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Lauren laughed. “He asked for my number and wants to stay in touch. I gave him a piece of my mind about the email he sent you and he apologized. Said he was only looking out for Cam.”
It still felt weird. “Lo…”
She held up a hand. “I know who he is, Adri. I have my eyes wide open and I’m not looking to date anyone.”
“Okay.” But she would keep an eye on this situation. “So, you really don’t want to know what Chase asked?”
•••
“It’s weird here now.”
Cam didn’t lift his head from the papers in front of him but nodded to Lux. He’djust finished talking to Bron but it wasn’t the same as having her here. The house was solemn. Even the puppies were quiet. Frida lay by his feet napping.
“Chase is on his way.”
Cam looked at her then. She was carrying Diego. Both were sporting the same sad look in their eyes. Everyone was missing Bron.
“Did he say anything?” he asked.
“No, only that he would be here soon. How could we miss her already? I used to love this house but it feels so empty and they’ve only been gone four hours.”
That’s why he hadn’t want to look at his sister. He would see too much of what he was feeling. Without Adri and Bron, it just didn’t feel right.
“Why don’t you call her? She’s not going to be in school today since they took such an early flight. Adrianna said she would call her friend Ayla’s dad and ask if his daughter could come over this afternoon to hang out with Bron.”
“Oh, that’s nice. I’ve been texting with her. She said she would call me around lunch time. I have a feeling she wants to check on Frida and Diego.” Lux took the chair across from him and eyed the papers. The question danced in her eyes plain as daylight.
“These are interview questions. I agreed to sit down withTimes Big Apple. That should lay everything to rest. It’s happening this evening. I’m hoping to kill all this noise.”
“Yeah, and then you can go to Baltimore.” There was no mistaking the sadness in her voice or eyes. Lux was rarely expressive when it came to hurt.
It always touched Cam deeply when she was down in any way. “You can come with me.”
She stopped petting the puppy in her arms and her eyes widened a bit but then she shook her head. “You guys need your time alone. I don’t want to be a drag.”
“You wouldn’t be. Bron wants you close and Adrianna would be okay with it. And you don’t have to live with us, if you don’t want to. I can get you a row house in the city. You can run your blog from anywhere.”
She was silent for a while but then sighed and said,“I don’t want to be here if you’re not. It’s only a matter of time ’til Chase leaves.”
“Where am I going?” Their brother called from the door. He was still wearing the same clothes he’d left with and there were deep circles under his eyes.
“You stayed there this whole time. Why?”
Chase shrugged and dropped himself on the chair next to Lux. “Marilyn wasn’t in a good state.”
“Has she been drinking or self-medicating?” Cam asked. He hated that Chase was subjected to their mother’s company for that long alone. Because they rarely visited their parents, Marilyn was always at her abusive best when she got one of them on her turf.
“I think a mixture. She’s anxious over money. Walter’s got some woman stashed up. He didn’t come home while I was there. Marilyn wouldn’t stop screeching. She wants more money. Apparently, your stipend is barely covering her social lunches and designer shoes,” he scoffed.
“She’s not getting another dime from me.” No way in hell was he giving her any more. “Don’t either of you give her anything. What she gets from me is enough.”
His brother looked away.
“Damn it, Chase.”
“It’s the easier route. What do you want me to do? I can’t listen to her whine for long. As soon as I promised to give her the added amount, she calmed down and went to sleep. I got the fuck out.” He buried his face in his hands.
Luciana brought Diego closer. The move made Cam think of Bron.
