“I have not,” I argued, dropping into the chair. “Most of the time I was lying on Mom and Dad’s couch, reading used romance novels.”
“Thrilling,” Jamo joked.
“It is,” I countered. “I’ll teach you to read, if you want.”
Meg snickered.
“Why are you guys all here?” I asked, looking around the table. “I’m stuck here, but you’re not.”
“Moral support and all that,” Olive said with a wink. “We figured you’d find us eventually.”
“I’m here for the food,” Brody argued. “Auntie ordered Chinese.”
“Well, thanks for the support,” I said with a sigh. “Who would’ve guessed that the boring, brainy one would start a whole clusterfuck?”
“Club kids have a tendency to land themselves in deep shit,” Meg said with a shrug. “It’s not that surprising.”
“And who are you calling thebrainy one?” Olive asked. “I’m as smart as you, asshole.”
I raised my hands in surrender. “Fair point.”
We fell into our old roles pretty seamlessly, and even though Myla didn’t say much, she also didn’t seem to have any kind of attitude. Eventually the food came, and we piled our plates high, migrating back to the same set of tables so we could all eattogether. It was like old times, with the boys stealing food off our plates and each other’s, everyone bullying Forrest into getting us drinks because he was the quietest and the least likely to fight back, and generally causing a ruckus.
By the time my dad came to tell me that we were leaving, I was actually kind of sad about it. I hadn’t had that much fun inside the clubhouse since I was a kid.
“Love you guys,” I said, getting up from the table.
“Don’t be a stranger,” Meg ordered, pointing her fork at me. “We’ll hang out soon.”
“Sounds good,” I replied. “Can I interest any of you in a visit to my parents’ house? My schedule is completely empty for the foreseeable future.”
“None of ya are welcome,” my dad interrupted gruffly, and he shoved me hard enough to make me stumble to the side. “Stop invitin’ people over.”
“You’re such a buzzkill,” I complained, bumping him back.
“We’ll be over tomorrow, Uncle Leo,” Olive called jokingly as we walked away. “And we’re bringing a Bop It!”
I burst out laughing.
“The hell you are,” Dad called back as he slung an arm over my shoulder.
“Oh, my god, I forgot about that,” I wheezed as he led me outside.
“Don’t know how,” he grumbled. “That toy was so fuckin’ loud they could hear it in space.”
I was glad to be home and went straight to my room to grab some clothes and hop in the shower. If I was going to be stuck in the house for a few days, I planned on being comfortable. Soft bra, cozy pajamas, and slippers all the way. Halfway through my shower, I heard something in the bathroom and froze.
“It’s just me,” Mom called out.
Peeking around the shower curtain, I found her sitting on the closed toilet seat.
“Ran out of things to do?” I asked jokingly.
“Just wanted to be close to ya for a while,” she said, smiling her mom-smile at me.
Only Gray and I were ever on the receiving end of that smile. The smile she gave my dad was similar but different. When she smiled at us, her mouth stayed closed and her eyes were…soft, crinkling a little at the edges.
“Well, I’m happy for the company,” I said, smiling back. I leaned back into the spray and started soaping up my body. “It’s nice to be home with my own shit in my own shower.”
