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Mr. Hutton has always been king when it comes to smoothing things over. He has an impressive cigar humidor in his office downstairs, but I know what this is all about. He wants us to talk.
Like men.
But the tension in the room is so thick as I push away from the table, I wouldn’t be surprised if we come to blows despite Mr. Hutton’s best efforts. From the worried look in Stassi’s eyes, she must feel the same way.
When I follow them down the stairs, it’s like a funeral procession. Mr. Hutton does his best to keep it light, doling out the cigars in his mancave, asking me questions about when she’s due and whether we think it’s a girl or a boy, but the guys are one united front of hate directed at me. They take their cigars but don’t light them.
“I always thought our Stassi would make a great mom, don’t you guys? She loves children, as you probably noticed. She always plays with her nieces and nephews,” Mr. Hutton points out, to which the boys don’t respond. “And I think—”
“What I don’t get is why you suddenly set your eyes on our sister. After all these years. Man, you tormented her. And now …” Aidan shakes his head. “You’re going to look us in the eye and tell her you’re going to take care of her? You really think we’re supposed to believe that? Especially when two days ago you were out with your ex?”
So they’re going to tag-team me. This is going to be great.
All right. Time to lay it all out on the table. If that’s what they want, I’ll play.
We all look at Mr. Hutton, who clears his throat and stubs out his cigar. “You know what? I think I’ll go upstairs and see what the girls are up to.”
He makes himself scarce as we all stare each other down. I don’t think we’re all going to escape here with our lives. And I’m already outnumbered, so the odds are stacked against me.
I hold my lighted cigar but don’t bring it to my lips. “We tormented her.”
“Right. Aidan and I are supposed to. We’re her brothers,” Cooper says. “You went along with it, because that’s what you always did. You have no excuse.”
I don’t follow. “What I always did?”
Aidan nods. “Yeah, see which way the wind blows, and follow that. Don’t ruffle feathers. Do what will get the negative attention off you.”
“What the …” Is that what they always thought about me? “Name one time.”
“One time? Seriously? You always hid behind us. You never got in trouble. Not once. You pulled shit, as long as you knew you could go and leave people with their asses blowing in the breeze. Couldn’t risk your chances of getting into MIT, could you?”
“What? I never—”
“After everything she’s been through, she doesn’t need anyone pulling her chain anymore. Leaving her to shoulder the hard part. She doesn’t need this. We know her. She can’t handle another letdown.”
“I’m not going to let her down.” My voice is low.
“You aren’t?” Cooper snorts.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.
“I have to remind you what happened with Jonathan?” he growls. “Unbelievable.”
“I didn’t … what the fuck? He left that party. I didn’t know he was going to leave.”
“You got him drunk off his ass on purpose. You wanted something bad to happen to him.”
“I didn’t want him to die,” I say between gritted teeth. “He was passed out when I went outside. He was gone when I came back. I wasn’t his babysitter.”
A flash of something hits me, then, a memory I haven’t thought of … probably since the day it happened. Me and Jonathan, having drunken words, outside on the back deck. Him shoving me so hard, I nearly went over the rail. Me shoving back. Faces twisted in anger.
How could I foget?
What the hell is it to you, dickhead? The last thing Jonathan ever said to me.
I remember seeing Stassi for the first time in years. On the way over, I’d heard she was going to be there, and I was like a kid during Christmas. And then I’d seen her … and Jonathan, together. She was more beautiful than ever. Happier than ever, too.
After that, when I heard him talking about hooking up with Hannah Honeycutt later, I had to do something. With nothing but liquor at my disposal, I did what I had to do to make him unable to cheat because I sure as hell wasn’t going to let it happen on my watch.
And somewhere along the line, Jonathan left, and on the walk back to town, took a wrong turn in the dark, fell in that pond, and drowned.
“I didn’t force him to leave that night,” I say.
“Whatever makes you sleep easier at night,” Cooper spits.
“Have you always felt this way about that night?” I ask.
