Her father’s voice got so wistful when he spoke of her.
    “She was there, in the same place, ironically having just as bad a
time as I was.” He gave a small sigh—not sad, just lost in thought. “Even
across the country from home, we were running in the same circles.”
    “And had the same bad taste
in friends.”
    “It was her boyfriend making her miserable. Lucky for me, I
suppose.”
    “Yeah. Lucky for me, too.”
    She was quiet for a minute, almost kicking herself for the
question she was about to blurt out. They were having such a nice conversation.
    Ruining a pleasant conversation with her father was something
Lilith had always excelled at. “So how’s my little brother?”
    Sure enough, she could almost feel her father tense. “Aiden’s
doing very well. Straight A’s in school still. He was just voted MVP of his
basketball team, and he’s borrowing my keys all the time since he got his
license.”
    “That’s good.” Lilith’s throat felt tight.
    Aiden was her sixteen-year-old brother and, so far, turning out to
be just the kind of teenager Lilith had not been. He was a good boy who didn’t
cause much trouble.
    Why she felt compelled to ask if she could talk to Aiden, Lilith
couldn’t say. She hadn’t seen or spoken to him since she was nineteen. As far
as her father and stepmother were concerned, she was too bad of an influence.
She hadn’t changed, so their decision wouldn’t change. Those facts didn’t stop
her from asking, though.
    Her father sighed, the sound exasperated. “You know the answer to
that.”
    “Yeah. Delilah still thinks I’ll taint the kid just by speaking to him.”
    “Lilith—”
    “I get it,” she muttered. “It was nice of you to call, Dad. I
guess it’s good you’re old enough she doesn’t worry
about you.”
    Another pause. Another sigh. “I sent you a card, Lil. Get yourself
something you need, okay?” He hesitated. “I love you.”
    Lilith bit her lip. “Bye, Dad.” She hung up the phone before he
could say another word.
    She pressed her fist to her mouth, trying hard to put a damper on
the emotion that threatened to overwhelm her.
    What she wanted most was to hold on to her anger. She had been a
good big sister. She loved and cherished her little brother and hadn’t ever resented
him. They’d loved each other. Even when Lilith had proven to be a bad daughter,
she was still a good sister. She’d have done anything to protect her
brother—that was how so many of her problems with her father had started in the
first place—and yet they’d been ripped apart.
    Anger she could understand. Her anger was justified. Would it have
killed them to let her talk to Aiden? It wasn’t as though she was going to drag
him into her den of sin.
    Despite her want to hold on to it, as soon as she hung up the
phone, her anger dwindled, giving way to a much stronger emotion. It was a
quiet devastation that crept over her like a shroud. She never got used to this
feeling, like she was covered in filth, like she was corroded at her core. She
felt wrong. Bad.
    Shame was a thick feeling. It coated her tongue, making even the
air she breathed taste foul. It weighed on