I grabbed my jacket from the coat room and went through the kitchen to the garden. I’d been in the manor a few times to celebrate various family events, so it was strange to see a bunch of people in white shirts carrying drink trays. The kitchen was usually the housekeeper, Mary’s, domain.
It was a lot colder outside than I thought it would be, so I zipped my coat up. The water in the pond was still, though not yet frozen.
I stared at it awhile, trying to see the fish under the surface.
“Hey.”
I jumped at the voice.
“Sorry.” He chuckled. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t. I was just…surprised.”
“Sure you were.”
I smiled.
Close up, Alexi was even prettier. His cheeks were red from the cold, and his eyes were shiny like the crystal chandeliers at my grandma’s house.
“I’m Alexi. And you’re…Troy?” he asked, scrunching his face like he hoped he’d gotten my name right.
“Yeah, I’m Troy. Nice to meet you, Alexi.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
“What are you doing out here? It’s freezing,” I said.
He tightened his pretty lips. “I don’t like dancing, and the cold doesn’t bother me. It’s been snowing in Lydovia for weeks already.”
“I don’t like dancing either.”
“What do you like?” he asked. He kicked a small stone with his foot.
“I like computers. Building programs, code, that kind of stuff. How about you?”
“I like drawing.”
We stood in silence as darkness fell around us.
“Do you want to see my drawings?” he asked, releasing a breath like he’d been building up to ask the question.
That was unexpected.
“Sure.”
I followed him to the path leading back to the house.
He stopped by the door. “I don’t usually like showing my drawings.”
“I won’t make fun of them. I can only draw stick figures, so anyone is better than me.”
He smiled. “I made something for Uncle Tom and Uncle Wren. I need to know it’s not total crap.”
A heavy stone fell to the bottom of my stomach. Alexi referring to my brother as his uncle was weird. Did that make him my cousin? Nephew? Ew, no way.
The feeling in my belly refused to go away. I didn’t like it.
Why did I care if Alexi saw us as family? It was a good thing, right?
