Will woke everyone bright and early since we needed to erase the evidence of the party before Katherine and George got home. Impressed with how I took charge during his mom’s meltdown, Will employed my skills to organize the cleanup. I quickly split up the chores that needed to be tackled and dished them out to all the boys. I thought I had given myself the worst job, but I could hear Isaac complaining from the deck.
“Too early for this shit,” he said as he yanked his shirt over his head. He was responsible for cleaning the pool. Not only was it murky, but two patio chairs were submerged in the deep end and a swimsuit top was tied to the basketball hoop that hung over the water. With one last grumble, he dove in and the cups floating on the surface bobbed like buoys.
Besides Isaac, Danny was putting the house in order. Even though partygoers were restricted to the backyard, somehow the mess had managed to leak inside. Will and Haley were making sure the front yard was spotless, and for obvious reasons, I sent Cole to clean up by the waterfall.
After our conversation the night before, I’d returned to the party and spent the night talking with Alex and his friends. Malcolm was obnoxious the entire time—hitting on me and saying awkward things—until it got so bad that Alex pushed him into the freezing water. I didn’t notice when Cole rejoined his friends, but eventually I spotted him, a beer in one hand and his other arm wrapped around Olivia. He kept his distance, but I caught him watching me from across the beach more than once.
This morning was tense. There wasn’t much time for breakfast, so we started a toast assembly line. Danny put the bread in the toaster. When it was done cooking, he handed to Isaac who put it on a paper plate and passed it to Cole. He would spread jam on one piece before sliding the plate to me, so I could butter the second piece. Finally, Alex would cut both pieces in half and move the plate to the kitchen table. I don’t know how I ended up squished between Cole and Alex, but I could feel how uncomfortable Cole was.
I gave him the waterfall job so I wouldn’t have to see him, but as Alex opened his mouth again, I’d wished for a second that I sent him along as well.
“I’m really sorry about last night,” he told me for the millionth time. He was standing a few feet away from me with a garbage bag clutched in his hand.
“Alex,” I said, plucking a cup off the sparkling grass, which was wet with morning dew. I dropped it into my own bag and caught a whiff of stale beer. “How many times do I need to tell you? Stop apologizing.”
“I just feel bad that you had to put up with Malcolm all night.”
I knew he was really worried that I was judging him based on his friend, but I honestly didn’t care that Malcolm was weird. As long as I didn’t have to hang out with him again, I’d be fine. I was anxious about not getting everything cleaned up in time, and if Alex had spent as much time cleaning as he did being nervous, we might be done already.
“He wasn’t that bad,” I lied. “Let’s just focus on getting this done.”
“Are you sure?” Alex asked, and I gave him a death glare. “Okay, I get it! More cups, less talking.”
It was a miracle, but we managed take care of the party mess before Katherine and George returned. By the time they pulled into the driveway, Nathan and I were already studying for our exams. We didn’t have any classes together, but Nathan asked if he could work in my room with me. He was having a hard time focusing in his own since Alex was trying to get in a quick round of GoG before his parents got home.
An almost-summer breeze wandered in through my open window, brushing against the back of my neck and cooling my sticky skin. Frustrated with all the different dates I needed to know for my history exam, I closed my eyes and rested my head against the wall. I tried to relax, but it was impossible with Nathan’s music. He had headphones in, but I could still hear the heavy beat of some rock song. It didn’t really seem like his thing, but his head was bopping away as he flipped through a set of flash cards.
“Hey, Nathan?” I called, trying to get his attention. There was no answer. “Nathan!” I shouted, and he jumped, the cards in his hand slipping to the floor. Jostling his MP3 player, he turned off the music and looked at me.
“What’s wrong?”
I laughed. “Nothing, I just wanted to talk. How do you concentrate with all that noise anyway?”
“Oh,” he said, kneeling to collect his flash cards. “It’s nothing really. I’ve grown up with so much noise in this house.”
“So you can only work with loud, brain-splitting music?” I asked, unconvinced.
Nathan shrugged. “If it gets too quiet around here, something just feels off.”
“Gotcha. So where were you last night?” I asked. “I didn’t see you at the party.”
“I wasn’t allowed to go. Will needed someone to keep all the little ones occupied while he was supervising, and he decided I was too young to attend. Lee got to go last year when he was a freshman, but Cole was in charge then.”
“Dang,” I said, knowing how excited the boys were about the party. “That stinks.”