He swallows hard. “You know, brotherly bonding.”
My muscles tense. This is not at all Drew-like. This is an alien version of my brother.
I pull a bottle of water from the fridge and twist off the cap. Drew leans against the counter, arms crossed, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet.
“You’re usually home later on Mondays,” he says.
“I told you my schedule changed.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah. Of course. I just… noticed.”
I take a long drink, studying him over the rim of the bottle.
His jaw is tight. His eyes dart around the room. He’s talking fast, filling the space.
He’s nervous.
About what, I have no idea.
“I’m going to change,” I say, stepping closer to him.
His head snaps up. “You don’t have to.”
I stop.
“What?”
“I mean, you can,” he adds quickly. “Obviously. You live here. But maybe wait? We could talk. Eat something.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Are you trying to keep me out of my bedroom?”
“No,” he says immediately. “That would be insane.”
I nod. “It would.”
I take a step left.
Drew shifts with me.
I go right.
He moves right too.
I go left—fast—and slip past him before he can recover.
“Sebastian—”
I’m already halfway down the hall.
He follows, panic bleeding into his voice. “Just—hang on a second.”
I race up the stairs and down the hallway, Drew’s footsteps trailing me.
I reach my bedroom door and push it open.
And freeze.
Something’s wrong.
