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I fought myself from snarling at Sloane, something definitely going on here. I was obviously hard-pressed to confront her about it now, our parents around.
“Sounds like you’re really getting back into the swing of things. Living life again?” Dad’s smile reached his eyes. “Glad to hear it, and you deserve that.”
Sloane had said something similar, and instead of appearing all aloof, her plate took her attention. Her fork tines guided around peas, leaving me to our folks.
“Trying to get back into things,” I said, swallowing. I waved. “We’re just talking, and things have been good.”
The ease with which lies flew from my lips these days unsettled me, but now that Sloane had mentioned Fawn, I couldn’t very well back down.
This is what you wanted.
I tried to remember that, making myself smile when Mom knocked my leg.
“You should bring her home sometime,” she said, taking my dad’s hand. He nodded, and Mom tilted her head. She smiled at me. “God knows we have plenty of room. Maybe she can come down with you and Sloane one of these weekends.”
Sloane really had left me to the wolves here, and she wasn’t even eating anymore. She had her hands folded, her stare completely away from everything regarding the conversation. I sat back. “Sure.”
Of course, that would never fucking happen, and if my parents pressured me, I could just tell them Fawn and I broke up. We would eventually. That was the plan.
Shifting, I tried to make Sloane look at me, but she wasn’t having it. We would talk, and when I volunteered us both for dish duty that night, I set out for that goal. Our parents sat back and let us, and I had a nice stack when my mom called my name.
“Before I forget, honey, I ran into Dr. Sturm at the grocery store,” Mom said, and the grip on my dishes increased. She gestured to me. “Said to remind you to reschedule that appointment you had. Something about your class schedule getting in the way?”
I schooled my features, forcing myself to ease my grip on the dishes. I nodded. “Yeah, just figuring out when. Plan to call him soon.”
And I would… eventually.
“Good. And don’t forget, please?” Mom took Dad’s hand. Or more so he took hers. He squeezed it, and she let him before facing me. “You know, it’s, um, taking a lot for us to let you go back to school.”
“Don’t give us a reason to worry, bud,” Dad finished for her, nodding. “So, call him. This week?”
Twice in one day, the people in my life were saying things like this to me.
I bobbed my head once in acknowledgment, quickly leaving the room. Sloane had already dipped out, again leaving me to the wolves. She had her arms elbow-deep in bubbles by the time I got into the kitchen, and she had a few moments that way before I got to her side.
I stayed at the door for a beat. What my parents said threw me. I would call Dr. Sturm, but I couldn’t just yet. I needed a plan first, some time…
I edged in beside Sloane, and it was easy to put the previous conversation away when I thought about what she’d just done out there. Not to mention, that stuff with Fawn. I got low. “What was that out there? Why would you ever say something to Mom and Dad? And talking to Fawn too? Dropping in her class and shit? I mean, have you lost your entire mind, little, or just some of it?”
That was the only thing that could explain what she’d done on both counts, and it was by the grace of GodBru hadn’t been at the table too tonight. The kid and I definitely had our fair share of handling each other, and odds were, he would have completely backed Sloane up out there. If anything, just to piss me off since that was how we were.
“I mean, why didn’t you say anything?” she countered, and my head snapped back. Her shoulders lifted. “Shouldn’t you be, I don’t know,proudabout someone you’re seeing?”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed.
But then I sneered.
“You don’t knowanythingabout Fawn, and you definitely don’t know anything about me and Fawn.”Ididn’t know anything about Fawn and me, but I couldn’t tell her that. I gripped the sink. “And you’re doing all this judgy shit when you have no right.”
I felt my pulse racing, spiking. Again, I was getting all amped up about this shit, which didn’t make sense. Fawn and I were fake, but I didn’t like people talking shit about her.
Especially since it wasn’t true.
She’d done what she had to get back at me, but even outside of all that, D, the guys, and Sloane had no right to pass any type of judgment. Not when it came to my life. I didn’t care who the fuck I was dating. They needed to accept it and respect it, my choices. Not theirs.
Calm the fuck down.
My twin was making it hard, and though I loved the shit out of her, she wasannoying the hellout of me right now with this. She lifted her hands out of the water. “All I did was use my eyes. And also, all I did was let her know you’re at a place where you’re not trying to do the party shit. And, if that’s who she is, she needs to bow out and not waste your time.”
