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“What about you?” Lance asks, directing the question at me.
What about me…
I want to join in. I want to play along and feel a part of their group, but the truth is, I don’t have a clue how long it will take Mason to propose because I don’t know who they truly are. As a couple, nor as people. I might have the same blood as my brother, but a last name is about all he’s willing to share with me anymore. “I said I wouldn’t bet on them.”
The group falls silent, and I focus my gaze on the drink in my hand, knowing I’ve created an awkward void.
“I’ll give them a year,” Lance announces.
“Why the change of heart?” Charlie asks as I lift my head.
Lance shrugs, his eyes locking with mine as he knocks back the rest of his drink. “Caught me on a good day, I guess.”
I can’t look away as he stands and moves past Elliot, Lucy and me. He disappears inside the house.
“I’m freezing my tits off out here. That fire couldn’t burn even Lance’s icy ass.”
I smile at that and stand. “I’ll grab you a throw, Megan.”
NINE
Scarlet
We end up moving inside to the lounge instead, the British summer not quite warm enough this late into the night. Lucy was the first to disappear to bed. Elliot followed not long after, and then when Nina fell asleep in Mason’s arms, he told us to carry on while he carried her upstairs.
Megan, Charlie and Lance are the only ones still awake, and although the alcohol I’d drank earlier in the evening has worn off, I have a buzz about me I know won’t wear off for a while. When I’m at home, I rarely drink unless we’re entertaining. Dad insists it doesn’t bother him, and I believe it. He has control when the house is full. It’s when he’s alone that things get bad.
The idea of this day ending and routine resuming tomorrow makes my stomach churn, which gives me terrible guilt.
It makes me want to disappear for a little while.
“I can feel your mind working.”
I look up at Charlie next to me on the sofa and swallow before giving him a soft smile. “I’m fine.”
“Yeah, you’re always fine.”
My eyes seek out Megan and Lance, but both are focused on the movie we put on nearly an hour ago. Although Megan talked through the first thirty minutes, everyone seems to be pretty invested now.
“Do you ever wish you could be invisible? Not forever, but just long enough to become a thought in someone’s mind.”
Charlie frowns but then looks up and over my shoulder. I turn my head and find Lance staring at me.
“What do you mean?” Charlie asks, drawing my gaze back to him.
I chance a look back at Lance, but he’s on his phone and not focused on us. He’s not spoken to me since the terrace. He’s barely spoken to anyone all night, his face like stone. “No responsibility, complete freedom with no judgement, and the validation that you’re still needed in the world.”
“You could never be invisible, Scar.” He pulls on a loose strand of my lavender hair. “But, yeah. It sounds pretty fucking epic.”
“What would you do?” I ask him.
“How long do we get?”
I purse my lips as I think. “A day.”
“Hmm. I’d probably fuck with some people.” I smile, knowing he’s doing everything he can to lighten my mood.
“The guys,” I confirm.
