The Boy Who Broke Mirrors

8

Not even ten minutes after being upstairs, Olivia's bottle of gin is empty. She pouts her lips as she inspects it, then stands back up to shuffle through the wardrobe again.

'Oh, hang on!' Aiden exclaims from the bed, but before I can question him, he's left the room.

Livvy is still searching the wardrobe when I ask her what the hell she's doing, and she responds with some rambled sentence about finding more alcohol. She's always been a bit of a party animal, but I'd be an idiot to believe our parents' situation has nothing to do with the fact she's drunk the majority of a bottle of gin to herself. This time, she's empty handed when she steps out of the wardrobe, and without warning, she slides down it and slumps to the floor.

I sigh as I kneel down in front of her. 'Do you want me to call a taxi for you?'

'No!' Livvy yells, suddenly perking up. She lifts her head, and she's grinning. 'I'm having fun!'

'I'm not,' I mutter under my breath.

'We've never been to a party together, c'mon! Have a drink!'

I go to remind her that when I tried to do just that, she snatched the bottle from me, but figure now's not the time to try and start an argument. She keeps blabbering on about how great of a time we could have together, while I internally beg for Aiden to return from wherever he disappeared to.

'Why didn't you tell me?' I hear Livvy say from the floor below me.

'What?'

'Why didn't you tell me about Dad?' she spits at me. She's not smiling anymore. 'You know that I know you--I mean, I know that you knew.'

I stare at my sister in disbelief. 'I didn't have any idea, Liv, what are you even talking about?'

She laughs, but it catches in her throat. 'You live there, how couldn't you know? And you're upset--No, I mean, you're not upset, you don't care. If you didn't know, why don't you care? You knew it was happening, stop acting like you didn't,' she mutters as her head bobs from side to side against the wardrobe door.

'Are you being serious?' I stare at her in disbelief. 'Fuck you, Olivia. Fuck you.'

She can pass out on a stranger's bedroom floor and choke on her own vomit for all I care. I stand up, and bolt out of the room. How dare she say that to me? Just because I don't constantly cry and get drunk out of my mind, it doesn't mean I don't care. I do, I must do. I have to. I'm barely out of the room when the last person I want to see right now calls my name.

I spin around, my teeth gritted and fists clenched. 'What?' I yell.

'Bloody hell, babe, calm it.' Preston laughs. 'Was gonna ask if you were feeling frisky, but I'll take that as a strong no.'

He's just emerged from the door opposite the room Livvy's currently being a bitch in with a cocky grin on his face. I open my mouth to snap at him, but am distracted by a skinny brunette girl emerging from the same room. She says something about seeing him later, but he doesn't even bat an eyelid in her direction, and when she stays put, he shoos her away. Literally waves his hand at her to disappear.