“What proof?” He wasn’t making any sense, but he was beginning to scare me. Dare heard the commotion and came upstairs.
Calum paced back and forth, still looking around for the blue trunk. He shook his head, deliberating as he took in my panicked expression. He seemed to come to his senses. “It’s nothing, it’s fine. I’m sorry for freaking you out. If you come across a blue trunk, please…call me.”
“Why, Cal? What’s going on? What’s in the trunk?” I demanded as I took a step toward him, but he shook his head again, refusing to answer my questions. “Why is this trunk so important?”
“There’s something in it that I need. I need to see…” he finally said, trailing off when movement behind me caught his attention. He stilled, seeing Dare. It got quiet, so quiet we could easily hear the grandfather clock ticking time away downstairs. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Dare’s eyes shot to mine, and I swallowed. “We’re hanging out.”
“Why?” Cal’s dreaded question came, and I didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t want to tell him when he was already angry, but keeping it from him now would be a blatant lie.
“We’re working on songs.” I said at the same time Dare said, “We’re seeing each other.”
“Which is it? You’re working on songs or your seeing each other?” Calum demanded, his gaze bouncing from Dare to me. Dare looked at me, as if waiting to see how I’d handle this. I knew he was tired of keeping us a secret, and so was I…I was just so afraid.
But the hurt look in Dare’s eyes was enough to push the fear out of my heart. I wouldn’t deny him anymore; I couldn’t. I looked back at my brother with determination.
“Both,” I answered. “We’re working on music togetherandwe’re seeing each other.”
“Since when?” Calum’s jaw ticked.
“Since…recently,” Dare said without an ounce of shame for what we were doing here.
“Are you shitting me right now? How long is ‘recently,’ Dare?” Calum demanded, his angry eyes on his best friend.
“We’ve been seeing each other since February,” I answered for him, my shoulders dropping.
“She’sthe girl? Why didn’t you just tell me?” Calum asked, looking from Dare to me. The betrayal in his eyes made my heart squeeze.
“We didn’t want to upset you,” Dare replied, his eyes full of regret.
“Well, I’m fucking upset,” Calum said dryly. He shook his head with antipathy. “What the fuck is with this family and its goddamn secrets?”
But Calum didn’t give either one of us a chance to reply. He pushed past Dare and stomped back down the stairs. We heard the front door slam a few moments later, and then the engine of his Jeep started, and he tore off down the street.
“Well, that went about as well as I thought it would,” Dare sighed, running a hand through his hair.
I shook my head, frowning after him. “This was different. He didn’t expect to find you here. He was looking for something else.”
“What?”
“A blue trunk?” I shrugged, looking around the vast space of the attic. We continued searching the attic, and I checked in the bedrooms too, just in case it was moved, but there was no sign of a blue trunk anywhere.
We came downstairs, confused and uneasy. “I need to try calling him,” Dare said, reaching into his pocket for his phone. While he did that, I checked my phone, and I was surprised to see three missed calls from Mom.
I dialed back without checking my voicemail, and she picked up on the second ring. “Connor?” she said, her voice a little strained.
“What’s up, Mom?” I asked, stepping into the kitchen.
“Have you heard from your brother?” She sounded worried, and a little frantic.
“He was just here at Gramps’s looking for a blue trunk, actually.”
Mom inhaled audibly. “You’re in Mahone Bay?”
“Yeah. I decided last minute to come back early, get settled before Monday. What’s going on?”
“Okay, good. We all need to talk. Can you come over? I think…Calum’s on his way.” She paused, and I could hear a curtain rustling. “Yeah, he’s just pulled up.”
