He raises one eyebrow.
“Ginormous. Humongous.”
His second eyebrow joins the first.
I sigh. “Willa’sreallymad at me.”
“And don’t you think she might have a reason to be?” he asks nonchalantly as he pulls the tie from around his neck and lays it on the counter.
My mouth opens and closes of its own accord. I’m sure I look like a goldfish. “I’m not…” I pause.
“You’re mad that someone told her you were living with me? Are you afraid she’s going to make your curfew earlier?” There’s a teasing glint in his eye, and it only makes me madder.
“I don’t know why I thought this would work,” I mutter to myself as I remove the sandwich from the pan and put it on a plate.
I glare at him over my shoulder as I grab an orange out of the fridge. He wasn’t the one who had to listen to his sister yell at him. He wasn’t the one who got caught in the lie—no, I’ll call it an omission of truth. That sounds a lot better.
Peeling the orange gives me the perfect task to ignore Miles as he walks away. I told him that I didn’t want Willa to know…or at least, I think I did.
I toss my orange peels in the garbage and mutter under my breath. I turn around to stomp down the hall, orange in hand.
I’m intent on doing the one thing I hate having to do. Apologize.
By the time I’m halfway down the hall, Miles steps out of the laundry room in front of me and shuts the door. He’s changed into a pair of gray sweats and a T-shirt and looks like he’s ready for a run with his earbuds in.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt out.
He looks at me in surprise and pulls an earbud out. “Sorry?”
“For snapping at you. It’s not your fault I didn’t tell my sister where I lived. It’s not fair of me to pass the blame to you, when I should have been the one to tell her.” I wave the orange around as I explain my apology.
The more I say, the more I realize how ridiculous it was to lash out athim. What am I, five? Scared I’m going to get in trouble with my sister?
“It’s okay. I don’t like getting yelled at either.”
“Oh gosh, did I yell at you?”
He shakes his head. “No, but you said your sister was yelling.”
I shrug. “That’s just Willa. She tends to be forceful about everything. She yells when she’s happy. I shouldn’t have taken it so personally.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about that. The fact that you care about your sister’s feelings says a lot about you as a person. And when someone yells at you, that’s not acceptable, family or not.”
“Well, that doesn’t excuse me for acting like a butthole just now.”
His lips quirk up. “If it’s any consolation, I wasn’t the one who told her.”
I flatten my lips together. “No, that’s not a consolation. That makes me feel like an even bigger jerk.”
Miles walks away, cackling. “Apology accepted, roomie.”
I can’t decide if I love his laid-back attitude or if I should be annoyed.
And that means it was Margaret who told her. Margaret the Manipulator. I wonder what her point is in all this.
A knock sounds on the front door, and I start toward it.
“Are you expecting anyone?” I call after Miles.
