I didn’t respond.
“Actually, I think they’re talking about the party you’re having on Friday.” Andrew shoved a fork full of mashed potatoes into his mouth. “Thanks for the invite, ass.”
My lips curled up on one side. “You’re welcome.”
“It’s not his party. It’s Dee’s.” Ash moved again, and this time I felt her foot brush against my calf. “But we’re invited. I’m not going to miss the first-ever party at your house, not with your parents not in town.”
Since others were at the table, I saw right through most of what she was saying. I shifted my leg, moving it away from her. “Yeah. It’s going to be awesome.”
Her eyes narrowed.
Andrew leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Do you think a party is a good idea?”
“Nope.” I bit into the gravy-covered steak. Tasted like flour and sawdust, sort of like Kat’s pancakes.
“And you’re okay with it?”
I sighed, forcing myself to eat the crap. “Not really.”
Andrew started to say something, but high-pitched laughter from the table caught his attention. He glanced over my shoulder and I looked behind me. It was a girl—a cheerleader, I think. Kimmy? Kami? Tammy? No clue.
“She’s such a slut,” the girl said, wrinkling her nose. “She went after Simon.”
I had a really bad feeling about this conversation.
The guy sitting next to her, one of the football players, grinned. “From what Simon says, Katy knows how to use her mouth. Maybe you should take some lessons from her.”
My vision damn near turned red as the girl responded angrily. Hands fisting, I started to turn around and pick up one of them, if not both of them, and throw them into the wall.
Ash put her hand on my arm and spoke with her voice low. “Don’t. You need to not do whatever it is you’re planning to do.”
“I’m not planning to do anything,” I gritted out. What in the actual hell was Simon saying about Kat? It was total bullshit.
Ash jumped in, distracting me before I could say anything. “Leave it alone,” she warned. “It’s just people being dumb.”
More like people just being seconds away from being blasted into next week. Forcing myself to turn back around, I promised that I would so deal with that shit later.
Her bright blue eyes fastened on her brother. “Anyway,” she said, tipping her chin. “Have you heard from Uncle Lane or Uncle Vaughn recently?”
My brows lifted and I almost choked on my spit. Uncle Lane and Uncle Vaughn? Shit. That was actually almost funny, except… “Come to think of it, no, I haven’t heard from either of them.”
“Neither have we.” Andrew had finished off his potatoes and was eyeing mine. They may have been instant and tasted like paste, but I’d shank him if he reached for them. “Kind of strange, isn’t it?”
Yeah, that was strange. Our DOD babysitters hadn’t gone longer than two weeks without checking in, and it had been… Shit, how long had it been since I’d last seen one of them? A while. Their absence, now that I thought about it, didn’t sit very well, especially after the light show that had gone down on Halloween.
“All right, I’m out.” Ash stood, leaving her plate on the table. “See you losers later.”
I had no idea where she was going, but my mind was whirling around the officers’ absence. Normally the DOD would be all up in our business after something like that, and all I’d seen was the black tinted-out Expedition at the hospital when…when Kat had been there.
I glanced over at Kat’s table, and all thoughts of the DOD dropped to the wayside. My hand tightened around the plastic fork.
Some guy was sitting next to Kat. No—wait. I’d seen him before. He was the guy I’d almost run over in the hallway Friday. Kat knew him? The guy smiled at something she said. Kat tipped her head back. Strands of long dark hair fell back over her shoulders as she laughed.
The plastic fork snapped in my hand, startling me.
“Whoa.” Andrew eyed me. “You’re not going to slam my face into the table again, are you?”
“Do you know who that is?” I asked instead.
“Who?”
I jerked my chin over at the table. “That guy.”
Frowning, Andrew looked over his shoulder. “The guy sitting next to Katy?”
“Yeah.” I let the shattered pieces of the fork fall to the table.
Andrew turned around, facing me. “I have no idea, man. He must be new.”
The guy laughed this time and then he leaned in against Kat, bumping her shoulder with his like he was her new best friend.
What. In. The. Hell.