Page 33 of The Tomorrows After You
“What isshedoing here?” Katie hissed.
I ran a hand through my hair and hung my palm off the back of my neck. I shrugged.
“She had nowhere to go. So, I’m letting her rent out the lanai.”I tried to make my voice sound confident, like an adult, like a man who knew what he was doing. Like a man in control of his own life.
“What were you thinking?”she asked, sounding distinctly like my high school football coach after we’d all been busted at a field party. “We’re working toward something here, Riot. Nicolette left Godot and never looked back. She’s not one of us and I’m not sure being associated with her is the right move for yourimage.” Her eyes bore into me and her pout tugged at my conscience. My palms rested reassuringly on her shoulders.
“She’s just staying until she gets her finances together, then I’m sure she’ll want to move on somewhere else.”
It was a lie. All of it. And I couldn’t help but wish that her bank never unfroze her card if it meant she’d walk around in that tiny little pajama set every night.
Katie softened at my reassurance.“I wish you’d told me. Have you heard about the things she’s done? She’s a man-eater, Riot. A home-wrecker and a snake.”Anger and irritation bubbled in my chest when I recalled the gossipy way Katie and Amber had twittered about her.“You need to be careful what you say to her—”
“Katie, it’s temporary!”I cut her off. “And while I appreciate your concern, I would think thatyouof all people might be a little more willing to give someone with areputationa chance.” I fixed her with a hard stare, and she frowned.
“I’m just trying to protect you,”she said and the softness in her words cut through me.
“I understand that, but I also need to be able to make my own decisions, okay?”
“It’s just that… I know what the people in this town are like, okay? I’ve watched them all grow up. I know how their minds work.”
“I grew up here too, Katie,”I said with a tone.
She huffed a laugh.“Yeah, and you grew up being celebrated on the shoulders of everyone in town. You were a leader, people looked up to you. You can’t see who people truly are when you’re at the front of the pack.”Her eyes started to glisten.“Not me, okay? I was fixed firmly in the background no matter how hard I tried. I had a much different view of Godot. It’s incredible what you can learn when people forget you’re there.”
A loaded silence passed between us.
“You’re right,”I said with defeat, though I wasn’t sure she was right at all.“Can we just have a nice Sunday dinner? Please? I haven’t eaten all day.”I flashed an elusive smile hoping to put the issue to bed.
She suppressed her smile and nodded.“Fine.”
I spun around and pulled the door open for her. She glowered but acquiesced.
When we went back inside, I found Brennan and Nicolette on the floor, on their stomachs with their heads together and giggling like teenage girls.
“What’s going on in here?”I asked.
Brennan turned around and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him look so elated.
“I found it! I found the camera and would you believe there are still pictures on here!”He leaped up and I tried to avert my eyes from Nicolette’s neckline as she bent over, rising to her feet.
Brennan bounced over and shoved the digital camera in my face.
“Hey, remember what we said about space, Brennan?”His eyes turned down, and he took a calculated step back. He lifted the camera a normal distance from my face, and I recognized the party we’d thrown after high school graduation at the lake a few miles away. A smile crept across my face at our young, dumb expressions.
I almost didn’t recognize myself. I was nearly thirteen years younger, sure, but there was a levity to my smile, a youthful glow that I hadn’t felt since that night. I scrolled through the photos, landing on the one Brennan had been in.
His arm was around me and he had that mechanical grin on his face but he lookedhappy.I looked happy. I wondered if we’d ever get back there.
Katie’s hand landed on my shoulder. She reached for the camera.
“Dinner’s getting cold, guys. Why don’t we sit down while the ziti is still warm.”She shot Nicolette a look.“Sorry, I guess I only packed enough for three.”Butshe didn’t sound sorry.
This was not going to be an easy few weeks.I shot Katie a glare but if she noticed, she paid no attention, busying herself setting three place settings at the dining table.
Nicolette stood in front of the fridge, lingering in Katie’s way, taking her time pouring milk into her cereal. I rolled my eyes.Women…
“Ready when you boys are!”she called out in a sing-song voice. She was playing it up. She’d never once invited Brennan to eat with us for Sunday dinner. I tried to get them to interact more. If she was going to be part of my life, I needed her to at least be comfortable at my house. But Brennan steered clear of her, once telling me she looked at him like a quadratic equation with two unknowns. Whatever that meant.
