Page 41 of Dearly Unbeloved
“A brother and a sister, yeah,” I confirm. “But my brother is perpetually single because he’s been in love with his best friend since they were kids, and my sister’s dating history is… questionable, so definitely not.”
“How questionable are we talking?”
I tear my pita bread into strips and shrug. “I’m pretty sure her dating criteria was whoever would piss our parents off most. But she’s married now, and her husband is great. Though they started out pretty questionable, I guess...” I trail off, talking mostly to myself, but every eye is trained on me, and no one is eating anymore.
“You can’t leave us hanging, Rose! Tell us everything.”
My skin crawls under their attention, but I’m socializing, at least. “Um, okay. Well, I guess it all started when my sister’s best friend started hooking up with her boss…”
When we head back to the lab, fifteen minutes and a hundred questions later, my colleagues seem much more endeared to me. Gossip works wonders.
Lisa is standing near my workspace, chatting with one of her bosses, and she lifts a hand, waving as we all filter back in. I sit in my spinny chair and tuck my stuff under the desk.
“Hey, Rose.”
I jump as Imogen’s head appears over the divider between our spaces. She laughs. “Whoops, sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you. Listen, Minah and I are going on a hike this Saturday with our partners. I remember Sierra mentioning she liked hiking at Lisa’s. You guys should come.”
Fuck. I was so looking forward to a weekend at home. I make myself smile. “That sounds amazing. Sierra loves hiking.” I’ve literally never heard her mention hiking. “I don’t think we have anything happening this Saturday, but I’ll check with her tonight and let you know.”
“Amazing. Hey, what’s your number, and I’ll call you so you have mine?”
I recite my number and a second later, my phone buzzes with Imogen’s number. I’m adding her to my contacts when Minah pipes up.
“You should add Rose to the group chat.”
My thumbs still. “The group chat?”
“Yeah, a lot of the team’s in it. It’s mostly just Mike sending memes and everyone sharing pet pictures, but it’s good to keep in touch with everyone.”
“Added!”
I watch as a new chat pops up on my phone:
Imogen Weisz added you to The Lab Rats.
This promotion betterbe worth it.
The apartment is suspiciously empty when I get home. Empty and tidy, considering Sierra has been home for most of the day. Tidy by Sierra’s standards, anyway. The kitchen cabinets are all open, there’s a coffee cup on the island, and a sweatshirt on the floor by the couch. I’ve seen much worse.
“Sierra?” I shout, straightening the shoes by the door and hanging my bag on the dedicated hook.
“Through here!” Her voice is muffled and entirely too cheery. Suspicion fades into outright panic. What the hell has she done?
“Through here” isn’t exactly a place, but our apartment isn’t big. Her bedroom door is open, but she’s not inside, and I’m not sure she ever willingly goes into the laundry room, so that leaves the bathroom. The door is cracked, and the light is on. I knock lightly.
“You can come in,” she says, in that same overly happy voice. And as soon as I push the door open, I know why.
My gaze falls to her lap, and I immediately close my eyes. I take a steadying breath and pinch the spot between my brows.
I grit my teeth before looking at her. “What is that?”
Sierra screws up her face, like she doesn’t understand the question. “It’s a rabbit.”
Deep breath. One, two, three…“I know it’s a fucking rabbit, Sierra.”
“Well, you ask?—”
“Why is there a rabbit in my bathroom?”
