One More Time | ✓

Chapter One

"Greta, please," I beg, shaking my head. "Surely we don't have to."

It's a stupidly last-ditch effort, but, realistically, I'm already resigned to my fate.

My older sister crosses her arms over her chest, unimpressed with my poor attitude. "I know that you struggle with Debra and Dad, but Chrystal is our half-sister. We can't just not go and meet her."

Greta isn't wrong. As much as I can't stand Debra, no matter how bad my relationship is with my Dad, I don't want to sacrifice my relationship with my newly born half-sister because of my stupid pride.

Still. There are other reasons I don't want to go back to Whitley, after having managed to avoid going back for years. Theodore Russo being one of them. Not that I think about him these days. Not anymore.

"I can't believe that they named her Chrystal of all things," I continue, bitter that my sister – my eldest sister, I guess, now that we have a younger one – has won this argument.

Debra and our Dad started dating around five years ago and got married a year later, right before I left for college. I've never really clicked with Debra, perhaps partly because it felt like she was replacing Mom, no matter how much Dad tried to persuade me otherwise. He and I haven't been on great terms over the last few years either, and the fact that he married a woman only eight years my senior really cemented my anger with him.

Greta snorts, shaking her head. "Of all things for you to have an issue with."

Letting out a loud groan, I grumpily throw my holdall in the back of Siobhan's car. "It's only for a few days, yeah? We're coming back for New Years, like you promised."

"That's exactly right," she confirms as she slides into the passenger seat of the car.

Still complaining, I get in the back seat, exchanging a glance through the rear-view mirror with Siobhan, my sister's girlfriend. They've only been together for a couple of months, hence why Greta isn't dragging her with us on our trip to hell, and instead just requested a lift to the airport so that we won't have to pay for parking there.

I really like Siobhan, so I hope that my sister keeps her around for longer than her flings normally last. She blasts Taylor Swift as she takes us to the airport, and I'm grateful for the distraction, as we all sing along to every lyric.

When we're settled on the plane, though, Greta does what she does best, and brings me right back down to earth. "It's not just Dad and Debra that are making you like this, is it?"

I scowl at her, hating that she's brought it up. "I don't want to talk about it, Greta."

She takes a deep breath, apprehensive. "I mean, you didn't even talk to him about it."

"What was there to talk about?" I snap back, waspishly. "He can't exactly explain away the fact that he had his tongue down Mavis Mupeti's throat. She was supposed to be my friend, too. No. There's nothing more to say."

Greta shifts uncomfortably, looking torn. "He adored you."

Sometimes, I really want to smack my sister. So what if he adored me? It changes nothing.

"Don't tell me you're defending him," I scold her. "You're supposed to be on my side."

She huffs, glancing away from me. "I'm always on your side, Sabrina. You know that. I just couldn't believe it when it happened."

Neither could I, really. I'd also thought that Theo adored me. We'd talked about living the rest of our lives together, about adopting a million dogs, about everything.

I think something broke inside of me when I saw him with Mavis. I'd been so convinced that we would work while I was away at college, even if the distance was going to be really hard, but he hadn't even waited until I'd left to get with someone else.