Page 92 of Shattered Veil

Claire’s body sagged, one hand on the handle of the cupboard as she looked back to Luke and gently spoke, “Baby, can you not do this?”

He blew an annoyed breath through his nostrils in response, and she finished her task at hand, grabbing three mugs—all the same design as the small, white one that I was currently drinking from. She bustled about behind the island expertly while holding them all deftly by the handles with a grip of her left hand. Packets of sweetener from the countertop and a small container of cinnamon from the lazy susan cupboard were placed in the mugs, the quart of milk that sat in the fridge was snagged by her free hand, and she closed the refrigerator door with a sharp bump of her hip.

Sitting at Luke’s right, she set everything down. He quietly thanked her for the cinnamon, as it was a typical addition to his morning beverage, and she gave him a small grin in return. Colton waited silently while they both prepared their drinks.

Cassie cleared her throat. “I’m, ah, gonna go get dressed.” She took two steps. Two small, quiet steps. And the creak of the front door sounded once more. Cassie groaned, “Please, God—no.”

Her plea to a deity was unanswered as her brother strolled inside with his own French press in hand.

“I thought I heard—” Liam’s attention was immediately drawn to his sister, and he grimaced as he admonished, “The hell are you doing? Get some clothes on!”

“Oh. My God!” Cassie whined. “Ten o’clock! We said fucking. Ten. I just got out of the goddamn shower!”

Zoey, who was momentarily hidden behind Liam’s large body and holding a container of sugar cookie-flavored creamer, walked past him and toward the kitchen table.

Less than concerned about Cassie’s appearance, she greeted Colton with a murmured, “Morning,” moving to sit on my left and setting her creamer down in front of her.

He pointed at her enthusiastically. “That’s how you say hello,” he told both Cassie and Luke as he looked between the two of them.

“Cas,” Liam exhaled her name in exasperation as he closed the door behind him, “I know you’re staying here, but ya can’t walk around like you own the damn place.”

Now filling his own mug halfway with coffee from Claire’s French press, Colton squinted at Liam. He set the contraption down, replacing it with the milk, and cocked his head a near ninety degrees to the side. Filling the mug until I knew his coffee would be colored a light beige, he looked from him, to me, to Cassie, and then back to Liam. He appeared to be reading the room and absorbing the vibes as if they were moisture and he a wrung-out sponge; however, as he reached for the sweetener and grabbed three packets, he said nothing.

Luke’s nose scrunched as he watched Colton tear the tops off of all three of the green packets and empty them into his cup in one fell swoop. Mild disgust at Colton’s obvious preference for overly sweet, milky coffee was clear in his contorted grimace.

“I was just. Going. To get. Dressed,” Cassie stressed to her brother. “And I was considering getting a coffee before I did, but then you guys all showed up at once.”

“You can put on clothes before you go walkin’ through Jay’s kitchen,” he argued. “You’re giving everyone a free show.”

Zoey scoffed. “It’s just a towel, Lee.”

Cassie bitterly retorted, “Well, I can’t ask for payment for my shows anymore since I had to quit my job! So, it’s all fuckin’ free now.”

Mug half-lifted to his lips, Colton barked out a laugh. Everyone simultaneously turned their heads to look at him, and he quipped:

“What? That was funny. She’s funny. So…you quit?”

Cassie said, “Over a voicemail. No notice…not exactly ideal, but—” She paused as she noticed Liam’s eyes narrowed in Colton’s direction and exclaimed, “Oh, for the love of—Liam, he said I was funny. He didn’t say he wanted to fuck me!”

Colton rapidly finished a sip from his drink and then set it down to tell Cassie, “For the record, I don’t. No offense, but you’re not my type.” He casually spoke to Liam, “Ya got nothing to worry about there,” and then shot me the quickest of side-eyes as if he were silently telling me the same. No one else had caught it, but his quiet recognition of my closeness with Cassie made me cough into my coffee mug. I cleared my throat loudly, setting the ceramic to the table, and Colton voiced, “Ya left a message and quit. Got it. Probably a good call. When’s your friend gettin’ here, anyway?”

Cassie’s jaw dropped open. “TEN!”

She then abandoned all thought of getting coffee, turned on her heel, and stormed into Claire’s bedroom where she had left her suitcase.

There was little conversation to be had while we all waited for Skylar.

Liam had eventually sat between Zoey and Colton with two more procured mugs from my cupboard. He poured from his French press into his mug and added nothing else; Zoey drank mostly creamer with a splash of coffee. Colton asked if he could have some of her flavored creamer, and she gave it to him without a verbal response. Luke and Liam both watched in horror as he added even more sweetness to his cup.

Cassie returned to the common area, having quickly thrown her damp hair in a bun and donned jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt. Because the seats were all otherwise full at the dining table, she had taken it upon herself to sit atop the granite on the kitchen island behind me. Legs dangling over the edge, I could see her in the peripheral vision of my right-hand side as she casually drank her coffee, which was prepared exactly like her brother’s.

It was odd to say, but despite what I knew was coming upon Skylar’s arrival, it felt…normal. Well, normal in the manner of an awkward breakfast in which no one desired to speak general pleasantries, but normal, nonetheless.

The casual feeling of morning coffee with friends and acquaintances alike lasted until approximately 10:05. Claire checked the time on her phone. Cassie’s right foot began to bounce from side to side. Liam questioned her hesitantly:

“You said ten?”

I answered for her, “I think we all know she was supposed to get here at ten, man.”

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