Chapter 31
Standing in the den, I pulled up Joel's message and braced myself for whatever he was going to say.
But it wasn't quite what I expected.
His voice, quiet but intense, made my heart ache. "Listen, Melody. About last night, it wasn't what you think." He paused. "Fuck. I hate that I'm not there. Sorry. Anyway, just call me back, okay?"
And that was it.
I wasn't quite sure what any of it meant, but it sent an irritating surge of hope flooding through me.
And I hated myself for it.
In my mind, I could practically see myself on a roller coaster, heading slowly up the hill, accompanied by that annoying clickity sound. I knew exactly what that sound meant. It meant that eventually, I'd be heading for a steep fall.
I rubbed at my sore eyes and tried to think. If I were smart, I wouldn't even call him back.
But who was I kidding? I knew I would. It was just a matter of when.
With my phone in-hand, I sank into a nearby armchair and closed my eyes, hoping to clear my head. It was no use. My head was too filled with images of Joel.
I sighed. What else was new?
I was still sitting there, clutching my cell phone, when a different phone rang. It was the land-line, which I almost never used. A moment later, the ringing stopped, and I heard one of the brothers call out, "Hey, Melody!"
Damn it. I'd been so focused on Joel, I'd almost forgotten that anyone was here. I hollered back, "What?"
"It's for you!"
What the hell?They weren't seriously answering my phone?
A few seconds later, I heard pounding on the door, followed by one of the brothers calling through it. "It's some guy, won't give his name!"
I pushed myself up and marched to the door. When I yanked it open, there they were, both of them, standing within arm's reach.
Steve held out my cordless telephone. "Whoever the guy is, he sounds pissed off." With a sudden snicker, he turned to Anthony and said, "Maybehe'spregnant, too."
Oh, for God's sake.I yanked the phone out of Steve's hand and told him, "For the last time, I'mnotpregnant."
"If you say so." He flicked his head in the general direction of the driveway and said, "So, you want us to get plugged in or what?"
I still had no idea what that meant. But if it got them out of the house, then yes, that's exactly what I wanted. "Fine," I said. "Go. Do whatever." Without waiting for their response, I ducked back into the den and shut the door firmly behind me. Into the phone, I said, "Hello?"
It was Joel, who wasted no time in demanding, "Who the hell was that?"
Well, this was just great.He sounded nothing like the guy who'd left that earlier message. But I couldn’t tell if he was angry in general, or just unhappy that another guy had answered my phone.
Looking to move past this, I said, "That was Steve."
"Steve who?"
Funny, I had no idea. "You know. Luna's brother?"
"What the hell ishedoing there?"
"It's not just him," I said. "There's two of them."
"Anthony too?"
