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No, no, no.
Absolutely not.
A knot tightens in my stomach, panic slipping in. I don’t want him finding out and getting even colder, even more distant.
I should say something. Stop her. Shut this down before it goes any further.
But how do I do that without making it obvious? Without drawing attention in front of the parents?
My gaze snaps to Sierra, trying to catch hers, silently begging her to understand, to read all I can’t say aloud.
But she doesn’t even look at me.
“I’ll do it,” she says, taking the paper from Kai without hesitation and starting to write.
The others exchange amused glances, their attention tugging between the two of us as more jokes are thrown into the mix.
Heat creeps up my neck, my cheeks turning pink.
God. This is the last thing I need right now.
Was it really necessary for Maya to renovate the top floor now, of all times? They redid the entire house less than two years ago.
“Okay, we’re ready,” Sierra announces, dropping the last folded note into the bowl Maya brought her. “Thalia, you start.”
She steps in front of me, holding it out, her expression laced with barely contained amusement.
Jesus, Ser.
I meet her gaze, my face turning flat, pointed, hoping she reads it—stop. I’m sure she does.
That’s exactly why she looks so pleased.
She’s enjoying this.
I answer with a tight, ironic smile before letting it twist into a grimace as I reach in, not even bothering to look, and pull out a random note.
“Whatever,” I mutter, drawing my hand back.
“Read it,” Kai says, standing beside Sierra, watching closely.
“We’re not reading them all at the end?” I ask, frowning.
“No,” Sierra answers quickly.
I raise an eyebrow.
“If you get ‘Alone’, we keep going until someone pulls ‘Shared room’,” Kai explains, calm and matter-of-fact.
Alright. That actually makes sense.
Rolling my eyes, I open my fingers and start unfolding the paper.
The room quiets. Everyone watching.
The second I glimpse the word, my stomach drops.
“Shared room,” I say under my breath, barely louder than a whisper. “Seriously?” My head tips back as I groan.