Page 48 of Resurrection
I look at my brother and raise an eyebrow.
"Have you been to Naomi’s restaurant yet?" Mom asks, ignoring her son’s antics.
"Yes. Great place. She’s done well."
"Of course she has," Adri chokes out, his knife and fork clanking against his plate.
"You know what would be fun?" Mom cuts in, a little too cheerful. "Why don’t we look at some of those old pictures Dad used to take? When are we going to have a chance like this again?"
"Mom—" I start, but she’s already up, her food deserted.
I know it’s how she’s coping with Dad’s death. I know she’s feeling nostalgic, and Tyler’s presence only amplifies the emotion, but I don’t want to look at the photographs of the past I’m trying so hard to forget. It’s bad enough that Ty is here right now with his stupid perfect face, messy hair, and countless tattoos. It’s bad enough I haven’t been able to get that stupid kiss out of my mind for days. It’s bad enough that the memory of that kiss has been doing strange things to my body.
"What are you up to, Strings?" Adri growls at Tyler now that Mom has left the room.
"I just stopped by. I lived next door, remember?"
"I told you to stay away from my sister." Adri’s voice drops to a dangerous whisper.
"For fuck’s sake," I blurt out, frustrated with this strange alpha energy emanating from both of them. "Will you stop this, Adri? I’m a big girl. I can handle my shit."
"Can you?" He looks at me like I owe him a kidney.
"It’s none of your business anyway."
That’s when Mom returns with the stack of old photos. She settles back into her chair and fans them out on the table, next to her plate.
There’s me and Adri as kids, me in my high school graduation gown, Ty and me in front of the house right before prom, young and clueless.
When I peek at him from the corner of my eye, he swallows hard. I see that he remembers that night too.
"You still have these, Mrs. Medina," he says, quieter now, like the memories are just as overwhelming for him as they are for me.
"What, you think you’re not family?" Mom piles more rice on his plate.
I watch him shift in his seat, trying to keep it together the same way I am.
"So you’ve been gone all this time," Adri croaks, sarcasm and challenge in his voice. "Never thought to call. And now you show up with flowers?"
"Just leave it," I tell my brother, the words coming out sharper than I intend.
Ty looks at me, appearing almost grateful. Or maybe guilty.
Adri laughs, harsh and humorless. "Now she defends you?"
"Maybe stay out of it," Ty snaps back, and suddenly, it’s all out there, hanging in the air. "For once."
I bite my lip, feeling exposed, angry, and a little betrayed.
Mom’s confused. The photo of me in her hand is suspended above the table as she shifts her attention from Adri, to me, and then to Tyler.
"Are you two ever going to make up?" I ask. "What is this kindergarten behavior?"
Adri’s chair scrapes back when he stands. He throws his napkin on his plate. "You’ve got some nerve, Brady. I’ll give you that."
Mom slams her fist on the table, startling everyone. "Adrian, enough!"
The room goes quiet, but I can hear my heart thudding in my ears. No one moves. No one speaks. The meal cools on our plates, and Mom surveys us like we’re naughty kids in time-out.
