***
It was someone from the party who told.
Someone from the party who texted someone else. Who in turn texted another someone else and that’s how Ledger got the news about where I was.
He tried to call me first.
To confirm, I think. Because he gave me the benefit of the doubt, but when I didn’t pick up and when the friend that I’d used as an alibi told him that she never saw me after school ended yesterday, he got pissed.
I’m guessing Conrad came along to calm Ledger down and to rein in the situation if it got out of hand. He’s been a witness to many such situations over the years he’s been coaching the two.
And when my other two brothers, who were trying to surprise us with a weekend visit, found out where I was, they came along in case Ledger needed reinforcements.
At least that’s what I’m guessing from past experiences – Ledger is the youngest brother and like they are with me, our older brothers are protective of him as well. Not that they’d tell him or that Ledger would like that since he’s all grown up and everything but still.
Anyway, they never told me why or what except how they found out where I was.
They never told me anything actually.
Last night when I tried to say something as soon as we reached home, they didn’t let me either.
Con told me to go get some sleep and the rest of them just dispersed without having a conversation with me.
Now it’s morning and they’re still not talking.
Con is shut up in his study and we all know not to disturb him when he’s working. One of the ground rules he set up for us when he quit college to come back and take over everything.
The rest of my brothers, I have no idea about.
They’re not home.
So I’m upstairs in my room, trying to get my homework done before my ballet class in the afternoon.
But ugh, I can’t focus.
They won’t even let me apologize to them. They won’t even talk to me. They won’t even…
There’s a knock on the door and I sit up straight; I’ve been lounging around in my bed with my books spread out in front of me, but now I close them, cross my legs and call out, “Yeah?”
The door opens and I see Con.
He’s got a slight frown on his forehead as he says, sort of roughly, “Hey.”
“Hey,” I say eagerly.
“You got a second?”
“Yes. Yes, absolutely.”
I say this with even more eagerness and my oldest brother, who is so freaking tall that he has to slightly hunch his shoulders to get inside my room, enters.
Without volition, my mind goes to him.
My mind goes to the fact that he’s just as tall, isn’t he?
Would he also have to hunch his mountain-like shoulders to get inside my childhood bedroom?
God, Callie. Not now.
I’m all ready to beat my stupid thoughts into submission but I don’t have to. They vanish on their own because as soon as Con enters and moves away from the doorway, I see the rest of my brothers.
They were hovering behind him and one by one, they enter too.
First Stellan, who almost has to hunch but not quite. Then Shepard, who enters with a slight grimace on his face because he thinks my room is too pink for his manliness, and finally, the brother who’s closest to me in age and hence has always been my best buddy, Ledger.
It takes them a few seconds to situate themselves around my room and from experience I already know where they’re all going to end up before they do.
Ledger leans against my desk, which is located by the white door. Shepard, the noisiest one, drags my desk chair out, spins it around and sits on it backwards with his arms on the backrest.
Stellan goes to stand by my window on the far side of the room. And the reason he does that is because Con is going to sit on the armchair right beside it, which he does a second later, and Stellan is Con’s right hand.
Maybe because Stellan is the second oldest – three minutes older than his twin Shepard – and so Con has always trusted him the most. Even though Stellan and Shepard are eight years younger than Con.
When they’re all situated and are still not talking, I open my mouth to apologize but I notice Shep elbowing Ledger and as if waking up, Ledger mutters, “Right.”
He brings something out from behind him and offers it to me.
It’s a giant baby pink box with satin pink ribbon wrapped around it and despite everything, my arms shoot up to grab it.
On the top in a darker shade of pink, is written Buttery Blossoms.
It’s my favorite, favorite bakery in town and they have the best cupcakes ever.
In fact, I even have a picture of it, my most favorite cupcake from there – Peanut Butter Blossom –-taped up on my wall.
I have pictures of all my favorite things taped up on my wall actually. My ballet recitals, my pointe shoes, Bardstown High.
Excitedly, I look at Ledger and then all my brothers. “You guys bought me cupcakes?”
Ledger shrugs. “Yeah.”
Shep shrugs too. “They’re your favorite.”
“And you don’t get to have them enough, so,” Ledger adds.
That’s true, I don’t.
Mostly because I’m a ballerina and I have to watch my weight. Healthy living and healthy eating and all that but oh my God, I have a giant addiction to these.
It’s toxic but I don’t care.
I hug the box, my heart feeling full. “Is that where you guys went this morning? Because I was looking for all of you.”
Shep is first to reply with his hands in the air. “I will not set foot in that pink shop. Under any circumstances, so no. I went to see a friend.”
Before I can reply, Ledger rolls his eyes. “By that, he means Amy.”
My eyes pop wide. “You guys are back together again?”
Amy is Shep’s on-again off-again girlfriend from high school and I really, really like her. She loves dancing and knitting just like me and I would love to see them end up together.
But Shep is an idiot and he broke up with her when he left for college three years ago.
I always feel bad when I see her around town; she’s still so in love with him.
“Fuck no,” Shep says.
“Why not? She’s amazing, Shep. I really like her.”
“Never said I don’t like her.” He smirks then. “I like her. I like her a lot.”
“Yeah, her and that hot tub in her backyard.” Ledger snickers.
Shep’s smirk only grows. “Oh yeah, definitely. It’s got jet sprays, dude. You can’t compete with that. That hot tub can do things you can’t even fathom, little brother.”
“Oh, I can fathom. I can fathom a lot.” Ledger playfully kicks at the legs of the chair Shep is sitting in. “In fact, I fathomed it last week with her little sister, Jessica.”
Shep turns to Ledger then. “For real? You and –”
But before he can go on, I squeal, “Ew, gross. Both of you.”