All the Lies - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,21

forgive Alex because men make mistakes or whatever the hell she said.

I don't have to accept someone treating me like shit as the status quo. I deserve better and I can demand better.

“Wow,” I say, taking Brooke by the arm and leading her out to the balcony on the opposite side from the party.

“I loved the expression on her face when she saw the last picture.” Brooke laughs.

“You know that despite all of that she loves you, right?” I ask.

Brooke shakes her head.

“No?” I ask.

“She sees us, her children, as a reflection of her. I don't think she really sees us as independent people. Lindsey looks and lives her life according to the rules. She's tall and beautiful and she takes care of herself. She has a wealthy husband and a big house. I'm not Lindsey.”

“I don't think that she wants you to be Lindsey. She loves you for you.”

“No,” Brooke says. “She doesn't even know who I am. I doubt that she has ever even been on my website. She has no idea what I stand for. She has no idea what all of those videos I make mean. I know that she won't say it out loud, but she thinks that fat people are bad people. She thinks that there's something wrong with them and their will or their way of life that makes them that way.”

I shrug.

I don't really know how to respond. That’s pretty much what my mom thinks.

“Why are you taking her side anyway? She's the one that made you go through with this party. She's the one that still thinks that you should marry that asshole.”

“She told me that men make mistakes and that we have to be accommodating,” I say. “She told me that Dad cheated on her before they got married.”

Brooke stares at me. I don’t know if she knows this and I debated with myself as to whether or not I should tell her.

But then she rolls her eyes and leans over the balcony with exasperation.

“Dad has been cheating on her their whole life. If she thinks that it only happened before they were married, then she is delusional.”

My mouth drops open.

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

13

Emma

I stare at my sister. She is someone that I have admired my whole life even though she’s younger than I am. She’s always had the kind of confidence that I craved, but I know that confidence never came that easily to her.

In college she was actually quite shy. She never felt like she was good enough and she was always on a diet. Then something happened. She started posting all of these very empowering messages on social media and even got herself branded as something of an influencer.

Now, with that one statement, something changes.

It’s almost as if the person that I thought I knew has disappeared.

I shake my head and ask, “What are you talking about?”

She turns away from me and starts to walk away, but I grab her arm.

“Tell me,” I demand to know. “What do you know about Mom and Dad?”

She doesn't reply.

“How long have you known?”

She shakes her head.

“Why are you telling me about this now?”

Her face falls. She wasn’t supposed to tell me this and now she can’t take it back.

“I wasn't going to say anything. I had no idea that she told you about his earlier infidelity. I've known about it for a while. I actually walked in on them.”

“Walked in on who?”

“I was there when Mom caught Dad with his girlfriend. It was so embarrassing and I just wanted the earth to split open and swallow me whole.”

My head starts to buzz.

I’m immediately transported to earlier today when I walked in on them. Anger starts to boil inside of me.

My mom had gone through the exact same thing and yet she stood there and told me to take my fiancé back.

What the hell is wrong with her?

“Tell me exactly what happened," I demand to know.

She takes a deep breath.

“We were out at a restaurant for dinner. Just the two of us. This is after you went to college and I was the only one who was left living at home.”

“Uh-huh.” I nod.

“We decided to stop by Dad’s office and drop off some food. It was actually my idea. Mom didn't want to go. I wonder if she had her suspicions.”

She stops talking and looks down at the floor.

“What happened next?” I nudge her.

“The lights were still brightly lit everywhere except for in his office. No one was