He stares at me, lips still pinched.
“Fucking talk!”
His eyes pulse for a second. “I didn’t know. You said not to, then you’re asking me questions. You’re scaring me right now.”
“Good!”
“I’m sorry Ev. I had no idea she was going to show up. Obviously.”
“Obviously,” I snipe back.
“I was just as shocked as you were when she showed up knocking on the door.”
“Were you shocked?” I push against his chest and he lets me push him backwards. “Shit Beckett!”
“I know. I know.”
“Why is she here? What happened? How did she find this place?”
“We were talking about all of that when you all got home. She said she was lonely and realized how she never does anything without dad and she wanted to be more independent. Something about it being Independence Day and hers… Anyway… she got to the area, and asked them where this house was and since everyone knows about it… it wasn’t hard to find.”
“Of course.”
“How can I fix this? If you want me to ask her to leave, I will. I’ll be the dick kid.”
My growl of frustration makes the birds nesting nearby flutter away. “Fuuuck. No. I’m not going to ask her to leave.”
“I really didn’t think she was going to show up. I swear. She literally never goes anywhere.”
“Yea, I know,” I say, my tone softening. Even though I was nervous, I never thought in one million gazillion years she would have showed up. “Fuck. Shit. Motherass. Cunt bag. Titty tangler. Schlong a dong, fuck!” I yell out, kicking the pebbles on the ground as I stomp back into the house.
When I push the door open, mother is standing there with her bag in hand and Lizzy and the guys behind her.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“I can leave. I shouldn’t have just showed up. That wasn’t right of me. Y’all are having a good time here with your friends. You don’t need me here messing it up.”
“No,” I say, cringing with myself for trying to talk her into staying.
A loud crack of lightning echoes behind me, followed by a rumble of thunder. I try not to laugh, watching Beckett high step it into the house, trying not to piss himself, screaming like a two-year-old.
“What the fu-dge was that? Where did it come from?” He peeks his head back out of the door, looking at the sky, then shuts the door.
“Weather is a fickle friend,” Knox says ominously from the kitchen.
“You’re not going anywhere. At least right now. It’s raining or lightning apparently, and you just got here. You’ve been driving all morning. Stay. Have some lunch and we can reassess.”
“Are you sure?”
No. “Of course. Beckett and Will were preparing us some food for a picnic, but judging by the weather, it's probably a good idea we weren’t outside.”
“Small miracles,” Beckett mumbles.
“I’m going to go upstairs and take a quick shower while Beckett finishes getting everything ready.”
“Do you need any help?” Mother offers, following him into the kitchen.
Lizzy catches my eyes and her lips twist and she mouths,‘Sorry’.
