Like I’m being sized up for something I never signed up for.
Cole shouldn’t be upset with his dad about anything. He should be upset with himself…
“How do people not know if he went to prison?” I ask. “Isn’t that public record?”
“It’s a really long and complicated story.” She makes a zipped-lips motion as a few tourists walk behind us. “Just don’t tell Cole I said anything about it, okay? I’m sure he’s longover it by now, and I’m trying to focus on being his girlfriend, remember?”
She twirls once in the sand and heads back toward the house, humming to herself.
I don’t follow.
I just stand there, realizing just how little I know the real Cole…
19A
COLE
“And that, dear friends, is how I knew that I was ready for a new relationship, how I knew that it was time to give love a second chance…” My dad’s voice sifts through my headphones via his latest podcast.
“I also got a bonus daughter out of my new relationship, and —” I immediately pause the episode.
I have no idea why I still put myself through this. Maybe it’s masochism. Or maybe—deep down—I still want him to say something real. Something human. But he never does. Not when it counts.
Emily
When were you going to tell me that the “CRASH” you were in was actually a DUI?
Actually, don’t worry about it. Seems like you have a criminal mind just like my mom. And supposedly your dad, too…
I clench my jaw and step out onto the balcony in search of Emily, but she isn’t there. I call her and it goes straight to voicemail.
Opening my door, I rush downstairs and stop when I see her sitting at the table. My dad, her mom, Taylor, and… my cousin Matt are sharing a charcuterie board.
What the hell is he doing here?
“Look who’s awake!” Matt says, smiling. “I was beginning to think you would miss my first night here.”
“When’s yourlastnight here?”
“Four weeks give or take,” he says. “Just stopping through since I got evicted again. You know how it is.”
I smile and resist the urge to call him on his bluff. My cousin is the ultimate con artist, and he has apartment skipping down to a science.
“Care to join us, Cole?” my father asks. “We saved a seat for you.” He points to the seat next to Taylor, and she’s batting her eyes at me like a Disney princess.
“I’ve got acrylic setting on a canvas upstairs,” I say. “I can’t stay longer than ten minutes.”
“We’ll take it.” My dad stands and gestures for me to come closer.
I make my way toward the table, but my attention is pinned to Emily. She doesn’t look at me once. Doesn’t need to. The way her hand trembles slightly when she cuts into her food says more than any glare ever could.
The conversation is filled with wedding chatter and fake laughter, none of it worth holding onto. I leave as soon as I can.
Back upstairs, I wrap up a painting—brushes cleaned, canvas covered—and I glance in the mirror to find Matt leaning against my doorframe.
“So…” He shuts the door. “Your stepsister is pretty hot.”
“I noticed.”
