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“You are so predictable.”
Gabriel swore and fumbled for the light switch.
Nick was straddling his desk chair backward, his arms folded on the backrest.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Gabriel snapped. “Why are you sitting here in the dark?”
His twin shrugged. “Because I knew you’d walk right past my room.”
This would be easier if Nick wanted to start throwing punches.
Gabriel sighed. “Look. It’s late ”
“Did you get the girl home all right?”
“Layne. Her name is Layne. And yes.” Though he’d had to park three houses down to watch her walk up the sidewalk. He hesitated. “Thanks for letting me take the car.”
“You’re welcome.”
Silence clung to the air. Nick could read a lot from a silence, Gabriel knew. The air would whisper to him as strongly as fire did for Gabriel. That didn’t make gaps in strained conversation any easier to fill.
He fought not to fidget. “Where’s Michael?”
“He was meeting someone for coffee.” Nick shook his watch straight on his wrist. “That was at seven.”
Gabriel picked up on the note in his voice. “Someone?”
“He said it was an old friend from school.”
“A girl?”
“He didn’t say.”
Gabriel had a pretty good idea, anyway.
Then Nick offered, “He spent a long time getting ready. Said, and I quote, ‘Don’t wait up.’”
“That sneaky bastard.” Gabriel dropped onto the corner of his bed, bemused. “He’s going out with Hannah.”
Nick raised an eyebrow. “Who’s Hannah?”
Gabriel snapped his eyes up. That comment hammered home just how disconnected he’d been from Nick over the last few days.
If his twin didn’t know about Hannah, that meant Michael had kept his promise about the night Gabriel accidentally set the woods on fire.
But Gabriel couldn’t explain Hannah without revealing it himself.
Could he tell Nick about the fires?
No. Nick wouldn’t approve. He wouldn’t understand.
He’d tell Michael. They’d make him stop.
“Hannah is just a girl.” Gabriel couldn’t meet his brother’s eyes. He focused on the joints of the chair. “She used to go to school with Michael.”
Nick sighed, obviously not convinced. “All right, forget about Hannah. Forget about Layne, even. Keep your secrets, since you obviously can’t talk to me anymore.”
The last bit wasn’t said with spite or contempt which Gabriel was expecting. Just furious resignation, which was a hundred times worse.
