Page 26 of Roses, Pearls, and Hot Summer Nights
It seemed easier than figuring it out myself, but I felt like I should warn him. “My aunt might be there.”
His quick smile made my heart tremble, just a little. “It’s fine. I’m not scared of her. If anything, she should be afraid of me. I’m all kinds of intimidating.”
“Where are you two going?” Jeremy called as we headed inside the apartment building.
Julian pointed his thumb at me. “We’re going to a jazz club. She needs to change her clothes, so I’m helping.”
His twin brother’s mouth fell open just as a car horn blared outside—loud and drawn out. The whole thing struck me as funny so I giggled, which made Barrett grin.Why is this soeasy?Nothing was ever easy for me. I glanced down at the twins’ shoes, reminding myself and grounding reality.It’s smart to remember who they are. Important.
I could catch myself before I fell in their web. Tonight, they both wore boat shoes, the perfect garb for the Hamptons. It fit them, anyway. They might call them by another name, but I recognized boat shoes. Julian wore socks with his white ones, while Jeremy didn’t, barefoot inside his shoes.
Does that mean something?I pursed my lips, not sure of the difference in sock preference when paired with boat shoes. I hadn’t faced any similar situations, but I found their choice in matching footwear sort of amusing, even if it wasn’t a direct match.
“I’m going to help her pick out her outfit,” Julian explained, frustration evident in his tone. “I don’t intend to stand there while she changes.”
Jeremy shook his head. “I’m better for this job than you, clearly. Hey …” he said as he jogged to come to my side and matched his pace to mine. “Alatheia, spend tomorrow with me, okay? Right now, you like me least because I was a jerk. Give me a fair chance to do better.”
Like him the least?“I don’t really qualify things like that in my head,” I said, not sure what he meant. Nor had anyone ever given me the chance to decide who I liked better or worse.Multiple friends? Who do I like better?That was stuff out of books, not from my reality. “Besides, I work for your Granny tomorrow. She keeps sending me off, but she actually has a project, and I would like to get some work done.”
“It’s a Saturday. She’s never going to let you work on a Saturday, anyway,” Barrett explained as he stepped forward. “We’ll take her upstairs now. Tomorrow, you can spend the morning with Jeremy, but afterward we’ll all have lunch together.”
Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Just because he says things with authority, it doesn’t mean we have to obey him. Older doesn’t mean wiser. We can figure out our own timing … like he did today.”
The doorman held the door as the brothers escorted me inside. My insecurities clanged warnings, my brain suddenly full of questions.Is that amusement in the doorman’s eyes? Why? Does he find us funny? Is it ridiculous because they choose to spend their time with me?
“See what I mean?” Julian laughed, nudging me with his elbow and obviously not noticing my panic. “They both like to be in charge.”
“Right,” Barrett agreed amiably. “Maybe Jeremy and I discovered early on that if we didn’t corral you and Phoenix, then nothing would get done. Besides, our parents are too busy being themselves to notice what you guys are plotting.”
Jeremy shook his head, stepping closer to his brother. “Not fair. You can’t equate Julian with Phoenix. They are different situations altogether. Julian is a free spirit, and I’m not sure what Phoenix is.”
Julian shifted next to me as the elevator dinged. “Right now? He’s lost.”
I pointed out almost absently, “You guys talk about him differently. I noticed how you all sort of frown when his name comes up.”I shouldn’t comment.It’s none of my business. I winced, shocked at my own loss of self-control. Usually, I thought things through more before speaking aloud.What is the matter with me?
Barrett stepped off the elevator first when it stopped. “Our youngest brother is on a journey, but the path he chose makes it hard for us to follow him. That’s how our mother put it recently, and I don’t disagree with her assessment. Some of it is their fault, but some of it is his fault or because of his choices. Some ofit, though, is just sucky shit that’s out of our control. Regardless of the reasons, Phoenix remains a constant worry in the back of our minds. Recently, he told us he no longer wants anything to do with our lives, so you likely never have to worry about him anyway. It’ll probably be averylong time until you ever meet or deal with Phoenix.”
Well … that’s interesting.Why doesn’t he want anything to do with his own brothers?In a moment of insight, I wondered if their family might not be so different from mine after all. Tons of my relations didn’t want anything to do with one another. I thought of my mother again, and her choice to isolate away from her family entirely—the family I currently lived with who tormented me daily. I followed Barrett to my apartment, though. He pointed at the door. “This one? Or the one down the hall?”
“That one.” Awkwardly pulling out my key, I barely fumbled as I unlocked the door with all three of them staring at me. It opened with a squeak, and we stepped inside together. Automatically, I paused, my senses on hyper alert. I listened carefully for the sound of my aunt or my uncle moving around in his bedroom. I heard neither, so I breathed out a jagged breath of relief. After a silentthank youto the universe, I led the Lent brothers to my room. Once we reached the door, though, I froze again, remembering the confined space. We wouldn’t all fit in my room—it simply wasn’t that big.
Jeremy looked at Barrett before I could decide what to say. “Isn’t this a four-bedroom layout? Aren’t they all similar in this building?”
“Yep.” Barrett nodded, his lips curved into a stern frown. “It is.”
Since Julian already noticed as much before, it didn’t matter if I answered. “I’m only here for six months. Why bother giving me a nice room for such a short stay? Besides, I’m unwanted.” I sighed. “Look, it doesn’t matter.”
No one answered until Julian gestured toward the closet. “Are your clothes in there?”
“I have better taste than him,” Jeremy said as he sat down on my bed with a regal air. Julian began shifting through the hangars, giving each garment careful consideration before going to the next. I positioned myself strategically in front of my dresser—I wouldn’t be sharing my undergarments.
“Granny did pretty well,” he said as he looked over his shoulder. “But you won’t need most of this stuff once you’re in school. We wear uniforms, regardless of your school. You’ll use most of this for going out and weekends. Maybe sometimes after school, if you take the time to change.” He smiled at me. “Did they make you wear uniforms in Chicago?”
I shook my head. “No. But in San Francisco they did. It seems common for private schools.”
“Why aren’t you going to school with them?” Barrett asked, gesturing with his thumb between the twins as he sank onto the bed next to Jeremy. “It’s the closest school. The rest of your family has history there, so it makes sense.”
Jeremy gave him a look I couldn’t decipher. “Maybe we don’t talk about it right now?”
