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He smirked as he stood up, turning in a circle with his hands on his hips as he studied my room. “You need help bringing some boxes down to the garage?”
I nodded as I grabbed the box off my desk and pointed toward my closet for him to grab another box of clothes. I heard him stumble through my closet door before he paused.
“Damn, Penelope. Did you do this?”
I froze. I couldn’t see him from where I was bent over, but I knew exactly what he was looking at. I’d been hiding it in the art room at school for weeks and brought it home when the school year ended. I wasn’t ready to share that piece with anyone yet. I’d given my other paintings to my mom, but that one I stuffed into the back of my closet.
“Just grab a box, Easton. Don’t snoop through my stuff.”
His head popped out from behind the door, two boxes in his arms. “I wasn’t snooping. You told me to go in there and grab a box,” he scoffed. “It’s really good, though. It almost kind of looks like–” He shook his head, as if whatever thought he had was crazy.
I didn’t let him finish his sentence as I left my bedroom and started down the stairs.
? ? ?
Family dinner was at the Edwards’ again. To celebrate Easton’s visit, my move, and the girl’s last summer before their senior year of high school. Also to celebrate that Carter and I survived the end of the school year as teachers.
It actually ended up not being as bad as I had imagined. Maybe someday, once I’ve seen all the Wonders of the World and discovered ancient artifacts and lost cities, written a book, and appeared on an episode ofAncient Aliens– maybe then I could become a middle school art teacher again. Just for fun.
The families were aware that Tom had purchased a rental property in Southern California, but it wasn’t known yet that Carter was going to be moving down there too. I don’t know how Carter convinced him to keep that part a secret, and I wondered if he’d told Tom the truth about us. Tom never seemed to be aware of anything, though.
I snuck over to the pool house an hour before dinner, under the guise that I had items from our classroom that I had to return to Carter. In reality, I had to hide all of my things that had started to accumulate there over the course of the last two months since I was staying the night so much. I wasn’t sure if anyone would be using the pool house during dinner since Carter was living there, but typically that bathroom got used when everyone was in the backyard.
Carter hadn’t been inside when I walked in, so I assumed he was helping his parents with dinner. Once I’d properly hidden everything I could, I wanted to check the time. Everyone was supposed to meet in the backyard at six. I didn’t want to be uncomfortably early, but I also didn’t want it to seem like I was hiding in the pool house. Realizing I left my phone at home, I turned on Carter’s desktop to see the time. The screen lit up, and I was startled by my own face.
A photo of me from that hike to Opal Creek was staring back from the locked screen of his computer. My heart leaped and I could feel myself blushing, though I wasn’t sure why since I was the only one here. I glanced at the time in the bottom right corner. Five-forty-seven.
I was smiling to myself as I exited the pool house. It was such a small gesture; it shouldn’t warrant such a reaction. But I liked the idea that he wanted to see my face every time he logged into his computer. I liked the idea that he’d taken photos of so many beautiful places, and above them all, it was me he chose to stare at.
“Hey, you.” That silky voice radiated my skin as I shut the door behind me. Carter was on the other side of the pool, setting a bowl on the outdoor dining table.
“Hi.” I smiled. “You need some help?”
“I’d love nothing more.”
I followed him into the house and grabbed plates and silverware as he finished setting food out on the table. The scent of the grill lingered in the air as Tom appeared downstairs with an apron on.
Our sisters showed up first, then my parents, and Easton not long after. Everyone grabbed drinks and greeted each other as we settled in around the table. Easton asked to use the pool house bathroom, and I was thankful I’d thought to move my things.
Tom was setting steaks and chicken on each person’s plate as Lena passed around a salad bowl. My father held a platter of corn and the girls were giggling into their phones, showing each other something. Finally, our fathers took each end of the table. I sat next to my dad, across from my mom. Carter was between Lena and I, with our sisters on the other side of Tom. My mom squeezed a chair between herself and my dad to make room for Easton.
Everyone had begun eating, making small talk to each other as Easton returned from the bathroom and settled in next to my mom. She asked him if he’d made sure to wash his hands. I snorted at the fact that he was twenty-five and still had to be reminded.
He glanced at me, his jaw tight and eyes swimming with mischief. An evil, wicked smirk rose from the corner of his mouth, and I knew he was about to make fun of me. Likely to get back for my reaction to my mother’s comment. I glanced down at my dress, patted my hair, looking for whatever piece of me was out of place and would become his target.
Instead, he turned his gaze to the person next to me. “So, Carter, how long have you been fucking my sister?”
Eight forks clinked against eight plates as they were all dropped at the same time. I heard Tom choke on whatever he’d been chewing on. I heard Carter swallow. I heard Easton settle back in his chair, no doubt looking triumphant. I saw nothing, because my eyes were glued to my lap, afraid to make contact with any of them.
Way too many seconds passed.
Carter coughed, “Um.”
I should’ve been mortified. I should’ve been humiliated. I should’ve been angry at my brother, but the only thing I could think of was how the hell Easton found out. Unless he’d gone digging through Carter’s closet, he shouldn’t have found a single thing.
“Easton.” My mother sighed.
I glanced up to meet my mom’s eyes across the table. I realized she, and everyone else, was staring directly at me. This is my nightmare. Everything I was trying to avoid.
