“Just tired,” I say, and give her a smile.
Still surprises me when she smiles back. Suddenly, we’re one big happy family. I’m pretending and she believes. I’ve made her feel better and I should feel really good about that. I don’t.
“Okay. I’ll be ready to go in just a few. I just need”—Bren gropes around in her bag—“my planner. Where’s my planner?”
She dashes into the kitchen and the home phone rings. Bren picks it up and for a couple minutes there’s nothing, just low-voiced mumblings, giving me more time to obsess about the footage and still come up with nothing.
“Wick? That was Manda Ellery.”
The way Bren says our neighbor’s name makes me stiffen.
“She said she saw you coming in after four in the morning last night.” Bren appears in the doorway, head tilted in confusion. “What were you doing? Did you . . . sneak out?”
Oh. Shit. I need a lie. I need a really good lie.
“Did you need something?” Bren asks.
Milk? Stupid. There’s no way she’s going to believe that. I chew the inside of my cheek, unable to believe that even after all my care—putting away the Mini in total darkness, taking off my shoes before slipping inside the kitchen—I end up getting busted by our nosy insomniac neighbor.
I guess I should be glad Manda didn’t pay any attention when rats were getting nailed to our front door.
“Well?” Bren demands, twin spots of color blooming on her cheeks.
“What’s going on?” Lily jumps down the last stair, hair and clothes immaculate, book bag strapped on. “What’s wrong?”
Better to just confess, right? “Sorry, Bren. I had something I had to do last night.”
“Something to do?” she echoes. “You sneaked out! How could you do that?”
“Wick,” Lily says, and suddenly, Bren and my sister look so much alike I nearly laugh.
Thank God I don’t though because Bren looks ready to kill me on the spot. She holds up one finger, pointing it at the ceiling. “What exactly did you have to do that would necessitate sneaking out of the house that late?”
I was wrong. I need the really good lie right now, not earlier. “I was restless. I needed some air. I’m sorry.”
I’m also lame as hell. I should have a better excuse.
Bren’s nose wrinkles. “You were restless? Were you partying or something? Did you go see Griff?”
I wince at his name and Bren sees it. She opens her mouth and I cut her off. “Yeah, I went to see Griff. It was . . . unexpected. I should have asked you. I’m sorry.”
“You’re right. You should have asked.” Bren’s nodding hard now, strands of hair popping loose from her chignon. “You don’t get to just wander around whenever you feel like it, Wick. It’s dangerous out there—especially with what’s going on with your dad’s case.”
Again, it’s the inflection that tells me whatever is about to happen, I’m not going to like it. I watch Bren warily.
“You’re grounded,” she says. “Total lockdown until further notice. You go to school. You come home. That’s it.”
“You can’t do that. I have—”
“You don’t have anything. Not anymore.”
34
This is ridiculous. I brought down a child rapist by infecting his computer with a virus I created. I used to catch cheaters for pay. I worked for my dad, an epic douche canoe, for years as his personal hacker.
And I’m grounded for sneaking out of the house.
I should probably find it funny.
I’ve caught up on my history work, finished all my midterm projects, and rechecked the security system in case any unwelcome guests should decide to show up. Considering my luck right now, an appearance from Kyle or Jason would be pretty much on point.
Being pissed keeps me from being scared.
Well, that and working for Carson again. He wants something, anything that will give him an opening to Bay. The entire city is treating the judge with kid gloves and Carson wants to choke the life out of him.
And as much as I hate to admit it, I can’t blame the detective. We hate the judge for different reasons, but it’s still hate living underneath both our skins. Bay has gone to the papers, telling everyone who will listen how horrible this has been for him, how his family is gone, destroyed.
It sent the newspaper blog into a frenzy of pity. Funny. I don’t remember anyone being upset when Bay didn’t protect my family from my dad. No one mourned when my mother’s life ended.
But I do remember how these same people wanted Lily and me sent away after she died.