Lies That Bind (on hold temporarily)

Chapter Thirty Eight

ALEC

I watch as Ty quickly makes his way toward the exit and let out a sigh of relief when I see he made it without being stopped by anyone.

Turning to Krissy I see the unsure look on her face. Ty has put her through the fucking ringer the last couple days. I don't think I've ever seen her look as forlorn as she did when Sara and I first walked up to their house a few days ago.

Krissy is usually obnoxiously chipper and endlessly grates on my nerves, but I find myself missing her usually bright disposition.

I don't expect her to be smiling wide and bouncing off the walls of the funeral home, but this somber, almost broken, version of her doesn't sit well with me.

My feet start moving before I can think twice about it. I place my hand in the small of her back and lean down, whispering, "Come with me for a minute."

Her brows crease in confusion but she takes one look at the crowd of people lining up and nods.

We slip out the door and into the private lounge just passed  the lobby.

"What are we doing in here?" Krissy asks as she runs her fingers over the top of the hideous floral upholstered couch.

"I figured you could use a break."

She chews on her lip. "Why are you being nice to me?"

Have I always been that much of a dick to her?

Krissy is an acquired taste for sure, and I never thought my dislike for her was glaringly obvious until James pointed it out the night of the reunion.

We're like oil and water. We don't mix. We've just been forced to coexist with each other because of Ty and Sara for years and we tolerate the other's existence.

But, now that I think about it, I don't think Krissy and I have ever had a real conversation with each other.

Maybe today's the day to start.

"It's a shitty day for everyone, just thought I'd extend an olive branch."

She picks at the hem of her dress before huffing out a breath and sitting down on the couch. "Sorry. The last few days haven't been the greatest."

"I know," I sigh, plopping down next to her. "But things can only get better from here, right? It might take some time, but it'll get better."

Her eyes meet mine. "Are you referring to my father in law being dead, or my marriage?"

"Both."

She dips her chin, and gives me a curt nod.

How am I already fucking this up?

I clear my throat and rack my brain for something we could talk about that hopefully won't make her hate me even more than she already does. "Ty mentioned that you two had a long talk about everything."

Krissy shifts uncomfortably beside me "Yeah. It was... eye opening, that's for sure."

"Yours or his?" I ask, thankful that my choice of conversation didn't seem to ruffle her feathers.

"Both," she says with a laugh. "We're working on things. It's just a lot to wrap my head around. After the reunion I thought I knew all he was keeping from me. But then we had our talk and it's like all these secrets have been piling up for years and it feels like I'm drowning. I've second guessed every happy moment we've shared since we've been together." Her chin wobbles. "How many of them only happened because he had just spent the weekend with Sara? How many of them was he pretending to be as happy as I was? How many—"