Jeremy slumped into a seat across from us. “What we need to do is take you on vacation. Like a real vacation. On an airplane. And then you can associate it with fun stuff instead of just always being hauled around.”
I lifted my head. “What would that be like? A vacation? I mean your vacation is the Hamptons right?”
“That’s where we summer. I wouldn’t call it a vacation. Or where we summered.” He added the past tense. “I liked the summer in the city with you.”
Phoenix climbed onto the plane and walked to one of the longer seats. He winked at me before he lay down on it. Okay. He was going to nap. Julian was last on. He walked over and kissed my cheek before he sat next to his brother, yawning.
Yes, they were all exhausted. So was I. But I doubted I would sleep.
“How did it go with your fathers?” I asked Barrett and Jeremy, looking at both of them.
Jer shrugged. “It went fine. They’re under water emotionally the same way we are. They have a lot of shit to deal with. And, they have to unpack it. Better they do that without us here. But on the other side they want us around because they are all inthis newly rediscovered we-have-to-be-a-family zone and that’s hard.”
The engines started, and I shivered. Yes, I really hated this. I was never going to feel better about it, no matter how many people insisted it was perfectly safe.
Julian opened his eyes. “I should have gotten you a Xanax from my mother’s cabinet.”
“We don’t need to be giving out drugs, over the counter or otherwise.” Phoenix called from where he’d lain down. “My goal is to keep Alatheia away from all that. You remember what happened last time?”
Julian shook his head and closed his eyes again. “She isn’t going to get arrested for drugs on this plane from one pill that no one has to know she ever took. But point taken. I was just worried about the fact that she is scared.”
The plane took to the air right then, and I forced myself to breathe. Okay, that part was done.
“I can distract you.” Jeremy groaned. “With something I’ve been keeping to myself. But it is distracting.”
Even Phoenix sat up with this announcement. I looked between them. The other three had no idea what he was going to say. That was different for sure.
“What is it?” I met Jer’s gaze.
He leaned back. “Murial Monk is texting me daily. I kept it from you. Why bother you with it? But, she’s becoming increasingly pushy about it. The Monks want to see you.”
And in a world where the Lents ruled almost everything they touched, the Monks actually outranked them. It would be hard to keep the Monks from getting to me if they really wanted to push the issue, even for the Lents. The guys would fight them, for me. I knew that with everything in me. The question was how difficult did I want to make this for everyone?
I sighed. “Did you tell her that I don’t have hair?”
“Yes. I mean, initially she understood you’d had your hair shaved. Why?” Jeremy shook his head.
He didn’t get it. That was okay. Jer lived in rich world but this was girl world. Girl world and rich world colliding. As had been clear in the city, he really didn’t understand that world. Not at all.
“She isn’t going to want me around looking like this.” I rubbed my hair. “Take a photo. Send it to her. Just text not ready yet. Or something like that.”
Jer rubbed his eyes. “I am absolutely not going to say anything disparaging about how you look. You are gorgeous. End of story. And your hair is fuzzy. It’s everything I can do not to not rub my hand over it all of the time.”
Barrett snorted and then outright laughed. “I would love to see you try to do that. Just rub her head.”
With a smirk, Jeremy shook his head. “I am controlling myself. The point remains. I will not be saying she doesn’t look good to Murial Monk. Fuck that.”
Phoenix lay back down. “Tell her to wait. Just because she is bored with her life doesn’t mean that she gets to interfere in ours. Cousin or no cousin.”
Julian who kept almost falling asleep shook his head. “She is a Monk. Whether we like it or not. Maybe Alatheia would like to see her cousin. We can’t just assume she doesn’t. Do you want to see your father’s family?”
I shuddered. “Not yet. Maybe not ever, but I don’t suppose that is possible. So no. Not yet.”
Julian nodded. “We need to at least ask.” He snapped a picture of me. “I’m texting her. I’ll say as you can see she isn’t feeling ready for New York yet. Talk soon.”
Jeremy groaned. “You realize you just opened the door so she can text you too. Actually, why am I complaining? It gets her off my shit.”
“If you want, I can text her myself.”
