Page 44 of Roses, Pearls, and Hot Summer Nights
“I’m not surprised you would show up at my event in a K-hole, Phoenix.” She rolled her eyes. “All of you, still indulging his nonsense constantly, and all because of something that happened six fucking years ago. Get control of yourself, Phoenix, or at least do your family the courtesy of ending it already.”
I gasped, shocked at the sheer venom in her words.Holy shit. I glanced around, wondering if everyone else in the room froze from her malice or if it was just me. The world rushed back, sound almost popping in my ears like in an elevation change, the buzzing of distant conversation hitting as loudly as shouts in the eerie stillness of the room around me. For a second, nothing seemed to happen at all, the tableau frozen like a photograph. But then Phoenix actually laughed, throwing his head back, the sound making my spine snap in response. Jeremy jerked forward, then abruptly stopped, as though he considered lunging at her then rethought the move. He remained a coiled rubber band, almost vibrating with tension and about to snap next to me.
When Barrett spoke, the low cold tone hit me as unfamiliar, the voice of a stranger. His jaw clenched, his brown eyes filled with anger as he bit out each syllable. “Don’t youeverspeak to my brother that way again, you bitch.” Julian nodded at Barrett’s words, as though he expected no less. “That right there? You just showed everyone in this room why we could never be together. Do you even realize what you just did? He owed you an apology for being fucked up at your show, I’ll give you that, but you aren’t going to get one now, not from him or me. Whatever friendship we had? Consider that done, too.”
Her lower lip wobbled, her hands reaching for him as if she could take it back. “Barrett …”
“Come on.” He held out his hand, and his gaze locked on me with clear intent. Without hesitation, I linked our fingers together and let him lead me toward the door.
“You really are talented,” Phoenix said, still plucking at the air as he passed her.
Jeremy groaned and then laughed as we all exited together. A block later, Julian swung around to stare at Phoenix. “What the fuck, man? How much did you take tonight?”
His younger brother sighed. “Don’t act all high and mighty.” He must have found his own phrasing funny because Phoenix laughed again. Then he pointed at his brother. “You’ve done plenty of drugs. You might have all bought into this thing, pretending for Alatheia that you’re upstanding people or some bullshit, but you’re not actually any better than I am.”
Julian shook his head then ran a hand through his hair. “Shifting blame onto us to cover how ashamed you are of yourself isn’t going to work this time.”
“Whatever,” Phoenix grumbled then shrugged. “I’m going to a party. This wasnotfun. It never is lately, not with all of you playing morality police with me. I’ll see you at home later. Alatheia, I’m headed to a party. That’s what weactuallydo.Them too, when they’re not playing pretend. Sometimes we go to clubs and party together. Julian gave me my first joint years ago, so don’t listen to them if they pretend to be saints for you, Red. Know that they’re all exactly the same problem that I am, just slightly different flavors.” He pulled out his phone, waving it in a wide, wild circle. “Good luck with thisthing, all of you. Sorry I can’t play along, since I always did like pretend, but I don’t want to be part of this particular show.”
I don’t know what they would have said to him since his ride share arrived in that moment. It pulled up fast, a black SUV that bumped into the curb before slamming to a halt. A man scooted by us on the street, nearly bumping Barrett while squeezing around us before he darted through the crowd, headed for the art show. As I stared, I saw the way he watched Phoenix—It was Phoenix, right, and not me?The man vanished into the crowd and I couldn’t spot him again, not even on tiptoes.
“Do I know him from somewhere?” Barrett asked, but I couldn’t bring myself to even look again as I heard Phoenix drive away.
Lily just told him to kill himself, I remembered, ice skating down my spine in response. People might have said horrible things to me in the past, but nothing as bad as that.He can’t possibly be okay.
I finally found my voice. “Shouldn’t you go with him? I mean … is he okay? He isn’t going to go … do something to himself?” I stared at all three of them, one at a time, realizing each one of them wore identical blank expressions I couldn’t read. I shook my head, not focused on the strange man, not when Phoenix might need us.
Jeremy finally nodded. “I’ll chase after him. His location services are still on, so once he stops somewhere, I’ll follow him. If I followed too closely behind him, he would think I came to be his babysitter. By the time he arrives at the party, in his currentstate, he’ll have forgotten all of it and just be glad to see me. I don’t think he’s going to hurt himself, so don’t worry. Not over this.”
Julian slumped his shoulders. “I did give him his first joint. He wasn’t lying about that.”
Barrett shook his head. “Yeah, so? I gave him his first beer. He hated it. I bought one for my best friend, too, but he didn’t end up addicted to drugs. Phoenix made choices and Phoenix got himself this messed up. Maybe just life did? I don’t know. I know we should take Alatheia home and hope she wants to see any of us ever again, after we made such a mess out of today. I don’t think I would want to see us again, if I were she.”
I reached out and touched his arm before pulling my hand back nervously. “I really like you guys. Actually, the less perfectly put together you seem, the more I like you.” I realized as I said it that I meant it, so I crumpled my brow at my own fickleness. “I’m such a mess. The last time I was at a gallery, it went badly, too. Maybe I’m the problem here. I might be bad luck at galleries.”
A few smiles quirked on their lips, rewarding me for my attempt at humor.
“Bad luck in a gallery?” Julian outright grinned. “You could put that on a resume as a skill set.”
Barrett tucked me against his side, and even though it should have been weird, it wasn’t. Somehow, I fit there, as if his pace and body were made to hold mine.Why is it so easy with the Lent brothers even on hard nights?
Barrett distracted me from my thoughts. “You aren’t bad luck anywhere, I can guarantee that.”
Warm pleasure suffused me, and Jeremy looked down on his phone. “He’s where he’s going, and he’s not far from here. He could have walked, actually. I’ll see you at home later, then we’ll all meet at Granny’s tomorrow. Alatheia, please be theretomorrow. We’re going to have a redo of tonight. I swear it can be fun when we’re all together. At least, I hope it can.”
He leaned over to drop a quick kiss on my cheek. My skin tingled, so I touched the spot as I stared back into his eyes. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Or I’ll text you. I think texting you is going to be fun.”
“You got this?” Barrett asked as he ran a hand through his dark hair. “You’re sure?”
Jeremy stared at him for a long, silent second. I wished I was a mind reader, since I felt like some kind of silent communication passed between the brothers. “You’re leaving, and I get that you don’t have a choice. Sure, you’ll be local, but your life is going to change in a matter of weeks. You have to have the time and space to focus on college, so you need to start trusting us to manage him. Otherwise, you’ll make yourself crazy. I said I’ve got this, so trust me. We got this.”
Julian looked away from his brother, suddenly interested in his boat shoes. “I could go, and I know I could help. Still, you’re better at it, Jer, since he actually listens to you. Sometimes. I’ll head to Granny’s for the night. I don’t want to go home. I want to be in the same building as Alatheia.”
Jeremy nodded. “Okay, sounds good to me, too. I’ll come there. If you’re snoring in the guestroom, I’ll sleep on the couch.”
His twin grinned at him, which might have been the point. “I don’t snore. You snore.”
Barrett groaned. “Let’s get going.”
