Page 64 of I Can't Even

I was already shaking my head, stopping her with a hand on her thigh when she went to take her trash.

She looked down at me, both of us completely ignoring the two across the table from us, and said, “Yeah?”

“Be careful, okay?” I pleaded.

She nodded her head, her shoulders loosening as she said, “I’ll do my best.”

That was what I was afraid of.

Her best wasn’t good enough, and we both knew it.

I watch Quaid fold sheets the same way he watches me eat a banana.

—Ellodie’s secret thoughts

ELLODIE

I didn’t know what I expected when I went to the family home of Germaine and Garnett Carter.

I mean, logically, I knew there would be a lot of people there.

What I hadn’t planned on was that all of the people would be there.

We were among the first to show.

The only person besides Germaine and Garnett themselves that was there was Auden.

Auden was halfway through a beer, and it looked like he’d been there a while based on the snack wrappers surrounding him.

“You got any more of those?” I asked curiously as I looked at the decimated snack cakes, and possibly empty box of Zebra Cakes.

He leaned forward and dumped out a single Zebra Cake, making me smile.

I caught it up and pulled it open just as Garnett walked into the room with a box of Cosmic Brownies.

“Ohh,” I murmured as I bit into the snack cake but kept my eyes on the real prize.

Those brownies.

“Thanks, Mom,” Quaid grinned as she handed him the box.

I held out my hand for a brownie, which he readily gave me.

“Got any milk, Mamasauce?” he asked.

“In the hallway fridge,” she answered.

“Get me some, too!” I called behind him.

He flashed me a wink over his shoulder, then disappeared into the hallway, leaving me alone with Garnett and Auden staring at me.

“What’s your favorite snack cake?” he asked me.

I took another bite of the cake he’d given me, before lifting my hand up with the Cosmic Brownie.

“These,” I answered. “By far the most superior snack cake. However, these are a close second.”

He flashed me a grin and jerked his head at my snack cake. “You’re lucky he gave that to you, to be honest. He would’ve thrown a fit if he’d had to share with one of us.”

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