I immediately pulled my wrist to my chest in an instinctive gesture. The bracelet was the only thing to survive last night’s fire, and I couldn’t make myself take it off. It jingled a little as I held it close with my other hand.
My father picked a card off the counter and handed it to me. “She asked if you could call her as soon as you were awake.” I looked down. Yup, it was Gia’s business card. “She wanted to talk to you when she came by this morning—”
“But I said absolutely not,” Mom cut in. “I wouldn’t have your rest interrupted. We even had to unplug the phone because so many people were calling.”
I looked over at the phone and sure enough, the connection to the wall was dangling out of the socket. And since my cell was now melted parts, it had been a very quiet morning. “Oh. Okay. Um, who’s been calling?”
“Everyone. Friends, neighbors, all our relatives—” Mom said.
“ABC, NBC, theTodayshow,The Tonight Show,” Dad continued.
“What?” I gasped.
“Oh yes,” Mom said enthusiastically. “Everyone thinks it’s so romantic. The way he grabbed you out of the air like that. It scared me to death when I saw it, let me tell you. And then to learn that you’ve been dating in secret because you didn’t want to upset Connor. Well,” Mom huffed, “I just didn’t know the clubhouse could be that cruel. Connor is the sweetest boy, but he does have a protective streak because of his sister, you know.”
“What?”
My dad waved a hand in dismissal before grabbing one of the muffins. “It’s a ball club, honey. It’s just like the military. There’s a hierarchy, and Connor’s been playing with the Bobcats longer than Jake. Of course it’d be hard for Jake to admit to dating Ellie.” He shot me a reproachful look over his muffin. “Though I don’t see why you had to keep it from us.”
“That’s right, honey. I’m sure Jake is a fine man.”
“Jake is a lunatic,” I said, my temper starting to rise. I had no idea what bullshit he’d been feeding my parents but—
“Oh yes. Only a crazy person would take those risks on the balcony,” Mom said, pressing a hand to her heart. “But he did save your life. And that boy’s.”
Right. Heroic, crazy,lyingJake. I pushed up from the table. “I need to get a phone. Now.”
“Of course you do, honey. But you haven’t eaten a thing. I could scramble some eggs—”
The front door burst open. Without looking, we all knew it was Rachel. She never went anywhere slowly. And we always had the same reactions. Momtsked under her breath. I looked up to see what new, exciting thing was going on in my sister’s life. And Dad acted as if nothing had happened.
We did the same thing this time, and it was a little reassuring—a bit of normal back into my life. Except that when I looked at my sister, she did something I’d never seen her do. She took one look at me and hesitated. Her expression was uncertain, her instincts clearly at war with themselves. She wanted to speak—I could practically see the words building up on her tongue—but she clenched her mouth shut and drew it into a fake smile.
That’s when I knew my life was in the crapper. Because Rachel was looking at me with sympathy.
I moaned and dropped my head in my hands. Mom was suddenly at my side.
“What is it? Do you have a headache? Honey, tell me.”
I couldn’t take this anymore. I had to know what was going on, and it was clear that Rachel knew more than anyone else. So I shoved back in my chair and glared at my sister. “I’m fine, Mom.” I stabbed a finger at my sister. “But you’re coming upstairs with me.”
Rachel’s eyes grew wide, but she kept her lips pulled into a tight smile. “Okay. Um, I brought makeup.” She lifted a tote bag that was dangling from her arm. Trust Rachel to believe that every disaster could be fixed by cosmetics. Or at least improved. Which, come to think about it, suddenly made complete sense to me.
Then I turned back to the kitchen table. “Dad, is it okay if we go to the phone store as soon as I’m done upstairs? I’m going to have to borrow your credit card to pay for it, but I’ll—”
“That’s fine, honey.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Consider it an early birthday present.”
And just like that, my insides settled. Not completely, but a measure of the churning confusion eased because my dad had kissed me on my forehead, just like he had almost every night since I was born until I moved out. It was what my dad did, and at that moment, I couldn’t have loved him more.
“Thanks,” I said, startled that I was tearing up. In defiance of that emotion, I grabbed a muffin, peeled the paper back, and bit in. “And these are great, Mom. Thank you.” The words came out muffled, but Mom seemed to understand.
She smiled, and I pressed a crumbly kiss to her cheek. My parents loved me. Knowing that strengthened my ability to face whatever Rachel had to say. But it was time. I grabbed her as I moved toward the stairs, and when she started to talk, I held up my hand.
“The whole truth. Nothing left out. I need to know it all.”
Rachel nodded gravely, then pulled up her phone. She thumbed through it quickly while we were climbing the stairs. Then at the top, she started showing me social media feeds. I took her phone and read. Pretty soon, I had to lean against the wall because my knees felt like they wouldn’t hold me.
“I don’t understand,” I murmured.
