Page 13 of Until We Burn
The air in the war room tenses. Bàba’s presence grips the mansion in a chokehold that makes all of us go quiet. Only the faint thuds of his footsteps and mama’s chattering seep into the silence. The French doors part. We rise to our feet as mama sweeps out her arms.
“Wo de qin’ài de!”My darlings!
We hug and kiss her, careful not to ruffle her bouffant and the blush on her cheeks.
A tall shadow suddenly looms over her as bàba steps into the room. I swallow hard. My siblings file into a line beside me.
The smoldering chandelier lights dawn over the sharp planes of Edward Huang’s stern face and the disapproving curve of his lips.
He glowers at Sophia. “I thought I left an appropriate outfit for you to wear.”
“You did. I didn’t want to wear it,” Sophia says. Her head is held high, yet her fists curl up at her side. This is a fight I stay out of. Sophia has been waging it ever since she was sixteen and she hated it when anyone tried to help her. As childish as it seems to obstinately wear pink, it’s the last piece of her that Sophia refuses to let bàba take away.
Jonathan rolls his eyes and placates bàba with a steady hand on his shoulder. “She’s already attending the dinner. Let’s not push it. We’re running short on time.”
Bàba relents. His gaze unhitches from Sophia and glints proudly at Jonathan. “Thank you for handling the meeting tonight.” He pats Jonathan’s cheek. “I know I can always depend on you.”
They smile at each other. Jealousy pricks my heart, fueling all the insecurities in my head that tell me I’m not doing enough to be in Jonathan’s place.
“They’re all up to date with what needs to be done tonight,” Jonathan declares. “They’re prepared to present their speeches on how they’d further the business partnerships after you resign.”
My breath catches.
Sophia goes pale. “We are.”
The question lingering at the end of her words is faint. Stifled. But Jonathan hears it, and his smile sharpens.
His silence earlier makes sense now.
He was weaponizing our argument with Gregory. He wanted us to be so riled up with each other that we wouldn’t be level-headed enough to handle a curveball like this.
“You said we would only be familiarizing ourselves with the CEOs and business advisors,” Gregory seethes.
“That’s right.” Jonathan shrugs. “And what better way to do that than in a speech? The CEOs and the advisors are looking forward to it.”
That’s the other thing with bàba’s tactics: You can decide how much you want to share.
I don’t give Jonathan the satisfaction of watching me react. In the news world, everything changes fast. You need to be on your feet,ready to tackle the issue no matter which direction it swerves. Blowing up means you aren’t prepared. I will never let either of them see that, even if I’m sinking under the knowledge that I have to come up with a speech to impress our business partners in so little time, and the fate of my future hinges on every move I make past this point.
Pressure swells inside of me. I take a deep breath before faking a smile that I pray they can’t see through.
I can handle this. I always do.
CHAPTER 6
KAI
“Ohhh,true American! Shitty barbarian! We don’t give a fuck, we come rolling in again!”
The boys scream the words to “Never Back Down” by The Rocks. The bass blasts through the speakers in the locker room, riling up every guy on the team as we take off our gear. The stench of sweat and old socks stinks up the room. I’m so desensitized to it at this point that it’s comforting as much as it’s fucking disgusting.
“We got power! We don’t cower! Doo-doo-doooo!”Jonas bobs his head to the beat and rattles my shoulders. I throw my head back, laughing hard.
Luke whips off his jersey and flings his head back.
“Say what you mean! Give me your wors—”his voice cracks.
The boys burst out laughing. Rowan and I collapse against the wall, tears springing out of our eyes.
