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“If I find it, I’ll let you know.”

I ignore my mother and focus on my next prospect.

“It wasn’t put with your clothes, was it, Khaos?”

His head lowers again and shakes. “I wasn’t listening. Was what put with my clothes?”

“My thong. It’s missing and I’m wondering if you’ve seen it.”

To his bowl, he says, “I saw something on the floor the other day. Black, I think, and real small?”

He doesn’t wait for me to answer because he was listening, therefore he knows it’s black.

“I thought it was lint from the dryer, so I threw it away.”

Lint from a dryer? That’s a thing?

“You threw away my underwear?”

“If that was your underwear…” He shrugs, then murmurs, “They were pretty nasty looking.”

“Uck.” Nasty? Oh my God. What if it hadn’t been washed yet and Khaos saw it? Touched it?

Graham decides to join in, saying, “Khaos will buy you another…unmentionable.”

“Everyone’s mentioning it,” I mutter, my eyes glazed over as I stare at the floor. In fact, it’s our first family discussion.

The microwave beeps and I retrieve my steaming blueberry muffin.

“Won’t you, son?”

“Um, no. That’s okay,” I say as I grab a spoon.

Ignoring me, Khaos replies to his father, “With what? I haven’t been paid yet.”

Silence fills the kitchen, and when I look up, the Pierson men are locked in a silent stare-off. Well, one Pierson and one…Rhodes. I forget Graham took my mom’s last name.

I don’t think I’ll ever see him as a Rhodes. Or my dad. He’s just, like, an extension of my mom. He’s hers and that’s it. Nothing to me at all.

And Khaos is…nothing of mine either. He’s an annoying rash I hope goes away soon.

I don’t know what’s happening here but…

“I said it was okay,” I remind them.

Neither man acknowledges me.

“Oh, Graham, I got it. I’ll write him a check,” my mom offers.

I tap on my imaginary microphone. Is this thing on?

Nope.

“Kota, bring me my pocketbook.”

At least I’m not invisible. They see me, they just don’t hear me.

“Cash would be better, darling,” Graham says while I fetch my mom’s purse. “My boy’s been so busy working he hasn’t had time to set up an account with a local bank yet.”