“Soften the blow of who our family is? Or your coke addiction?” I ask, not truly hearing the words coming out of my mouth.
Odie’s jaw drops so low it almost hits the floor, and my chest tightens. Shit, I should not have said that.
Aralynn’s stare is so sharp it’s burning a hole through me. “Way to be a dick.”
I don’t argue. She’s right: it was a dick move. Odette had a drug problem a few years back, and she’s been clean since, but it’s something she will never want her boyfriend to know. Past or not.
I may be a shitty brother for throwing that in her face, but my capacity to filter my sentences these days is nonexistent.
A sharp, powerful slap lands on my cheek. With my stinging face cradled in my hands, I groan.
“Go to hell, Kingsley,” Odette berates me.
Those are all the words she spares before she and Aralynn storm out of my bedroom.
Drama like this wouldn’t happen if I lived on my own, and as time continues to pass, I entertain the idea of moving out more and more. I’m twenty-one, for fuck’s sake. They’ve had me stay home so I can continue to be under Dad’s wing, but I can probably convince them to buy me an apartment with a little more effort.
Maybe after I catch the mole.
The tension between my sisters and me doesn’t die down by the time dinner is ready. If anything, it worsened—and everyone can feel it.
Mom, knowing us, keeps asking what is up, but we all stay quiet. Dad grumbles that we’re still acting like little kids and tells us to behave for the dinner Zara’s prepared for us.
Odette’s boyfriend arrives early, all dressed up and holding flowers. He hands them to my sister, and she lights up like a firework, which no doubt gains her new man twenty brownie points from my dad.
The girls, petty as usual, make sure we sit with a buffer person between each of us. It’s how I end up at the table between Uncle Santiago and Rip.
While Mom, Dad, and my uncle try to make up for my sisters’ and my lack of conversation, I’m focusing on keeping my head upright. Since I woke up, I’ve felt like a puppet in my own body, fighting to take control but failing miserably. Dinner isn’t helping.
The smell of turkey, potato salad, and mushy green beans wafts into my nose. I stare at it all, but none of it is appealing, at least not now. Maybe later, when I’m not in front of everyone.
Since this isn’t a business dinner where I have to be professional, I don’t have my parents breathing down my neck. Everyone is all about Rip, Thomas, and Odie’s boyfriend, Paul, and I couldn’t be happier about it.
“I’m still in shock,” Paul says. “When Odie said her family has money… I didn’t think she meant like this. I won’t lie. I feel a little underdressed right now.”
“You’ve never heard of the Beaumonts?” My uncle asks as he cuts a piece of his turkey.
He shakes his head. “No. I moved to the city a few months ago, so I’m not familiar with all the big names.”
“Wow, Rip and Thomas aren’t from here either,” Mom says.
Paul turns to the brothers. “Where are you from?”
“Manchester,” Thomas replies.
“Damn, that’s a long way away. No Thanksgiving over there, yeah?”
“This is our first,” Rip says, covering his mouth as he chews. “And it’s amazing.”
Odette giggles and wraps an arm around Paul’s bicep. “Tell them where you’re from, Paul.”
I wish I could say I caught Paul’s words, but I’ve tuned everyone out when a wave of lightheadedness passes over me.Leaning back in the chair, I bite down and try to ground myself. The dizzy spells are at their peak today. If I were still asleep, or at least in my bedroom, it wouldn’t be this bad.
The mashed potatoes lathered with butter or the sweet potatoes overloaded with sugar before me sure don’t help. I need to find something I’ll be able to stomach before I keel over.
When the world steadies itself again, I sense a pair of blue eyes on me. Rip’s openly staring, no attempt to hide it. He’s got his fork in hand, raises an eyebrow, and gives me a once-over. I may as well be a glass window with how easily he’s seeing right through me.
I have to get away from this table.
