“Yeah, that’s what she told me, too.” I sit up. “Aren’t you remotely curious why a kid from Astor Park is living in a rundown studio apartment on Salem Street?”
“Of course, but she doesn’t want our concern, and I get where she’s coming from. I hated how everyone at Astor looked down at me. If she’s going to school and she’s feeding herself then we need to leave her alone. That’s what I would want.”
I decide not to point out that she’s kidding herself. She was in our business from the moment she stepped into the house. Ella’s a meddler. It sorta surprises me she won’t admit it.
I change the subject instead. “What are you working on?” I flick a finger at her papers.
“Continuous functions. I’m not getting this.”
“Basically it means that you could lay your pencil on the graph and continue it in negative and positive directions without lifting it off the paper.” I draw a sinuous curve. “Right?”
She nods.
“Then to determine if the function is continuous, you have to satisfy these three conditions.” I make a few quick notations and hand the page back. While she studies it, I check my phone. Pash texted me back. Finally.
Sorry. Lunch w fam 2day. We’ve got family visiting from Atlanta
Dammit. I throw my phone down. “How many problems do you have left?”
“Twenty.”
“How long’s that going to take you?”
“A while.” She stands up. “I need a snack.”
I trail her into the kitchen. “Great. Let’s go over to the French Twist. My treat.”
“I can’t go out with you, Easton. I’ve got to finish all my homework today because Val and I are driving up to State tomorrow. I’m surprising Reed to make up for not being able to go to his game today.”
Oh crap. I forgot that I’d planned to drive up for that—Ella usually hauls my ass out of bed and drags me to the car. But Reed won’t care if I miss his home game. He’d way rather see Ella than me, anyway, and I can always fly out to his game against Louisiana State next Saturday.
“Wait,” I say as something occurs to me, “why aren’t you going to the game?”
She keeps her back to me as she pokes her head into the fridge. “Because Callum and I have a meeting with the DA today. It was the only time that worked for both of them.”
That sucks. “What time are you going?”
“Around four, I think.”
“That’s like hours away. We have tons of time to go out. How about this? I’ll do your math problems and—”
“No,” she interrupts. “I need to do it myself. If I can’t learn these concepts, it’s only going to get harder.”
I dig my feet against the tile. “Then I’ll keep doing your homework. Come on, it’s not like you’re going to use half this shit in real life.”
“Not everyone can do complex math problems in their head, Easton. You’re too smart for your own good.”
“Really? ’Cause you’re always telling me how stupid I am,” I tease.
“I mean you do stupid things. I know you’re not stupid. You’re very smart. You know that, right?”
“Some stuff comes easy,” I admit. “But my grades suck.”
“Because you don’t like to take tests. Because concentrating on anything longer than ten minutes is boring for you.”
“I like flying and that takes longer than ten minutes,” I point out.
She places a platter of fruit on the counter. “There’s something interesting up there that doesn’t exist in class.”
True. In a small plane, you have to be on the alert, but mostly you feel alive up there. I can get close to that feeling on a motorcycle going a hundred down an open highway, but it’s just a dull copy. Not a substitution for the real thing.
“Fuck. I need to get up in the air again.” I grab a piece of melon and shove it in my mouth.
“Have you talked to Callum about it?”
I answer with my mouth full. “No. I already know what he’s going to say.”
“Which is?”
“Get your grades up. Stop drinking. Be more responsible.”
Ella slants her head. “Well. I guess you don’t want to fly that bad, if all those things are too challenging.”
I scowl at her. “That’s a little harsh.”
Unperturbed, she responds by raising an eyebrow.
“I don’t want to fight, Ella Bella. Come on,” I coax. “Let’s go play.”
“No.”
I give up. I know from past experience she’s not budging. Ella’s more stubborn than a pack of mules. That leaves the twins, I guess. “Sawyer and Seb home?”
“They’re in the media room with Lauren.”
I don’t stop my lip from curling. Lauren’s been over more than ever lately, and I’m kinda getting tired of it. She’s starting to act like she owns the twins, dictating where they can go and when. And they’ve been buying her stuff. Expensive shit that they can afford, but it strikes me wrong.
“Have fun today. I’m sure you’ll be able to find something to occupy your time.” Ella pats me on the back before wandering back to the patio.
In the media room, I find Lauren sitting by herself, painting her nails.
“Where are the twins?”
The petite redhead lifts her head at my arrival. “Seb went to pick me up some ice cream at the store and Sawyer forgot something in his room.”
“We’ve got ice cream here.”
Lauren swipes a white line across her nail. “It wasn’t the kind I liked.” She lifts her hand and blows on it.
Jeez. Lauren has those boys wrapped around her finger. But I bite my tongue and go to find my brother.
I catch Sawyer carrying a shopping bag from Gucci. I squeeze the back of my neck. Do not say a thing, I advise myself. This is none of your business. “Want to go out?”
“And do what?”
“Dunno. Just get out of the house.”
“Let me see what Lauren wants to do.” He pushes the door open, but I know what the answer is going to be. Lauren doesn’t like being seen hanging out with the twins outside of home. At school, she generally acts like she’s only dating one of them. The twins think it’s funny. At some point, though, it’s going to start pissing one or both of them off.
Sawyer steps back out in less than a minute. “Lauren passes.”
“What about Sawyer?” In other words, what do you want to do rather than what does Lauren want to do?
My brother makes a face. “I pass, too.”
“Come on,” I wheedle. “You can go out for one afternoon. Or you know what, fine, let’s chill here for a while and plan something epic for tonight.”
“Lauren doesn’t want to go out tonight, either. Last time we went out, we got hassled and Lauren didn’t like it.”
“Maybe you need to date someone with thicker skin,” I suggest.
Sawyer folds his arms across his chest and glares. “Why don’t you go find someone who gives a crap what you think?”
“Why don’t you find someone you can leave the house with?”
“Screw you.” He backs up and slams the door in my face.
Good job, Easton. You’ve alienated everyone in your house.
Ella’s choosing homework over me. The twins are choosing their spoiled brat girlfriend. Hartley made me promise not to bother her this weekend.
So, although it’s barely past noon, there’s really only one thing left for me to do.
Pay a visit to the liquor cabinet.
Chapter 13