True Colors (The Masks #1)(70)

“You guys can go hang out in my room if you want or there’s the back deck.” I pointed down the hallway. It was hardly as nice as our large front deck, but it was private.

Micah nodded his thanks and walked Indie down the hall.

I turned back to Julia and chuckled.

“What?” She gently slapped my arm. “They are just all kinds of cute together.”

“I know.” I opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. “I heard them talking yesterday. They’re one of those love at first sight couples.” I unscrewed the cap and took a swig of liquid before leaning against the bench. “So they have been pining for each other for months. Now they finally get to be together.” I couldn’t help a wistful sigh, wishing the same for me. A hard knot formed in my belly and I tried to get rid of it with a few gulps of water. It didn’t work.

Julia finished slicing up some apple for her girls, arranging it neatly on a plate and letting Seth steal a slice before walking it down to the sunken lounge. She came back, munching her own slice, before leaning against the counter and smiling at me.

“How about you, Caity? Any man in the picture?”

It took every ounce of willpower not to dissolve into a blubbering mess. My lips pinched tight and I forced a complacent smile. “I don’t know.” I shrugged. “He’s pretty annoyed at me for getting into trouble yesterday and I’m...I’m not sure where we stand. He said he was going to call me, but...” I pulled out my phone. The screen was still blank. I slid my thumb over it, like I had a hundred times that day, just to check. But my message box was empty. Empty and ominous.

“Well, you should call him.” Julia moved to the counter and started packing away apple remains.

“I’m scared if I do, it’ll be the excuse he’s been waiting for to break up with me.”

“It’s been less than 24 hours, would you relax?” Seth glanced up from his computer screen and received a solid glare from his wife. “What?”

“How did you ever manage to woo me?” She rolled her eyes.

He just grinned and winked, which set her cheeks blooming. I looked away with a scowl.

“It’s not that Chase loser, is it?” Seth took a swig from his beer.

“No, we broke up.” I scratched my forehead. Man, that felt like a millennia ago now. Thank God I didn’t have to deal with him anymore.

“So, who’s the new guy?” Julia rinsed out the dishcloth and wiped it over the chopping board.

I was starting to feel super uncomfortable having this conversation, especially with Seth sitting right there, but I shrugged and stupidly kept talking. “His name’s Eric. He’s a freshman at UCLA.”

“Wait. Eric from next door?” Seth’s brow furrowed as he placed his beer back on the counter. His blue eyes bore into mine. I swallowed. My brother’s eyes narrowed. “So when his car was in our drive last weekend, he was actually here, wasn’t he?”

Oh shit! Crap! Um...

“You know what.” I cleared my throat. “I think Julia’s right. I should go and find him. Talk this out.” I looked to Julia, panic no doubt cresting over my features.

Her lips were pressed together as she fought a giggle.

“Caitlyn.”

I ignored Seth’s firm tone as I yanked the keys from my pocket and made a beeline for the driveway. I wasn’t sure if I’d lose my nerve while driving to the UCLA campus, but it didn’t matter. Anywhere but home with Seth was preferable right now.

Julia’s laughter finally broke free as I reached the front door.

“Chill out, Seth. She’s not twelve. You remember what we were like when we first got together.”

“That’s what worries me.”

Julia giggled again. “Honey, she’s not your daughter, so you don’t have to worry. In fact Kimber’s only eight, so you don’t have to worry about this kind of thing for a least another eight or nine years.”

“Or twenty,” Seth mumbled.

I grinned as I shut the door behind me.

When I spun around my smile disappeared. It was replaced with an open mouthed ‘o’ that I couldn’t seem to get rid of. It stayed in place until Eric reached the bottom of our front steps.

“Hey.” He didn’t smile, doing nothing to ease my tattered nerves.

“Hi.” I stood frozen on the landing.

He shoved one hand into his jean pocket while running the other through his dark locks. “We need to talk.”

“Okay.” I swallowed.

“Walk with me?” He held out his hand and I nervously took it. His grip was a little warmer and tighter today, which was encouraging, but not enough to still my erratic heartbeat. Maybe this was just the calm before the storm.

We walked the streets in silence, Eric keeping his gaze high and steady. I wanted to read him so bad and was tempted when I gazed up at his still expression. I started to peel off his mask a couple of times before catching myself. My willpower was crumbling by the second and I was about to give in when he started talking.

“The thing is, Caity. I um...” He stopped in the middle of the street, scratching his bottom lip. I stood beside him, anxiety making my head pound. Eventually he sighed and locked his gaze with mine. “I’ve been let down a lot by people I care about. I find it really hard to trust, you know?” He pursed his lips, struggling over the confession. “My Dad walked out on me and Mom when I was five. He stuck around, sort of. Following up one broken promise with another...and then he just disappeared altogether. Stopped calling. Stopped trying.” Eric sighed. “Then my stepdad came along and he was great. I really liked him, but Mom just drove him nuts to the point where he couldn’t cope anymore.” He let out a disgusted snort. “After that it was a string of Mom’s boyfriends, always trying so hard to be nice to me and the girls in an attempt to please my mom. As soon they got what they wanted from her, they’d vanish.” His grin was hard and cynical, but eventually started to soften.