But Emmett’s poor excuse for a joke flies right over Dad’s head as he continues cutting into his grilled chicken.
My fists clench under the table as I narrow my eyes on my brother, mentally adding him to the growing list of people I’d like to pummel.
I can’t do this anymore. Can’t sit here pretending everything’s fine while the one person I can’t stop thinking about is the one person I can’t have. Lane doesn’t get to break the rules and get away with it.
So I do it. I throw the grenade.
“Sadie and Lane have been hooking up behind your back,” I blurt.
Emmett’s eyes snap to mine, wide and unblinking. A blanket of silence covers the room. Dad freezes mid-slice and studies me, his expression unreadable.
And then, in perfect timing, the front door slams shut. Footsteps echo through the hall, and there she is.
She’s a little breathless, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. Lane follows closely behind her, casual as ever.
Fuck me.
“That didn’t take too long,” Dad says lightly, glancing up at them.
“All thanks to Lane,” she says, smiling up at him. “It would’ve taken me an hour to finish on my own.”
Emmett chokes on a sip of water. Dad smacks the back of his head, giving him a look that saysknock it off.
I can’t breathe. What does a panic attack feel like?
“Sit down and help yourselves,” Dad says. “Dinner’s getting cold.”
Only then do I clock the extra place setting. I glance at him, confusion etched in my brow, but he doesn’t look at me.
Instead of sitting next to Emmett like usual, Sadie takes the other open seat next to me, acting as a human barrier between me and Lane, while Lane sits across from Emmett—between Sadie and Dad.
Every muscle in my body tightens.
The silence is a wall between us. The air feels weighted, like static before a storm.
Everyone is acting so…normal.
Emmett passes the rolls across the table to Lane, Dad resumes slicing into his chicken, and Sadie chugs her water, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.
My plate remains untouched. I lost my appetite the moment I saw Lane walking in behind her.
Sadie peeks at Lane. He gives her a reassuring smile, and she clears her throat.
“Hey, Heath? I have something I wanted to talk to you about.”
Dad holds up a finger. “Hold that thought for just a second, honey. Wes was in the middle of telling me something.”
His attention flicks back to me and I swallow, my stomach turning to ice.
Shit.
Sadie looks at me, two little lines appearing between her eyebrows. I sip my water, stalling, trying to buy myself some time to think of a way out of this.
But I’m adrift on a sinking ship, and my own father just took the last lifeboat.
I look at her one last time before I torch everything.
This is going to hurt.
