He’d meant it as a joke, but Reen couldn’t help the flush in her cheeks. She had acted like someone who couldn’t handle herself. Coming home brought all the memories back to Reen from when she was a teen. Instead of keeping her guard up, she’d been careless and ended up in a situation far from the one she’d imagined.

‘I’m going to finish getting dressed,’ he said, and slipped past her into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

She released a breath and hung her head in her hands. While away, anytime Brody had crept into her thoughts, she had shut them out. Now, she was inside his apartment while he changed behind the door.

Her bag hung from her chair, and she took a moment to check her phone. Surprisingly, there weren’t any texts from Rose. But she’d stayed with Shane the night before. Reen wondered when Rose would figure out that she hadn’t stayed at the apartment. The conversation played out in her head, adding to the ache in her temples. She needed to get to Rose’s place as soon as possible so that she would be none the wiser.

The toast popped up, and Reen jumped.

Brody strode out of the bathroom dressed in jeans and a blue and white striped T-shirt. With clothes on, he was easier to look at. Though, her stomach still fluttered.

He handed her the dry toast and buttered his. The sound of the knife over the hard bread raked against her brain.

‘You all right?’ Brody asked.

‘Not so much. I haven’t done that in a long time. Why did you let me?’

He laughed, and she winced again.

‘I tried to cut you off earlier, but you got a little mean.’

The night had been a haze. ‘I did?’

‘I mean, I’ve seen worse.’

‘Sorry,’ she muttered.

‘Don’t worry about it. I know seeing your mom probably wasn’t easy. You get a pass from me. If you want it.’

Even though the details of last night were fuzzy, it had more to do with Brody than Mom. If it were possible, she felt even sicker because of it. Her anger with Mom had melted increasingly throughout the years. Seeing her yesterday didn’t bring it up again. Now, she was a sick old woman stuck in a bed. Reen would be a monster to be upset with Mom in her current state.

It wasn’t just that Brody had moved on with his life, but everyone had. Mom had gotten older, Brody and Rose seemed to have it all together, while Reen was flailing in her life. Jumping from place to place whenever she got the itch. Would it be so much to ask that her hometown remained in the bubble she’d placed around it?

Reality crashed over her, and she dropped her toast onto the plate. ‘I should go.’

‘Let me drive you,’ he said.

She lifted her eyes to his. ‘I thought you had to get to work.’

‘I do,’ he said. ‘Do you want to walk?’

Not in the least. ‘I have a car here. A rental.’

‘You feel okay to drive?’ he asked.

‘Yes,’ she croaked. Spending more time with Brody would only add to her hangover.

Brody eyed her, and the silence stretched on between them as he finished his breakfast. They walked together out of the apartment, down the narrow hallway and staircase to the street.

While they weren’t talking about last night, there were plenty of things she wanted to say, but she couldn’t force her mouth to form the words. She supposed it was better that way.

Reen grabbed on to all her years of hiding her feelings, and by the time she and Brody reached her car, she already had a smile on her face, even though she was slowly dying on the inside. ‘Thanks for watching out for me. I promise I’ll never do it again.’

‘Never say never,’ he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

She played with her keys, but even outside, the sound rang in her ears, forcing her to stop. ‘I’m not sticking around very long—’

‘It was good to see you. Even for a little while.’

She cleared her throat. ‘You too.’

They stood there, staring at each other, neither of them knowing what to do. Reen wasn’t about to force Brody into an awkward hug, even though it would have been nice. All she could do was think of his girlfriend, and that was enough to propel her legs toward the car. She’d come back home to say a final goodbye, not to leave a trail of destruction in her wake. It was for the best. Though, she couldn’t help watching Brody retreat down the sidewalk through her rearview mirror.

When Reen arrived at Rose’s place, an older woman opened the front door of the house.

‘Can I help you?’ she asked. She was a petite woman with permed hair. The sun reflected off her glasses and shone brightly into Reen’s eyes.

‘I’m Rose’s sister,’ Reen said, shielding her face. ‘I’m staying with her. I have a key.’

The older woman adjusted her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her eyes narrowed as she took a better look. ‘Reen. Yes. I remember you.’

Reen shielded her eyes. Familiarity filled her, but she couldn’t place the woman.

‘Mrs. Collins,’ she said, placing a hand against her chest. ‘I was the school secretary.’

Reen didn’t think it was possible to feel any smaller. The older woman hadn’t aged a day since Reen graduated. ‘Mrs. Collins.’

She winked at Reen. ‘It’s good to see you again, Ms. Barros.’

Reen remembered her well. As much as she remembered teachers sending her to the principal’s office often. ‘You too.’

She gave Mrs. Collins a quick wave and headed up the wooden stairs attached to the side of the house.

Between the heat from the morning and the sun, Reen practically fell inside the apartment. She opened her mouth, feeling the stale, nasty aftertaste of beer. She walked through the space, heading straight for the bathroom. As she brushed her teeth, Reen made her way around the apartment, thinking that it was perfect for Rose. Everything in each room called out as something her sister would have. Even the romance novels on the side table by her bed. Mom loved reading those, and in typical Rose fashion, she tagged along with whatever Mom did.

Rose was content to live her life in this place. She was okay with being boring and doing the same things day after day. Brody was the same way – thought he hadn’t always been. When they were together, they would talk about all the places they would travel to in the future. Between his multiple jobs in town, she knew his roots had dug deeper into the sand, anchoring his life to The Burrow.

Even though Dad’s death had rocked her entire world, Reen was happy she’d left when she did. Otherwise, she might have ended up pregnant with Brody’s kid and unable to escape the same life her parents had lived.

Once she finished brushing her teeth, she tossed the toothbrush into her bag and dropped it on the table. It was time to go. Her humiliation might follow her from town, but she didn’t intend on coming back to see the outcome.

The effects of the aspirin and hydration invigorated her, and she went to the refrigerator to see what Rose had to eat.

A picture caught her eye, held against the surface of the freezer by a magnet. She swallowed. One summer, their neighbors snapped a photo of their family on the beach. Reen was ten at the time. Mom and Dad stood behind her and Rose, Mom’s hands on Reen’s shoulders, squeezing them and making sure she didn’t stick her tongue out. Reen couldn’t help a ghost of a smile crossing her lips. The sight of her family, together and happy, brought back so many memories for her. Years of them flooded her mind. She didn’t dare touch the photograph, reminding her of a different time in her life. It seemed like eons ago that she and her family were together on the beach.

Reen glanced around the rest of the room and peered into the small living space. There weren’t a lot of photographs, but most of them were of their family. Mom and Dad’s wedding photo sat on the coffee table. Scattered across the room on other surfaces were the few portraits they’d taken together at the mall around the holidays when Mom used to be obsessed with making memories with their family. That had come full circle, as she’d ended any photographic proof of their family after Dad passed. It was as if Mom didn’t care about anything after that. As if he were the string keeping their family together.

Reen’s stomach churned, and she wasn’t hungry anymore.

The ghosts of her past clung to this place, even though it wasn’t where she’d grown up. It was as if Rose had transplanted the memories to this confined space.

She had to get out.

CHAPTER FIVE

Even though Rose’s place was air-conditioned, the throwback to her past made Reen’s entire body prickle with sweat. She had to get out. She sent a quick text to Rose, letting her know she was leaving.

Rose replied right away as if she’d had her phone in her hand already.

‘I’m at The Siren. Come by to say goodbye.’

She hadn’t thought to ask Brody where he was going to work that morning. If he was going to The Siren, Reen wasn’t up for seeing him again so soon after their goodbye.

Instead of typing a response, she checked flights on her phone, and there was a seat open on one in four hours. It was just enough time to get to the airport and out of The Burrow for good.

Reen typed her reply. ‘Is Brody there?’ She wasn’t up for another awkward encounter.

‘Is something wrong, dear?’ Mrs. Collins called from the front doorway.

Reen moved her hair off her face and glanced at the woman. ‘No, Mrs. Collins.’

When had standing outside become a crime? She got into her car and turned it on, blasting the air conditioning, hoping Mrs. Collins got the hint. The older woman went inside her house, but Reen saw the fluttering of her curtain against the front window.

Reen’s phone pinged.

‘No,’ Rose responded.

Reen tapped her phone against the steering wheel before hearing another text tone.

‘Five minutes. I want to say a proper goodbye to my sister.’

Reen chewed on her lip and debated leaving the key in Rose’s mailbox. The Burrow wasn’t a high crime place. With all the nosy neighbors, no one would break in without someone giving a full description.

The typing dots appeared below Rose’s text. They disappeared before another text.

‘Please, Reen.’

‘OK,’ Reen typed back. Five minutes. She’d say goodbye, and that was it. Reen released a breath and buckled her seat belt. She plugged in her phone and turned on her traveling playlist before backing out of the driveway.

Reen took the quickest route to The Siren. Even though the town moved by her in a blur, the flickers of memories from her past filled in the gaps as she kept her eyes on the road. As she passed the pier, she grinned, remembering how many times she and Dad had fished off there. Then, there was the lighthouse. Tingles rippled up her arms. Brody and Reen used to sneak over there after hours and watch the water in the distance, only lit by the rotating light above them. They hadn’t gone as far as to break into the locked building, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. In the summer, the mosquitos were enough to drive them away quicker than they came.

Some of the shops were different, but many were the same. After school, she and Rose would stop by Mr. Talbot’s convenience store and spend their allowance on candy and ice cream, filling up their bellies with sugar before swimming it off when they got home. That was until Rose stopped swimming altogether. Reen had tried so hard to change her sister’s mind, but it was impossible, and it broke apart the secret language the girls shared with their mom. There were no more hours together playing and splashing in the surf, or seeing how far either could hold their breath underwater.

Instead of pushing through those feelings of anger and hurt at breaking their bond as children, Reen sat in them. They were going to help get her out of here that much quicker. Her shoulders tensed, nearly reaching her ears. All the Barros women had the uncanny ability to root themselves in something they were passionate about. Reen wasn’t any different. She’d left at eighteen and hadn’t returned since. Mom refused to acknowledge her children after Dad died, and Rose remained, caring for the shattered remains of their family.

Somehow, she’d stirred the remnants of the mess inside of her and the only way to stop it was to leave. The goal of her visit was to see Mom, and she’d done that. A wisp of guilt tightened around her stomach, but she was determined to leave as soon as possible. Mom wasn’t the woman she remembered, and she didn’t remember Reen. There was no use sticking around to watch Rose finally move on with her life. Her sister didn’t need Reen getting in the way. Rose had everything under control, with or without her.

Three texts came in rapid fire on her phone, and she groaned, already knowing who it was. Jeremy tended to write out every single thought he had the second he had one instead of crafting one larger, cohesive text.

She pulled into the lot at The Siren and parked by the entrance. He asked her again when she was returning to work. Replying with her flight schedule would get him off her back, but she thought better of it. He could wait a little while longer for her response. She’d blame ‘catching up with family’ as her excuse for not getting back right away. She debated on taking her phone inside, but she didn’t want to bother with him anymore, so she left it in the car.

The salty sea air washed over her. In her travels, she’d been careful to stay within landlocked states, so the memories of her past wouldn’t tempt her. The infinite horizon reached into the distance behind the restaurant. She’d miss the view when she left. Since she’d leaped over a huge hurdle, maybe she’d open herself up to unfamiliar places with water views when she moved next.

The Siren looked almost the same as she remembered from the outside. The inside, however, had been completely overhauled. The structure of the room had changed. Instead of the ripped booths outlining the place, there were only four in the center, and the rest were tables with chairs. The pale blue walls were the same, but the pictures and trinkets around the place had increased tenfold. Netting covered one corner of the room with an assortment of plastic sea life attached to the rope. Mermaid tails popped through several of the wooden slats while colorful shells covered much of the surfaces.

‘Reen,’ Rose said, coming from the kitchen. She held a tray of wet glasses in her hands.

Reen turned her attention to her sister, even though she had the urge to keep exploring. Seeing something new in The Burrow surprised her more than she’d thought.

‘How was your night?’ Rose placed the tray on one of the tables and crossed her arms.

Reen blinked, wondering if her sister knew where she’d slept the night before. ‘Fine.’

‘I hope my bed was comfortable enough for you.’

‘Yeah,’ she said, eyeing her sister.

‘Can I buy you lunch?’ Rose asked.

‘You said five minutes.’

Rose shrugged. ‘Airport food is expensive. I could get you something to go.’

‘I really should get going.’

‘When are you leaving? Are you going back to see Mom? I can give you the code—’

‘Now,’ Reen said. ‘I need to get back.’

Rose shook her head. ‘Oh. I—’

‘Don’t do this,’ Reen said, as the ache in her chest bloomed. It was the same every time she had texted Rose. The part of her that still belonged to this place.

‘Are you sure you don’t want anything?’

Reen hadn’t eaten much other than the toast at Brody’s. Her hangover cures tended to be of the greasy variety.

‘Can you make something quickly?’ She had some time to spare and at least if she gave Rose a proper goodbye, she wouldn’t hear about it for the rest of her life.

Rose’s smile beamed. ‘Great, let me get you a menu.’

It was early enough that all the seats were open. Reen slid into a chair at the corner table. In eighth grade, when her crush on Brody began, she’d always sit in the corner booth and watch him wash dishes through the kitchen window. He’d sneak her mermaid milkshakes when his father wasn’t looking.

Suddenly, Missy sat at her table. Her eyes – Brody’s exact match – narrowed. ‘Hey, Reen. Welcome back. How long are you staying for?’

Reen sat up straighter and looked over her shoulder for Rose. As Brody’s older sister, Missy had joined with Rose in taking on the roles of overprotective siblings. Rose and Missy had been best friends since preschool. It worked in her favor when Reen got in trouble at school and had two older kids to help her out. But after she and Brody started dating, Missy dropped that part of the relationship. It could have partially been Reen’s fault since she and Brody didn’t care much for rules when they were together.

‘I’m leaving today.’

‘You saw my brother last night,’ Missy said.

Reen glanced over her shoulder into the kitchen, trying to keep her face impassive. She wasn’t about to let Missy get the better of her.

‘I did.’ Reen looked over her shoulder again, and saw Rose was still in the back. Missy’s eyes locked on hers.

‘I know you stayed with him,’ she said.

Reen recoiled. Nothing stayed a secret around here. ‘I—’

‘He doesn’t kiss and tell, but you remember how small this place is? I’m curious about how many more lives you want to unearth before you leave again. I had to clean up two messes last time.’

Reen tensed, twining her fingers together in her lap. ‘I said I’m going today.’

‘As long as you mean it this time.’

Rose approached the table. ‘What’s going on?’

Missy smiled brightly and winked at Reen. ‘Not much, Rosie. Just catching up with your sister.’ She headed toward the kitchen and Reen said nothing until the quiet whump of the doors leading out of the dining room signaled her departure.

Rose placed a menu in front of Reen. ‘It’s a little different than when you were here last.’

‘I see that,’ Reen said.

‘What did you do last night?’ Rose asked.

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