Page 39 of Between Now and Forever

They’re strangers and I’m completely at their mercy. But if growing up in my family has done anything positive for me, it’s taught me to recognize dysfunction when I see it.

There’s none here.

Just real kinship. The kind that you choose. It’s a family dynamic I’ve always longed for and I want to know more.

“So… Carter says you’re just visiting from New York? What brought you to this neck of the woods.”

Nadia laughs and then tries to hide it by coughing.

“What’d I say?” I ask, bewildered when I see the rest of them shifting uncomfortably in their seats.

“Nothing. Ignore her. We’re from New York City, and yes, we’re just visiting. We’re leaving in a little less than week,” Carter responds, but it’s clear there’s something he’s not saying. But that’s not why my heart sinks.

It’s that even though I’ve been telling myself that tonight would be it, I realize that I’ve already decided that it’s not enough.

“Wow, well then, I’m glad I met you tonight,” I say brightly.

“So…do you, like, live under a rock or what?” Nadia asks, her bewildered expression turning to annoyance as she glares at her mother.

“Why are you kicking me?“ she demands.

“Because you’re rude,” Penn hisses.

“She doesn’t know who we are,” she says plaintively and I feel uneasy for the first time since I got here.

I look around the table again, studying their faces. Who are they? Before I can ask, Nadia continues.

“I mean, it’s cool being treated like a normal human, but it's also…weird.Maybeshe wouldn’t know the rest of us…but, like,everyoneknows who Jack is. And she’s barely looked at him once, so either she’s a great actress or she lives under a rock.” She shrugs like her assessment is the most obvious thing in the world.

I turn to Carter, not sure how to respond and find him shooting daggers at his sister.

“She’srightthere, Nadia. She can hear you,” Carter scolds her.

I look between them, confused and uncomfortable.

“I don’t watch TV. Or movies, really. Where should I know you from?”

Nadia exchanges a glance with her mother, who gives a nod.

“So, we have a reality show. It started because Jack used to be a famous soccer player, like huge…he played in Europe. But now, he’s washed up and most famous for his leaked sex tape. It got him a reality show, and then they gave me one, too,” Nadia explains matter of factly.

“You’resuchan asshole, Nad,” Jack says as he stands. He presses a kiss to his mother’s cheek and squeezes his father’s shoulder.

“Nice to meet you. I’m sure I’ll never see you again, so I won’t bother pretending that there’ll be a next time. Goodnight.”

And then with a parting middle finger at both his siblings, he strolls out of the kitchen.

I laugh, delighted by their honest, razor-sharp banter. The kind of trust that takes is something I’ve never had with anyone but James. And even that has been polluted by my father’s constantly pulling James into his schemes, which means he has to keep things from me.

These people, you can tell they know everything about each other.

“Sorry about him. I wish I could blame it on him being dropped on his head or something, but he was born that way,” Penn says, her eyes loving as they follow him out of the room.

“Do you live close by?” his father asks.

“No, I don’t. I live in West Winsome.”

“Oh, I see. You’re not too far from home, then,” he says.

---