After giving it a few more minutes, I rolled out of bed and dropped to the floor. The stairs that my mother once had for us to get into the Victorian-style four-post bed were gone, and it'd taken me ten minutes the night before to scale the fucker. I'd forgone peeing several times during the night to save myself from having to try and get back into it in the dark.
"What happened to you, Darek?" I paced the floor for a few minutes before grabbing my robe and wrapping it around me. After a quick trip to the bathroom, I stopped in the hallway and studied the pictures of me and my siblings.
It just didn't make sense, but nothing did that morning. Had I really let the hot guy from the coffee shop bend me over his thick thighs and spank me while he finger fucked me until I came?
Embarrassment burned my insides as I covered my mouth and giggled. I couldn't make this wild shit up.
But this morning wasn't fun and giggles, embarrassment and lust. It was death. It was final. Forever. As much as I disagreed with Darek oneverythinghe was still my fucking brother, and someone killed him. It wasn't a suicide, and we all knew it.
The sound of Grace's voice was a comfort as I walked toward the kitchen downstairs.
"Should I go wake her up?" My best friend from childhood would, of course, have come over as soon as she found out. I felt like shit for not telling her myself.
"I'm already up." I moved into the kitchen and reached for her as she turned and crashed into me.
"Oh my God, Jenna. I'm so damn sorry. I feel like we should have been there or something, but-" She started to cry against my shoulder.
"No, there's nothing we could have done."
"You know that Thomas invited him and Denise to come with us, but he refused. He said they had a night planned together."
I glanced up at my father and tilted my head. "Speaking of the corpse bride. Where is she?"
"Jenna. For heaven's sake." Disgust rolled across my father's handsome features, which was rare.
"I'm sorry." I squeezed Grace and moved out of her hold. "I just don't see how everyone can be okay with us thinking this was a suicide. I want to know where Denise was. If that's her name." I gave my father an inquisitive look.
"And what would her name be if it wasn't Denise?"
"I don't know. Candy the stripper who turned part-time killer."
"Enough, young woman." My mother walked into the room looking like an aged Barbie doll. "You'll not be throwing around accusations in an effort to hurt someone else and make yourself feel better for missing the last five years of everyone's life around here. Lock it up." She pointed her finger at me, and that was it. No reason to fight it. She was Queen of the World, and we all knew it.
I moved over to the toaster and whistled the Cinderella theme song as I made myself two pieces of toast. I glanced over my shoulder to find everyone watching me, my mother agitated, my father lost and Grace looking ill.
"Toast?" I lifted a piece and smiled before taking a big bite of it.
"No." Grace shook her head. "You wanna go out on the back patio? It's a beautiful morning."
"Love to." I put the bread back on my plate and walked to the fridge to pinch off a piece of butter from a stick and grab the grape jelly.
"Jenna, really?" My mother scowled as I turned and walked to the exit. Gratefully, Grace had already made her exit. Nothing was more mortifying than being called out by my mother in front of anyone I actually cared about. Especially Grace.
"Yep. Really, mother." I smirked and walked toward the back of the house, whistling the same song. She knew the meaning. As far as I was concerned, she was the wicked stepmother and the only good person in any of our lives was my father. I wasn't sure what any of us would have done without him.
"She's pissed." Grace held the door for me and moved aside to let me out. "I thought she would have been devastated or sad or something, but she's just angry."
"That's her normal stance, Grace. You know this." I sat down at the table that hovered just above the expansive backyard. The fall leaves danced around on the dying grass in front of us and offered me peace.
"I hate that for all of you. You think she's just hiding her pain?"
"Pain? Ice hearts don't feel pain. Silly girl." I lifted my nose in the air and snorted. "Peasant."
Grace smiled and wiped at her face. "You okay?"
"Yeah. You know me and Darek didn't suffer any love loss," I glanced down at my toast and realized I didn't have a knife, "but he's still my older brother, you know?"
"Yeah. If it was Thomas, I don't know what I would do. Probably just lay down and die beside him."
