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I want to make those lips mine.
It’s wrong of me to want Briar to cheat on her boyfriend with me. I know that, but I can’t find it in myself to feel bad about it. They’re not married, so it’s hardly adultery. She doesn’t belong to him. And besides that, he’s not good enough for her.
Her reaching arm starts to lower, and the space between us grows more charged and electric. Her lips are only inches from mine, and I’m desperate to close the distance, but I don’t want to make the first move. I want it to be her choice.
In a soft whisper, she says, “Tell me what chiaroscuro is, and I’ll let you order a pizza.”
I can’t help but smile. Leaning in until our mouths are only a breath apart, I reply, “The use of contrast to create light in drawings and paintings.”
The corner of her mouth tugs into a grin. “See, I knew you weren’t an idiot.”
Then she presses her hands to my chest and shoves me away. “Now, go order that pizza.”
As I stumble away from her with a feeling of victory, I move toward the door. There’s no denying this chemistry between us now. And though I didn’t get that kiss, I still got something. And that something is hope.
“I’m gonna see if Isaac and his friend want some, too,” I say as I pull open the door and walk down the hall toward my brother’s room. Our parents are at the church tonight, so it’s just us here.
My mind is still reeling from that almost kiss with Briar, so I’m not even thinking as I barge right into my little brother’s bedroom.
I’m frozen in shock as I take in the sight of Dean quickly scrambling from the bed. Isaac jumps up from a lying position. They’re both fully clothed, but judging by the way they were both horizontal a moment ago, they were definitely up to something.
“Holy shit,” I stammer as I quickly turn away.
“Ever heard of knocking?” my brother shouts.
“What the fuck?” I reply with my back to them.
“Get out, Caleb!” Isaac bellows.
I don’t know what to do, so I quickly slam the door closed again. And maybe shutting two horny teenagers back in a closed room isn’t the greatest idea, but until this very moment, I thought Isaac and Dean were just friends.
I had my suspicions about Isaac, but I guess I just assumed this was a bridge we’d cross later when he’s an adult, has moved out, and can do what he wants. Not now, under my father’s roof.
My mind is reeling as I stand in the hallway, unsure of what to do now. I should send Dean home, right? I can’t let this go on. My parents will be home at any minute. I can’t let my father find out about Isaac.
Under absolutelynocircumstance can I let my father find out about Isaac. There’s no telling what he’ll do.
Which means his friend has to go—for good.
* * *
Present Day
I can’t sleep again. Briar is slumbering peacefully next to me in the bed, but I’m sitting here at three in the morning, staring at Isaac’s picture on my phone.
He’s on a mini tour right now, promoting an LP he put out, and I can’t stop staring at the event listed in town, which is only half an hour away.
I won’t go. It would be wrong of me to show up at his show and disrupt what he has going on, but at the same time…that’s my brother.
Theo Virgil is chasing his dreams right now. He’s free. What kind of monster would pull him back down to the depths of hell for his own selfish gain?
I’m sure he’s seen the news. He knows by now that our father is about to go on trial for attempted murder, and I hope it makes him happy. But it feels strange that we aren’t talking about this. He’s not here to experience this with us.
Isaac deserves to live in peace, free from this family that hurt him so badly, but I also hate to feel as if he’s missing the best part. The part he deserves to witness firsthand. The reckoning.
“Hey,” Briar whispers from the pillow next to me.
I swipe to close the app on my phone and turn to face her. She looks so beautiful and peaceful, with her face on the pillow and her soft hair strewn around her head like a halo.
