I’m trying to keep it casual, trying not to think about the way he looked at me or how much I didn’t enjoy the way he moved too close in that uncomfortable silence. But he’s mostly keeping out of my way, which is good.
It’s fine. I can handle this.
I think.
Then, of course, my phone rings.
I glance at the screen, and I feel my heart sink.
Jamie.
For a second, I think about not answering. Not because I don’t want to hear from my brother, but because the second I do, I know I’m going to be pulled back into the family drama I’ve been dodging for… what? Years? My mother’s venomous passive aggression, my father’s shady dealings, and that sick, suffocating guilt they love to keep me tangled in.
Yeah, no thanks.
But it’s Jamie. He’s my brother, and he’s a good guy. He doesn’t deserve to deal with this shit any more than I do. So, I pick up.
“Lo? You there?”
Not like I haven’t been there myself.
“Yeah, I’m here.” I’m doing my best to sound casual, but I can feel the tension already creeping into my neck.
“Listen… Mom and Dad found out you’re back in Honeysuckle Grove.”
For a second, I’m not sure I heard him right. “What?”
“You heard me,” he says, a nervous laugh bursting free. “They’re not exactly thrilled about it. They’re… they’re heading for town, Lo.”
The words hit me hard as a brick. I feel a wave of heat hit my chest. The thing about family? They always have a way of finding you, even when you think you’ve buried all the crap they left behind.
“Of course they are,” I mutter, rubbing my temples as if it’ll do something to chase away the headache already creeping in. “Fuck. I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
“Well, they’re pissed you’ve been at the house,” he says dryly. “And I’m sure Dad will see it as an opportunity to suck you back in. You know how he is, a salesman above all.”
Well, that’s all kinds of fun.
I hate that I can’t just be free. That I’m always going to be their daughter, no matter how much I try to run from it.
“I’m sorry, Lo,” Jamie says, and I can tell he means it. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”
“I appreciate you telling me,” I sigh. “Now I just need to make a move…”
Ugh. With the place a wreck and my new assignment not starting for another three weeks, and now with Dylan breathing down the nape of my neck… what the hell am I going to do? Go back to living in my car?
Oh, fuck, my Honda Civic.
I groan as my head falls back. I have to get in touch with?—
“When are they coming, Jamie?” I ask, pulling myself out of my own spiraling thoughts.
He sighs. “I don’t know. Soon.”
“Okay.” I run my hand through my hair. “Thanks for letting me know.”
We hang up, and I stare at my phone for a second before dropping it onto the coffee table. This is the last thing I expected to happen.
And as I sit there, my mind races, running through the options. Leave? Stay? Fight?
