“Tres.”
“Cierra tus ojos, güerita.”
“Dos.”
“Te quie—”
POP!
Nineteen
October 17, Sunday
Enoch
Isucked in a deep breath of air as I stretched out my limbs quickly recoiling when I remembered that Shiloh was sleeping beside me. I sat up, my heart racing with the sudden movement, and stared at the empty bed.
What the hell?
I swung my legs over the edge and checked my phone. It was just after seven and I could vaguely make out my mom’s voice downstairs. I grabbed a hoodie from my dresser and as I was pulling it on, I noticed that Shiloh’s pile of clean clothes was missing from on top of my dresser. Her phone was gone from the nightstand as well.
Maybe she’s in the shower?
The bathroom was empty, so I bounded downstairs hoping she was with my mom. Scanning the rooms as I passed them was making my heart rate increase with nerves. I stood in the kitchendoorway completely confused and slowly waved to Ruthie who was pointing at me from her highchair.
“Oh, hey, honey. Did we wake you?” my mom asked, gaining Sebastian and Eden’s attention.
I cleared my throat, stepping into the room, checking one more time like Shiloh was going to magically appear.
“Did you see Shiloh leave?” I asked, cracking my knuckles.
“No,” my mom shook her head, surprise clear in her features. “Are you sure she’s not in the bathroom?”
“She’s not. And her stuff is gone.”
“Wait, Shiloh was staying here?” Sebastian asked in shock.
I nodded and sunk into the nearest empty chair, blowing out a breath of frustration. Why would she just leave like that without saying goodbye? I didn’t even know she was leaving today.
“Maybe her brother came and picked her up?” Sebastian suggested with a shrug as he raised his mug of coffee to his lips.
My breath caught in my throat, and I stared at him, frozen like a deer in the headlights.
Fuck.That’s why she left. This is awkward and it’s not even my brother I’ve got to lie about.
“Sure,” I croaked, clearing my throat and looking away before someone questioned my weird behavior.
Eden suddenly leaned over, resting her hand on my knee. I stopped bouncing my leg instantly, not realizing I was even doing it.
“You okay?” she asked softly, letting my mom and Sebastian continue to converse without us.
“Yeah, fine.” I flicked my gaze back to Sebastian and decided I couldn’t sit there any longer.
My tongue was itching to tell Sebastian the truth, and I knew I had no right to do that. Shiloh would punch me in the throat and probably never speak to me again. But I was a shit liarand was even shittier at keeping secrets. My fingers tingled with anxiety and guilt even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.
My sister gave me a quizzical look as I abruptly pushed her hand away and stood from the table, leaving the room before anyone could say anything. I ran upstairs and flung myself onto my bed face first. The door slammed shut behind me and I let out a groan into my bedding. I kicked my legs against the mattress like a kid but abruptly stopped when there was a familiar knocking pattern against my door.
“Go away, Eden,” I called out.
