“Who is this woman and what did you do with my kid sister?” Roan asks from the doorway.
Charlotte recaps the mascara and hands me my glasses. “She looks hot, huh?”
“I’m not allowed to weigh in on that statement,” Roan grumbles. But his worried gaze skims over my appearance, which means I do look hot enough that he thinks boys might try and steal my virginity.
“Well, she is,” Charlotte sasses. “You and Hollis going to dinner?”
It’s been almost a month since Roan forbade me to see Kayden. At first I was pissed, but then I decided what Roan doesn’t know won’t hurt him. I know he and Jordy won’t budge on the matter. So, rather than make waves, I just see Kayden in secret. Roan and Hollis are gone enough that they don’t know that Kayden still picks me up for school every day or that he’s still very much my boyfriend.
“Nah,” Roan says. “Cal and Terrence are in town for the weekend. Thought we’d hit up Campfire Chaos.”
Charlotte and I exchange an annoyed look. The guys may have started Campfire Chaos years ago, but once Roan, Cal, and Terrence all graduated, they stopped going. The school, however, did not. It’s a Hood River tradition now.
It’s also where I planned to make out with Kayden all night.
He’s going to be so pissed our plans are foiled.
“Oh yeah?” I say lightly. “You’re not going to be bothered hanging out with a bunch of underage teens drinking beer?”
“I gotta make sure those dumbasses like Cuntingham haven’t ruined our spot,” Roan says with a shoulder shrug.
Right.
I know my brother.
His attempt to seem nonchalant doesn’t work on me. I know all his tells. He’s hiding something.
“Ryan doesn’t like it when you call him Cuntingham,” Char says primly. “Don’t say that to him.”
Roan snorts. “I’ve been calling them Cuntinghams for as long as I can remember. Sorry, kid, but I can’t change that.”
He saunters out of my bedroom, leaving us alone. Charlotte huffs, sitting down on the bed beside me and making it bounce.
“This isn’t good.” She bites on her bottom lip, shooting me a panicked look.
“It’ll be fine. Roan and the guys are snotty brats anyway. They stick to themselves and don’t pay anyone else any mind. They’re not going to mess with us.”
“It’s Ryan…” She sighs. “He hates Roan.”
“Roan brings it on himself,” I joke.
Her lips press firmly together. “Not for being an asshole. Because of me.”
“What?”
She stands and walks over to my mirror on the wall. Tonight she’s extra hot in a tight pair of dark jeans and an off-the-shoulder black sweater. Her golden-blond locks are wavy, hanging nearly to her butt. Char is perfect in every way.
“Ryan thinks Roan wants me.”
I scoff and shake my head. “You’re joking.”
“I’m not.” She glances over her shoulder, her brows furrowing.
“Why? Roan is gay. And married to your brother. That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“You know how irrational Ryan can be.”
“He’s possessive to a fault,” I grumble.
She shoots me a hurt look. “Thanks for choosing my side on this.”
“I’m not choosing Roan over you,” I mutter. “I just think Ryan is being a jealous dick. Roan has eyes only for Hollis. Besides, if Ryan trusted you, it shouldn’t matter if other guys think you’re pretty or flirt with you.”
She scowls. “Let’s not go. We can just have a sleepover here.”
All this makeup going to waste kind of sucks, but something in the worried glint in her eyes tells me it’ll be worth it.
“Sure,” I say, standing and walking over to her. “We’ll rent movies and make popcorn. Just the two of us.”
Her smile lights up the room. “Thank you. I need to call Ryan, though, and break the bad news.” She tugs her phone out of her pocket and dials. He answers on the first ring. “Hey, babe,” she chirps in her high-pitched cheerleader voice. “Say hey to Roux.”
“Hey, Roux,” Ryan says.
“Hi.”
“Listen,” Charlotte says, a slight tremble in her voice. “Bad news. We can’t go out tonight.”
Silence.
I frown, wondering if they got disconnected. She waits patiently, her lips pursed together and her body tense.
“No.”
He finally speaks and the one word out of his mouth confuses me. Char swallows, dropping her eyes to the carpet.
“I wish I could go, but I can’t,” she whispers. “I’m sorry, Ry.”
“Take me off speakerphone,” he orders, his voice gruff with authority. “Now.”
My hackles rise at the way he’s speaking to her. She won’t look at me as she mashes the button and brings the phone to her ear.
“Yeah, okay, hold on.” She lifts her blue eyes that have dulled to look at me. “Roux, can you give us a moment?”
I don’t want to leave, but she’s putting out anxious vibes that I don’t like. She definitely wants me to go. I rush out of the room, leaving her alone. The television is playing in Roan’s room and I can hear Hollis laughing. They could be watching television or doing gross married couple stuff that I don’t care to overhear. I make my way into the living room and sift through the mail. When I find a card from my dad, I smile. I rip it open and laugh at his sad attempt at a poem.
Don’t boo hoo, little Roux.
Daddy’ll watch over you.
Every day. Every night. Even when you sleep.
Daddy is always near.
Love you, baby girl.
I’ll write him back and tell him it was equal parts creepy and sweet. It’s been strange getting to know my father through letters. I revealed my poetry to him and he wrote me a ten-page letter praising me. It was nice to feel the love of a parent considering Mom never showered us with one ounce of it. Dad is making up for it, even from prison.
I’m about to hang it on the fridge when I see the other letter.
Also from the prison.
Addressed to me.
My blood runs cold as I pick it up. Jordy’s neat handwriting slices through the white paper, black and unforgiving. By the indentions in the envelope, I can tell he was angry when he wrote it.
Crap.
I know he talks to Roan, but how could he possibly know I’m still seeing Kayden? I’ve kept it on the down-low, playing it off to Kayden that my brother is just overprotective and doesn’t want me to date at all. If he knew the real reason, he’d be upset.
With a defeated sigh, I open the letter. My heart stops in my chest.
Little Hoodlum,
I wasn’t fucking kidding. People talk. His people talk. And most of his people are locked up here with me. When I get out of here, I’ll follow you all over that fucking town if it means you’ll stay away from that piece of shit. Don’t test me. I’m a monster and you know it. I’ll show you how big of an asshole I can be.
J
I’m so infuriated, my hand shakes, making the paper crackle. Tears threaten, but I refuse to let them fall and ruin Charlotte’s hard work. Instead, I pull some paper out of the drawer and pen him a letter back while I’m still angry. A tear leaks out, smearing the ink, but I swipe it away and scribble more furious words.