Page 33 of Reckless

When she finally hung up, she continued to pretend I wasn’t there.

“I should have seen that coming,” I started. “The life coaching. It suits you.”

“Thanks,” she murmured, and I smiled.

“It’s another predictable thing about you though.”

“And yet, you didn’t see it coming.” She paused for a moment. “People like predictability, Tyler. They need it. It makes them feel safe. In control.”

I wanted to ask her what made her feel at risk in the first place, but it was a question way too personal for my liking, so I settled for arguing with her again.

“Life is supposed to be fun.”

“Life is what you do every day. The simple, sometimes dull things you have to do every single day. You can’t live only for the fun stuff and avoid everything else.”

I shot her a look and I found out she was still sitting at her desk. She was watching me but didn’t try to make me get off her bed.

“Let’s drive around and visit the venues,” I suggested and surprised even myself. “I’m done with the phone calls.”

“We don’t have time for that.” She shook her head. “We should just make the phone calls. Your way is slower.”

“My way is more fun.”

“We are not doing it to have fun,” she argued.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t have some.”

“I don’t…,” she started but I cut her off.

“I will drive around to visit some of them, and you can call the rest from the car.” I stood up and opened the door. “I will wait for you downstairs.”

Chapter Eleven

Tyler

Seven years ago

IwasinSeattlevisiting a friend from college. I didn’t know my younger sister was there, even though I could have figured it out if I gave it a thought. She spent a few weeks with dad every August.

The big surprise was that that particular summer Hannah Spencer came with her.

I planned on crashing at my friend’s house, but my father wanted me to spend some time with Clem, as if she was visiting me there and not him. I had no intensions of complying with his request to stay at his house, but I promised to go and spend a few hours with the girls.

Dad’s girlfriend Adina greeted me while talking on the phone with someone. She waved me in, and I followed her. We entered the living room and she pointed to the windows.

Clem sat outside by the pool. Alone.

I strolled over to her. The moment she saw me, her body stiffened. She flipped the piece of paper she was holding and covered the box of crayons next to her. High school girls were so secretive. Like I was interested in a seventeen-year-old girl’s secrets.

“Hey, little monster,” I spread my arms wide as if I was waiting for her to stand up and throw herself at me. That wasn’t her style, so she rolled her eyes instead.

“Dad made you come after all.”

Not a question. A statement. A truth. There wasn’t any point in me lying to her about it, so I nodded.

“I’m not alone,” she said. “You can go do your thing. You don’t have to sit here and be a buffer between me and Adina.”

“And this is why you are my favorite family member,” I settled down on the sunbed right next to her. “Anything interesting back home I should know about?”

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