Page 71 of Adrift

I watch Arman waddle back to the living room when my eyes collide with Darian. My heart squeezes inside my chest as the dull ache that’s been there all day increases. He gets up from the couch with his brothers before the twins come toward me. Darian gives me a small wave but I shift my gaze, pretending not to have noticed it.

“Hey, Rani!” Garrett greets me with a hug before Dean chimes in.

“My turn. God, don’t hog her all to yourself.” Dean’s arms wrap me in an embrace before letting me go. “Glad we could all hang out today.”

“Thanks for having me. Where’s Karine?”

Dean points me to the kitchen where Karine is getting something out of the oven. I rush to help her with Dean’s voice at my back. “Good luck trying to help. She’ll smack you with a kitchen towel.”

“I only smack you with a kitchen towel because you’re the only one who deserves it.” Karine’s prompt reply has me giggling.

I give her a quick hug, and when I lean away from her, I catch Darian’s eyes on me again. Ignoring him, I focus on Karine and what looks like two large casserole dishes full of lasagna, salad, bruschetta, and a variety of dips and breads. “You didn’t have to cook all this! Aren’t you supposed to be relaxing and taking things easy?”

“Oh hush.” She waves a hand at me. “I’m tired of everyone making me feel like a patient. I’m not one. Just because the doctors increased my meds does not mean something is so wrong with me that I can’t do the things I love, like feeding my family.”

I wash my hands, drying them on the kitchen towel hanging from the fridge. “What can I do?”

Ten minutes later, I’ve helped set the table and Arman’s high chair. Karine calls out to the guys, who have been busy discussing a big fire in Southern California. Apparently, Dean is being called in to help and will be leaving tomorrow morning.

“I don’t like it at all, this job of yours,” Karine scolds him as he makes his way to the table. It’s kind of funny to see a woman more than a foot shorter than him admonish him as if he were a kid. “It’s too dangerous. I can’t sleep some nights because I think about the worst situations.”

Dean wraps his large arm around her and for a second, I forget that she’s not even his mother. I wonder if Darian has a similar relationship with Marvin’s ex-wife, though I know she lives somewhere else now. I recall Karine telling me, but I don’t remember where. “Then stop thinking about the worst situations.”

She smacks Dean’s arm as everyone starts taking their seats. Marvin puts Arman inside his high chair before handing him a plate Karine set out to cool for him. “You don’t understand how mothers think.”

Dean laughs. “Well, I don’t quite have the equipment to do that, so you’re right!”

Garrett and Marvin laugh while Karine mumbles something under her breath, going back to the kitchen to look for something. I take a seat across the table from the twins, and I almost jump out of my chair when I feel the brush of Darian’s arm against mine.

I still haven’t looked at him. Instead, I focus on the food set out in front of me, hoping to drown out the scent of pine and citrus currently engulfing me with the mouthwatering scent of lasagna. Oh, who am I kidding? The only mouthwatering scent is coming from the man next to me.

Marvin and Dean continue their conversation about the fire until Karine sits down at the other end of the table, and we all dig in, serving ourselves.

Throughout the meal, I feel Darian’s gaze on me, making my skin tingle. He’s coaxing me to face him. Instead, I occupy myself with my meal or my water, and occasionally ask the rest of the family questions.

“So, Rani, how much longer do we have you here?” Dean asks from across the table, though I see him scanning Darian’s face instead.

I clear my throat. “Til mid-August. I’ll need to head back to start my next year of journalism school.”

“Darian and Karine said you’ll be helping with his school’s website,” Garrett adds, finishing up the last of the lasagna on his plate.

“I’m hoping to get as much done as I can before the tournament.”

The conversation shifts at the mention of the tournament, and Marvin and Garrett ask Darian for more details about how many participants he expects and whether he’ll need their help.

He seems to be cool, answering every question as it’s being asked, but I feel his fingers along the edge of my thigh. I rub my lips together, hoping to keep my face impassive. His fingers follow a path across my thigh to where my legs meet, and I gently flick his fingers off.

I take in a deep breath, noticing everyone wrapping up their dinner. “Karine, can I help you load the dishes into the dishwasher and clean the kitchen?”

She wipes her mouth with her napkin. “No, no. These hooligans have promised to help in the kitchen today.” She points to Dean and Garrett. “I’m taking the rest of the night off to eat dessert and put my feet up on the couch.”

“As you should.” I smile, picking up my plate when suddenly, I feel the grate of sandpaper in my throat and a throb pounds inside my temples. “I’m not feeling so well. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to go home before I feel worse.”

“Oh no! Are you alright, dear?” Karine starts scooting her chair back. “Why don’t you let Darian take you home? Don’t drive back on your own.”

I can feel Darian’s eyes–along with everyone else’s at the table–on me again, but I dare not to look. I offer a feeble smile. “It’s probably just dehydration from being out in the sun today. I’ll be fine to drive, it’s a short distance anyway.”

“Rani.” Darian’s low voice sends goosebumps down my arms.

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