Chapter 1: The Betrayal

When I was eighteen, I caught my sister running her hand under Derek’s shirt, tracing over his abs like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The late summer sun slanted through Derek’s living room window, the dust motes swirling in golden light. His old Seahawks tee was loose, and Lillian just slipped her hand beneath it, giggling like she’d just hit the jackpot. I stood in the doorway, one sneaker halfway off, unable to move as I watched her fingers draw lazy circles over his stomach. My heart pounded so hard I thought it would crack my ribs. In that moment, I remembered all the times the three of us would ride bikes down Sycamore Lane, racing each other to the Dairy Queen, or build blanket forts in Derek’s basement, swearing we’d always be on the same team. Now, it felt like those memories had been ripped away, leaving only the sting of betrayal. Everything I thought I knew about family, loyalty, and love just tilted sideways. We were just kids, but suddenly the ground under my feet was gone.

His shirt hung loose, letting her do whatever she wanted, like boundaries had never applied to us.

Derek looked equal parts amused and helpless—he gave a half-hearted laugh, but his knuckles whitened on the arm of the couch, eyes darting to me as if asking for backup, but I stayed frozen. The whole thing felt like watching a slow-motion car wreck, knowing you couldn’t look away or do a thing to stop it. There was a recklessness in the way he let her touch him, like rules were for other people—not for the Sanders sisters and the Mitchell boy next door.