Page 50 of Forever Cursed

“Having fun?” I ask Zack before snickering at a splotch of flour on his chin.

“Loads. I haven’t made pizza like this since I was a kid. Gwen is giving me special treatment since my sister doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“Why?” I ask with an arched brow.

Zack beckons me closer and lowers his voice. “She’s on her period.”

“Why are we whispering?” I smirk with a hint of amusement. “Periods aren’t top secret, you know.”

“Yeah, I know, but I don’t want to summon her. She’s alwayssupercranky during her time of the month. It’s best not to say her name, trust me.”

Well, this is going to make today more difficult.

“Okay, sure, buddy.” I pat his back before nodding toward the kitchen. “Can we talk out back? Just the two of us?”

“Absolutely, let’s go.”

I follow Zack as he leads us into the kitchen. Gwen stops me in my tracks, and I have to stop myself from doubling over in hysterics.

“You left me.” She pouts, not caring about the flour scattered all over the countertop and her face. “Hi, Rome,” she greets me in defeat.

“I barely recognized you without the mustache.”

Gwen purses her lips at me while Zack spins around to look at us. “Mustache?”

“Ha, ha, very funny.” She clicks her tongue at me.

“I don’t get it. Gwen has never had a mustache.” Zack observes the two of us.

“I’ll tell you later, but don’t think you can get out of helping me, Willows.”

“Where’s Ash?” I ask while Zack opens the patio door.

“He’s watchingStar Wars: A New Hopewith Pickles. He wants to ‘enlighten’ him.”

I squint. “Oh, okay.” Yeah, I’m not touching that topic, not today.

Zack and I step across the threshold leading outside. The air is thick, and the sun is hot. One of the downsides of living in the Northeast is the humidity. Heat is never just heat. It’s like you’re trying to walk through the rain forest, but crank up the temperature and prepare for a sunburn.

The only solace we have is the pool. The water is clear, and the surface sparkles as the sun reflects off it. Zack sits on the edge and sinks his legs in. I don’t waste any time and follow suit. My palms burn when I press down on them to get comfortable, but when I dip my toes in, the feeling fades away.

I sigh in relief when my legs become drenched, and I splash my hands in and use the water to cool off my neck.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” Zack starts.

The worry that this might ruin our friendship is real. Zack will protect his sister until his dying days. There’s a reason she doesn’t tell him about a lot of things. She doesn’t want him to worry, and she doesn’t want to deal with the backlash. Yet here I am, readying myself to face it head-on.

“You know I never dated much and why I don’t open myself up to a lot of people,” I start.

“Yeah, between you and Gwen, I’m ninety-nine percent sure our parents’ generation is screwed in the head.”

I chuckle awkwardly. “Yeah, that’s one way to put it.” I kick my feet back and forth, trying to summon the courage to do what I have to do. “I’m about to tell you something, but I need you to make me a promise first.”

“Okay . . .” He sounds skeptical.

“No matter what I say or how you react, we’ll remain friends. You can get angry, yell at me, or ignore me. I don’t care. As long as we can get over it, we can go back to normal. Promise me nothing will change.”

He watches me for a moment, not saying a word, probably trying to gauge where I’m going with this before I continue.

---