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Twelve
Gavinand I picked up Vince on our way to my house on Friday afternoon. By some luck, we didn’t get much homework assigned, so we decided to hang out at the house for as long as possible. None of us wanted to be home. Maybe I wasn’t the only one missing the tight quarters of the cruise. We complained about it at the moment, but I doubt that would happen now.
“I hope Sky takes it down a notch tonight. When he gets in these moods, it only means trouble,” Vince said from the backseat.
“Like what?” I turned in my seat to face him.
“One time, we ended up streaking down Luca’s street for the hell of it. We almost got caught. Luckily, one of his neighbors doesn’t lock their side gate, and we were able to hide until the cops gave up.”
I stared at him. “Seriously?”
“Yeah,” Gavin shook his head. “We told him no more lawbreaking. We’re getting too old. It’s no longer a slap on the wrist if we get caught.”
“That hasn’t stopped him from breaking into old homes or vandalizing our rival’s pool during water polo finals last year,” Vince said while rolling his eyes.
I knew Sky was the jokester of the group, but I didn’t realize it was at this level. “Has he ever been caught?”
Gavin nodded. “A few times. He’s had to pay fines and do some community service, but that didn’t seem to stop him.”
I couldn't remember him getting into trouble since we met. “Has he done anything recently?”
Gavin sat up and made eye contact with Vince through the mirror.
I glanced between them. “What was that?”
“It’s just that you don’t know a lot about our past, and some of us like it that way,” Vince admitted.
“Like Sky?” I pressed.
Gavin nodded in reply.
“Well, now I’m interested,” I said with a smile even though I feel a bit sick. What don’t I know? Apparently, there were misdemeanors involved, but what else? Did I even want the answers?
“Maybe you can ask tonight,” Vince offered. “He was the one that suggested truth or dare.”
I sighed. “I have mixed feelings about that game.”
They shared another look, but I ignored it. I asked both of them about their past experiences, or lack of in Gavin’s case. The only one I never got around to asking was Noah. It seemed important to know when we were on the cruise, but too many other questions and problems came up and I forgot.
“Do either of you have things I should know about?”
Neither of them spoke, so I turned to Gavin. His gaze locked on the road, and his grip tightened on the steering wheel. Okay, so he had something.
I checked over my shoulder, and Vince was conveniently looking out the window.
Well then. I sunk into my seat and crossed my arms. I wasn’t so naive to think I knew everything about them, but I’d shared so much with them and only got bits and pieces in return. I bared my heart and told them about my best friend and the pain of losing her. About how my brother was the only bright light in my family and how I adored him and looked up to him like no one else in my life. I told them about growing up in Malibu and going to an all-girls school. Maybe my life was simply boring in comparison, but this overwhelming feeling of being deceived came over me. Were they keeping their past from me on purpose? What did they have to hide? Why didn’t I know more?
This was the hardest part of coming into such an established group. So much of their history was tied together. They shared the same stories and must be used to not having to retell them. Maybe they forgot I wasn’t there for any of it. They had sixteen years of memories, but I only had a handful of months.
It was another complication that added to our already challenging relationship. It felt unbalanced, and there was only one way to tip the scales.
Well, two. But the second option meant waiting until we had decades’ worth of our own stories.
No, I needed to ask. If I wanted to feel included and understand the innumerable facets that made up each of them, I had to do the work.
Noah and Luca were waiting for us when we pulled up to the house. When I got out, I tossed Noah the keys, and he opened the door. I kept meaning to have copies made for them, but part of me liked knowing I had a place completely to myself.
“Hey,” Luca greeted me as he helped unload what we crammed into the back of GI Joe, Gavin’s SUV. We’d found two air mattresses at Gavin’s, and Noah brought another to have enough space for everyone to sleep tonight. I also brought all the blankets I could find in the house, which was more than I expected. Likely, I had Juliet to thank for that. It hurt to think she could have been so instrumental in making our house a home while also betraying us. My mind didn’t know how to merge the two sides of her.
