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“Speaking of school,” Kiel turned his attention to his sisters. “Do either of you know where you want to go yet?”
“I’m hoping to follow you, big brother,” Ciara said as she patted Kiel’s arm. He then looked at Skyla, who wouldn’t make eye contact with anyone.
“Skyla?” Emmett waited for her to look at him.
She slowly looked at her dad and then her mom. “I’m thinking I might apply to colleges in California.” Her voice was so small and quiet, lacking confidence. Nothing like the sister he knew and loved.
“What?” Leona’s voice cracked. “Why?”
Skyla shrugged. “Change of pace. I really don’t like winter and I’ve always wanted to go to California.”
“Visiting and living there are two different things,” Emmett told her. “You’ve never even been.”
“So, take her,” Ciara said. “If she wants to go to school there, take her to see the schools. The area. Don’t try to talk her out of something she wants to do.”
Kiel was proud of Ciara for sticking up for Skyla. It was like he had told Eloise. The twins were fiercely protective of each other.
“I’ll take you,” Kiel said.
“You need to go to school as well,” Emmett said.
“Maybe I’ll go out there.”
“Did you apply?” Leona asked.
Kiel shook his head. “But there’s still time.” He pushed away from his seat and took his plate to the sink. Skyla followed him, even though she didn’t have anything to put in the dishwasher.
“Can we go somewhere?”
“Sure,” he told her. “Dad, can I borrow the car?”
Emmett held the keys up. “I just filled her up.”
“Thanks.” Kiel finished putting his dishes in the dishwasher, dried his hands and then went over and took the keys from his father. He looked at Ciara. “You coming?”
“Yep.”
The three of them were out of the house as fast as possible. Once inside the Escalade, they sat there in silence until Skyla asked, “Where are we going?”
“No idea,” Kiel said as he started the SUV. “We’ll drive around for a bit and process the fiasco our parents are in.”
“What is up Mom’s ass?” Ciara asked from the backseat. “Why is she always harping on you to wear condoms? It’s not like Dad asks us if we’re on the pill.”
“I think she thinks she’s funny,” Skyla said.
“It’s not,” I told them. “It’s cringy and embarrassing. I’m a grown ass man. If I knocked someone up, I’d take care of my responsibilities.”
“Something’s up with her, that’s for sure,” Skyla said.
“Well, it definitely didn’t help when you dropped the California shit on them. Where did that come from?” Kiel asked Skyla.
Skyla shrugged and looked out the window. “I want something different. I want to explore and see what this world has to offer.”
“Maybe we should take a trip,” Ciara suggested. “We can do one of those summer tours across Europe next year.”
“I want to go too,” Kiel said, even though it’s unlikely he’d be able to unless he deferred grad school, which seemed to be the way he leaned.
Skyla turned in her seat. “I like that idea, but it doesn’t help with college. I love that you want to go to Cornell, but I want someplace where it’s sunny all the time and I don’t have to live like a yeti.”
