Tham: Look, I thought we moved on from the past. I apologized to you and Jack before you left for college, and I meant it.
Tham: And yet, I’ve never seen Jack again, and quickly after, you stopped coming back home too.
Tham: It’s been so long, whatever happened, I’m sure you guys are overreacting.
Prudence: Overreacting?
Prudence: I’ll call you back, but this weekend is not a good time for me.
Tham: As I told you, it’s important.
Prudence: Fine. Tomorrow afternoon. 5 p.m. California time.
PRUDENCE
I’m staring at my phone while Nuri and Evie are chatting happily, their glasses of wine in hand, all of us sitting on the beach, facing the ocean’s waves rolling in and out of the shore.
I’ve managed to dodge everyone’s calls all day, choosing to leave my phone on silent in my bag. But getting a text from Tham as I was texting Nate? Something is definitely off.
I haven’t talked to him in ages. After our parents told Jack not to show up anymore because no one wanted to see him, I kept going for a year or two, stopping by for thanksgiving or Christmas. But it felt wrong to be there without Jack, and everyone acting like he didn’t exist. I stopped going, and except for our parents occasionally throwing fits about it, we were relatively left alone.
However, something is bugging me about Tham’s texts. Doesn’t he know the reason Jack and I aren’t coming anymore? It would be weird that our parents managed to keep it a secret for ten years, wouldn’t it? Make it seem likewedecided not to come home anymore? A rebellion of some sorts?
“Earth to Prue!” Nuri says, waving her hand in front of my eyes, effectively pulling me out of my own mind. “Something wrong? You’re staringat your phone like it stole your lunch.”
I grit my teeth, hiding it by turning my face away from them, but lessen the grasp I have on my phone, letting it drop against the fabric of my dress, between my crossed-legs.
“Just… An unexpected text. Not sure what to think about it.”
They exchange a long and strange glance and I narrow my eyes suspiciously, waiting for them to say something. Which they don’t.
“Anything I should know?”
“Anythingweshould know?”
Do they know about Tham texting me? I mean… Nuri could, as she met him maybe once or twice. But Evie? No, I doubt she does.
But that weird look between them…
What if Evie does know my brother? I mean, she’s not from Aspen, where we grew up and Tham still lives, but… We never know, right? Oh my god, what if they dated or something? No… Tham has been married forages. Like way before I started college. Jack and I probably wouldn’t have been invited otherwise… And Evie is closer to our age, so she couldn’t possibly have legally dated Tham before he got married.
Sowhy the look?
Oh. Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with Tham.
“I mean… You’ve been glued to your phone. Like, since we got here?” Evie adds tentatively.
Okay, she might not be talking about what I think she’s talking about.
“Are you, maybe seeing someone?”
“That would totally explain why you’re staring at your phone, but not why your attitude towards it drastically changed mid texting session…”
“Unless… The person she’s seeing somehow upset her.”
Do they know? About Nate? About the sudden change and what happened at the beach? Well, nothing happened, really… He just reapplied sunscreen on my back. And legs. And—damn—my ass.
Maybe I should change the topic.
