A Midsummer's Nightmare(30)

“I didn’t.”

“So Bailey just admitted to your mother that not only did she get drunk, she also lied about where we were going?”

“She didn’t have to. Mom’s not an idiot, Whit.”

“But you acted like you had it all figured out last night,” I said.

“Yeah, well, that was before Bailey woke up with a massive hangover. Kind of obvious she didn’t get that from the bowling alley.”

“We still could have made something up,” I argued. “We could have—”

“Look,” Nathan said, finishing off his Pop-Tart. “Mom’s not clueless. She can figure this stuff out. We couldn’t have lied our way around this. Trust me.”

I didn’t question him any more. It was just weird to me, the idea of someone who paid that much attention, someone who actually tried to see through the bullshit stories. Sylvia definitely wasn’t like my mother.

“All right, kids.” Sylvia appeared in the doorway of the dining room. “I’m going to the office to do some last-minute research for this trial. I shouldn’t be gone long. Keep an eye on Bailey for me, please. Whitley…” She looked at me for a long moment, then shook her head. “You’re grounded for the week, unless your father says otherwise.”

Oh, well, I thought. It’s not like there’s anything to do in this town, anyway.

“Nathan, come on,” she said. “I’ll drive you to the gym on my way.”

“Okay. Give me a second to grab my stuff.”

She nodded and walked back into the living room.

“Why is she driving you?” I asked as Nathan crumpled his Pop-Tart wrapper.

“I lost car privileges for two weeks,” he said. “I can’t go anywhere unless she or Greg drives me. So, basically, I’m grounded.”

It didn’t seem fair that Nathan was being punished for two weeks when I only got one. Not that I felt sorry for him, but he really hadn’t done anything wrong. Sure, he’d made up the lie, but he’d stayed sober and taken care of Bailey when I hadn’t. I decided to keep my mouth shut, though. I should be grateful I got off easy by comparison.

“Why is she letting you go to the gym, then?” I asked.

“I have to stay in shape for basketball,” he said, taking his trash and empty glass of milk into the kitchen. “The season doesn’t start for a while, but it’ll be easier to get back into the swing of things if I keep working out.”

“I didn’t know you played basketball,” I said, nibbling on my bagel.

“You never came to a single game in high school?”

“If I did, I was usually hanging out under the bleachers.”

Nathan sighed and walked back into the dining room. “Well, then, yes. I do play basketball. I got a scholarship to UK and everything.”

I stopped chewing for a moment and stared at him. “UK?” I repeated. “You mean the University of Kentucky.”

“Uh-huh.”

As if this summer with Nathan weren’t awkward enough, we would be going to the same college come late August. I tried to tell myself that UK was huge and the chances of us running into each other were probably slim, but I knew, I just knew, that wouldn’t be the case. With my shitty luck, I’d probably have every class with him, or we’d live on the same floor.

“All right. I’m getting out of here.”

I nodded, swallowing a piece of bagel. “Fine. Um, do you care if I use your computer? I’m kind of bored and wanted to surf the Web.”

“No,” Nathan said quickly. “I mean, yes, I do mind.” He snapped the laptop shut and tucked it under his arm. “It’s defragging, so it’ll be a while before anyone can use it.”

“Ooo-kay,” I said. “Whatever.”

It was so obvious he was lying. Maybe he did have porn on there.

“Right. Well, I’ll see you later, Whit.” He carried his laptop out of the dining room, leaving me sitting alone at the table.

After Sylvia and Nathan had gone and I finished eating, I went upstairs. I’d barely been in my room five seconds when my cell phone started to ring.

“Hey, Boozy!” Harrison said as soon as I picked up. “You hanging out with the toilet today?”

“Hardly. That was nothing last night,” I said.

“Oh, really? God, I’d be afraid to see something, then. So what’s up today, babe? Bonding with the stepbrother?”

“No,” I said. “He went to the gym.”

There was a long silence, and I heard Harrison let out a low sigh. I knew he must be imagining Nathan all sweaty and shirtless on the treadmill… or the exercise bike… with those lean, muscled arms and…

Christ, now I was thinking about it, too. Not a good idea.

“So,” I said, clearing my throat. “What’s up?”

“Not much. Just wondering if you had plans today.”

“Nope.”

“Want to hang out?”

“I can’t,” I said. “Grounded for the week. I’m not allowed to leave the house.”

“That blows.”

“I know.”

“Hmm.” He paused, then said, “Well, are you allowed to have people over to visit?”