Vivi

Chapter 24

Ivy

I drank myself to blackout for the first time when I was twelve. I smoked my first cigarette when I was thirteen. I moved on to weed by the time I was sixteen. I lost my virginity when I was fifteen. I robbed my whole class during a gambling torment I put together when I was fourteen.

That's how I met Malia, took a hundred bucks from her that night. I got into a fight with one of her friends who also lost money to me afterward. I sent her to the hospital. I was almost expelled from that and all the drinking and smoking on school grounds. Malia stood up for me saying I was provoked. I wasn't. And my mom showed up and mentioned dad. It was all brushed under the rug after those two defended me.

Malia stuck to me like glue after that. I tolerated her as a thank you for lying to the principal for me. She watched me fight more people after that, I usually won. I loved it when I didn't though, so I picked fights with girls three times my size. Even then, I put up a good fight. Matched every cut and bruise they gave me.

It wasn't until my mom broke down crying after I came home from a particularly nasty fight with a six-foot-four girl three years older than me that my eyes seemed to open. I had closed them once I saw my dad's body and decided I hadn't ever wanted to open them again, so I didn't. Then I realized I wasn't only hurting myself, I was hurting the people I loved.

Dean rushed over to me while examining my face the same way I did for him. We both had matching black eyes and cuts on our lips. I wanted Dean to stop hurting himself, I was sure he wanted the same for me. We both decided it was enough. We followed in each other's footsteps while cleaning up our acts. No more excessive drinking, no more smoking of any kind, no more fighting, and no more blank stares.

It's days like this that the drink calls to me. The memory of inhaling and exhaling in a steady manner thanks to a cigarette pushes itself to the front of my brain. My fists itch to make contact with something. To bleed. My pretty face looks wrong to me without the cuts and bruises on days like these. But I made a promise to my brother and that means something to me.

River

"It was Jace and Alice's wish. I'm not going to disrespect him by telling Ivy what he didn't want either of his children to know." My dad said angrily while standing to match my defensive stance.

"That was his wish when she was a kid. She's twenty-one now. Don't you think she deserves to know the truth?" I ask loudly. I'm sure everyone outside my dad's office is scrambling around and acting like they aren't hearing us have a screaming match.

"You have no room to talk about being truthful. Does Ivy know you're doing her brother's dirty work for him?" He asks and I shake my head at him.

"This all needs to end." My dad's eyes narrow at me. "I can call Dean and have him come over. I can tell them both the truth about everything. I can tell Ivy about my deal with Dean and I can tell Dean to take his protective shit up with Ivy herself." I say while living in a little fantasy world for a second.

"If you do that you won't have an excuse anymore." My dad says as he sits back down. I tug on my hair before looking over at him.

"Excuse for what?"

"For looking out for Ivy." My dad gestures to my knuckles that are busted up. I put my hand behind my back and my dad's eyes meet mine.

"I don't need an excuse anymore. Her father's death was my grandfather's fault. I owe Jace this much." My father shakes his head at me.

"Another excuse." He mutters.

"You're right. That's why you watch out for Jace's family. I'm going to keep an eye on Ivy because I want to." I say and my dad finally nods at me. Like he's proud of something.