I sigh and just take the smoothie out of Aiden’s hand.
Shawn throws a glare at his brother. “Did you ask for almond milk? You can’t give her dairy.”
The sensations that pass over me are weird. Heat rises up my neck and cheeks that he’s telling his brothers I’m lactose intolerant, but a part of me is oddly warmed that he remembered.
He was always better at looking out for my stomach than I was when we were together. I usually just deal with the miserable consequences.
“. . . Where’s everyone else’s emotional support smoothies?”
The boys and Laura exchange a glance between them.
It’s clear they think I’m too much of a wuss to handle seeing gross things. Now that I’m a little less immediately nauseous, I can see that none of them are as bothered as me.
Oh.
“I’ve seen roadkill before,” I say, even though that was a lot worse than any roadkill.
Aiden offers uncertainty, making more eye contact with his brothers than me as he explains, sounding like he’s asking a question. “We used to go hunting...?”
“Our dad used to take us,” Logan says more decisively. “We’re pretty desensitized to it.”
Of course. Rich people are fucking weird as hell. They can’t have normal hobbies.
I sigh and try not to roll my eyes, mostly to contain any embarrassment at being the only one who’s squeamish. “Alright. Well, thank you. I’m gonna let this one firm up in the freezer, it was very thoughtful.”
I take a sip anyway, and taste the banana, dates, and blueberries under the dark chocolate. It’s heavenly, but I know I’ll suffer if I actually try to drink the whole thing.
It does feel a little like handing out treats to a gaggle of puppies that just performed a trick, the way Aiden’s smile breaks out across his face. A little condescending, even. But I can do that much to get them to give me some space.
The two brothers break away to bring their pizza boxes inside the Jeep, the sound of Aiden praising his own genius and Logan reminding him it had been both their ideas echoing offthe hallway as I’m left with the one brother I just can’t seem to shake.
I glance to Laura, my planned ride home. “Are we heading out too?”
“Oh. I was gonna join in on pizza night. Did you want to come too, or would you rather we drop you off at your house?”
I would prefer to go home and sleep the rest of this evening off, but the memory of scratches on the cottage door makes all the hair on the back of my neck stand up now that I’ve seen the deer. It makes me unsteady all over again. “Um, I’ll come over for pizza.”
I slide awkwardly off the hood of Aiden’s Jeep, and, before I can even take a step toward the end of the parking lot where Laura’s car is, she tosses her keys at Shawn.
They hit him square in the chest and he catches them, frowning.
“I’ll join the boys in the Jeep,” she says simply, “Shawn, you can drive my car back.”
“Am I not one of the boys?”
“No, but you’re far more sober than I am. You barely touched your drink, and I had two beers before you even got to the Turtle.” She shrugs, feigning wobbliness a moment before she sneaks a grin at me.
That checks out, but I also know Laura can drink most people under the table, even if she doesn’t look like she has the constitution for it. I’m in the middle of doing the math on how many seats are left in the Jeep, when she hauls herself intothe cramped back seat and takes the stack of pizza boxes from Logan.
Oh my god. I cannot believe she just did that.
“Do we believe her, or do we think she’s being a little shit?” Shawn asks as we watch the Jeep speed off, and we’re truly left alone together, again. I don’t know how this keeps happening.
And there he goes, grouping me and him together in a single word that makes my teeth clench.
I should be more pissed off at Laura maybe, but I’m exhausted.
“I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. Your family doesn’t know the meaning of the word subtle, and neither do you.”
