carried through the front door. Guess they’d cut school too. I hesitated on Justin’s porch—I thought maybe I could hide out in the living room, watch some television until Illana and the others left my house. But Jenna’s serious tone caught me off guard. I pushed the door open quietly and heard her follow up with, “He’s in trouble.”
“Mal’s not in trouble,” Cole said, sounding so jaded and full of scorn that I almost didn’t recognize his voice. “He’s just being a baby about Luca.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have antagonized him,” Bailey added.
“It’s more than that,” Jenna said. I heard frustration, but that wasn’t the part that was blowing my mind. I would have expected Justin to be the one with all the concerns. But I never would have expected something like that out of Jenna. “It was a bad joke, I get it. We joke about how he’s always in a bad mood, but haven’t you noticed him lately? Something’s wrong with him. It’s eating him alive.”
“You’re just trying to start something. Quinn told you to leave it alone,” Justin commented.
I let the door slam shut behind me. The sudden silence coming from the kitchen was almost laughable. The four of them were spread out around the kitchen: Cole in front of the fridge, peering through its contents; Jenna, arms crossed in front of her, wary and pissed off; and Justin and Bailey, seated at the table, each of them swamped behind stacks of homework and textbooks.
“Am I dying?” I asked, feeling some sense of normalcy. The four of them against the one of me. This was good. It was usual. “Because I don’t feel like I’m dying.”
“Nobody’s dying,” Jenna said, a frown forming on her face. She didn’t like that I was here. She thought this was going to be private. I wasn’t meant to overhear. “Are you done being a five-year-old and ignoring the rest of us?”
“Are you done being a four-year-old who throws a tantrum when she doesn’t get her way?”
It was a quick and easy change to the atmosphere in the room. However the conversation had started, whatever Jenna had said that initiated it, now things were different. Easier. Jenna was the spoiled, snotty sister, and I was the frustrated, irritated brother. My usual role settled around my shoulders like a mantle, and already I was breathing easier.
“Did you think they were going to move us again?” I continued. “Because we’re still here, Jenna. And I can’t walk the halls at school without people staring at me. Maybe they don’t know that you infected the whole school with your weird prank, but they know it had something to do with me.”
“I thought you liked the attention,” she snarked back. “Aren’t you Mister Popular?”
“Cut it out, Jenna,” Bailey said, pen poised over her notebook. “Stop trying to pick a fight.”
Cole peeked his head out from behind the refrigerator door. “Why aren’t you yelling at Mal? He’s the one interrupting a private conversation.”
It was a slap to the face. They didn’t want me here. Just because I’d walked in the front door didn’t mean I should be privy to their conversation, that much was true. If they’d wanted me here, if this had really been some kind of intervention like the other day at school, they would have told me about it.
“Good point.” I managed to hide my thoughts behind an even tone and a hesitant smile. Deflection was always a good response. “I’ll leave you guys to it, then. Just put a list together of all my faults, huh? It’ll save you lots of time in the future.”
“No, wait.” Jenna swore under her breath, and I could feel the heated look she shot at Cole, even though I’d turned my back to them. I didn’t wait, though. It would be safer and easier outside. Away from here. Maybe I could get in my car and just drive, drive, drive until there was nothing but the memory of family in my rearview window. “Mal, wait!”
Jenna caught me at the door before I could make
“Mal’s not in trouble,” Cole said, sounding so jaded and full of scorn that I almost didn’t recognize his voice. “He’s just being a baby about Luca.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have antagonized him,” Bailey added.
“It’s more than that,” Jenna said. I heard frustration, but that wasn’t the part that was blowing my mind. I would have expected Justin to be the one with all the concerns. But I never would have expected something like that out of Jenna. “It was a bad joke, I get it. We joke about how he’s always in a bad mood, but haven’t you noticed him lately? Something’s wrong with him. It’s eating him alive.”
“You’re just trying to start something. Quinn told you to leave it alone,” Justin commented.
I let the door slam shut behind me. The sudden silence coming from the kitchen was almost laughable. The four of them were spread out around the kitchen: Cole in front of the fridge, peering through its contents; Jenna, arms crossed in front of her, wary and pissed off; and Justin and Bailey, seated at the table, each of them swamped behind stacks of homework and textbooks.
“Am I dying?” I asked, feeling some sense of normalcy. The four of them against the one of me. This was good. It was usual. “Because I don’t feel like I’m dying.”
“Nobody’s dying,” Jenna said, a frown forming on her face. She didn’t like that I was here. She thought this was going to be private. I wasn’t meant to overhear. “Are you done being a five-year-old and ignoring the rest of us?”
“Are you done being a four-year-old who throws a tantrum when she doesn’t get her way?”
It was a quick and easy change to the atmosphere in the room. However the conversation had started, whatever Jenna had said that initiated it, now things were different. Easier. Jenna was the spoiled, snotty sister, and I was the frustrated, irritated brother. My usual role settled around my shoulders like a mantle, and already I was breathing easier.
“Did you think they were going to move us again?” I continued. “Because we’re still here, Jenna. And I can’t walk the halls at school without people staring at me. Maybe they don’t know that you infected the whole school with your weird prank, but they know it had something to do with me.”
“I thought you liked the attention,” she snarked back. “Aren’t you Mister Popular?”
“Cut it out, Jenna,” Bailey said, pen poised over her notebook. “Stop trying to pick a fight.”
Cole peeked his head out from behind the refrigerator door. “Why aren’t you yelling at Mal? He’s the one interrupting a private conversation.”
It was a slap to the face. They didn’t want me here. Just because I’d walked in the front door didn’t mean I should be privy to their conversation, that much was true. If they’d wanted me here, if this had really been some kind of intervention like the other day at school, they would have told me about it.
“Good point.” I managed to hide my thoughts behind an even tone and a hesitant smile. Deflection was always a good response. “I’ll leave you guys to it, then. Just put a list together of all my faults, huh? It’ll save you lots of time in the future.”
“No, wait.” Jenna swore under her breath, and I could feel the heated look she shot at Cole, even though I’d turned my back to them. I didn’t wait, though. It would be safer and easier outside. Away from here. Maybe I could get in my car and just drive, drive, drive until there was nothing but the memory of family in my rearview window. “Mal, wait!”
Jenna caught me at the door before I could make
Similar Books
