Duke’s history with Carolyn had been a touchy subject with everybody, especially him. After everything had gone down between the two of them, and the subsequent fallout, he’d never mentioned her again. “Is that it?” I moved the food around my plate. “You made her dinner for closure?”
“Pretty much.”
I figured that was all he would give me, so I said, “Okay. I’ll take your word for it.”
“Thank you.”
After I ate, we went back to the game room. As we played games, talked shit, and just chilled, I marveled at how easy everything was with them. I never wanted to give that up.
Right on time, Dallas stood and announced the Secret Santa drawing. She gave her big spiel for Charlye’s family, who’d joined us this year. Then, she threatened Asa with bodily harm if he failed to buy his gift on time.
When Harper asked where Tristan was, he unknowingly put a damper on the room. Tristan hadn’t been to aYoung’Uns’ Weekendyet, and real talk, he wasn’t really missed by most of the siblings. All the sisters knew about the Atlanta incident, but as far as I knew, Dexter and Asa had no idea what had happened. And Duke… I avoided his annoyed stare because I knew he was still pissed about everything.
Paityn finally cleared her throat and answered, “He’s busy.”
Lennox placed a finger over Blake’s mouth before she could interject, shaking his head at her and silently letting her know not to say anything. Much to her chagrin. Off to the side, I noticed Charlye and Dex whispered to one another and wondered if someone had told him.
“Dallas, come on,” Asa said, breaking the awkward silence. “We’re ready.”
Dallas jumped into action, and everyone picked their names from the box. I’d just looked at the name when I heard Bliss gasp. I followed her gaze to the door. Tristan stood there, hands in his pockets.
I scanned the room, noting the varying expressions on each of his siblings’ faces. Only two of them looked happy to see him, but that didn’t stop him from entering the room. “What’s up?” he greeted. “Am I too late to draw a name?”
My heart dropped, and I let the small piece of paper I’d pulled fall on the floor. Feeling a need to escape, I left the room. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but I needed some air. I veered off down a hallway and exited through a glass door.
ChapterSix
WRONG IDEA
Duke
Am I too late to draw a name?
When Demi bolted out of the room, Dallas attempted to follow her, but I stopped her. My sister glared at me and opened her mouth to protest. “Let her go,” I ordered. “She just needs time.”
“But—”
“He’s right,” Paityn interjected. “She’ll be fine. We need to talk.”
Without prompting, Charlye herded her family out of the room, followed by Preston and Bishop. But before Preston walked out, he told Dallas, “I’ll find her.”
Am I too late to draw a name?
The more those words played on a loop in my mind, the angrier I became. As siblings, we’d traveled together often because it was important to us to maintain our tight bond. Long gone were the days where we all lived in close proximity, so we made it a point to schedule sibling time without our parents. The weekend after Thanksgiving was just one of those trips. We vacationed in the summer together, and sometimes in the spring. And we also managed to carve out small group time. My sisters took girls trips while my brothers and I went camping several times a year.
Yet, in all those instances, at every single function, Tristan was never there. That big-head muthafucka never showed up for anything. And the fact that he just magically appeared at the lodge today was some bullshit. Because he had a motive.Demi.
Blake lit into him first, “What the hell is your problem, Tristan? You just walked in here like you didn’t fuck shit up with Demi last week.”
“I don’t have a problem,” Tristan grumbled.
“It’s the audacity for me,” Dallas chimed in, shaking her head. “To show up unannounced.”
“Ruining the entire vibe,” Blake added.
“You haven’t called,” Dallas continued. “You didn’t RSVP. You didn’t pay shit on this house and you, what? Figured it was time to catch up after being gone for months with no communication?” Dallas’ reaction was indicative of her unconditional love for Demi. Usually, she would’ve defended Tristan against an onslaught of criticism, but it had been a long time and he’d missed out on several pivotal moments inherlife. “I can’t even tell you how fucked up this is. I had a fucking baby that you’ve never met.”
Tristan glanced at Paityn. “You want a shot at me?”
