She rolls her eyes. “Dad,” she groans. “We’re working on aschoolproject.”
“You can work on it in the study room. Go on.”
With another groan, she leads me down the stairs. I stop dead in my tracks as we pass the dining room. It’s the most lavish thing I’ve ever seen. With a huge chandelier suspended above, a large table that can easily sit over twenty people
“Why did you stop?” she asks. Does she not realize how lucky she is? Not only does she have two parents who are still alive, but she lives like a princess.
I shove my hands in my pockets. “Nothing. Just never seen such a thing before.”
She lifts a brow. “A thing?”
“Your house.”
Her eyebrows furrow. “Oh, yeah. I guess our house is big.”
“Big? You don’t know how lucky you are.”
Her mouth opens, then clamps shut. Her eyebrows knit.
“Forget I said anything,” I quickly say, not sure what’s come over me. It’s like I have no control over my thoughts anymore. Maybe it’s because I’m completely out of my element here. I’ve stepped into another world, one I don’t belong in.
“Okay,” Artemis says unsurely. “The room is this way.”
I trail her a few doors down, but we’re stopped by her mother in the kitchen, who calls for us to come in.
She’s at the stove, an apron tied around what looks like a designer dress. Her hair is the exact color as Artemis’s and she’s pretty much an older version of her.
“Who’s this?” Mrs. West asks.
“Ryan Rogers.”
She smiles. It’s the exact smile as her daughter’s. Lights up her entire face like she’s got the sun shining behind her eyes. “Hi, Ryan. Would you like to stay for dinner? I’m making Artemis’s favorite. Super duper cheesy mac and cheese.”
Artemis’s face glows red. “Mom, it was my favorite when I was a kid.”
Her mom dabs her nose. “And it still is.”
Artemis pulls back, rolling her eyes, but not hiding her giggle.
My eyes burn as I watch them. She’s…she still has her mom. Can still joke aroundwith her, argue with her, spend as much time as she wants.
While I…
My hands fist at my sides. A few days after they died, I punched one of the walls in my aunt’s house. It freaked her out so much she asked my grandmother to take me in. I haven’t punched anything since then, don’t want to turn into that person. Because once I go there, I may never return. Mom and Dad wouldn’t want me to end up behind bars.
Her mom faces me. “So what do you say about dinner, Ryan?”
My throat still burns, but I swallow it down. “No, thanks.” I’m sure Grandma would be okay with it, but I don’t want to spend any more time with Artemis than I have to. Because the more she pulls me in, the harder it will be for me to break free.
We go to the study room, and she tells me to sit down wherever. It’s a room with a table in the center and a few chairs surrounding it.
She plops down. “Jenna and I used to do our arts and crafts projects in here. See this?” She lifts the tablecloth. The wood underneath is covered with scribbles and crayon marks. “Jenna thought she was so creative, but she sucks at art.” She laughs. “Not like you. You’re awesome.”
I don’t know why hearing her say that makes something shift inside me. But I shut it down before I let myself really feel it. “Maybe we should start on the project.”
Five minutes in, we’re interrupted by her dad, who enters the room to look for something.
He rubs his chin. “That’s weird. I was so sure it was in here.”
