Page 16 of Our Darkest Summer
“I’m not mixing them up,” she protested, but I knew it was a lie. Even if she didn’t mean it to be. “Who better to help than me?” She crossed her arms over her chest with a determined expression.
“That’s a no.” I moved, keeping my distance from her. I didn’t trust myself around her, especially not after tonight. “You read the message, and you read the letter. Something more is going on here than I thought. I told you about it so you can decidewhether you want to stay for the week with Connor or leave. Helping is not an option.” I shook my head.
If someone wanted us to leave town, it was a risk enough to let them stay. Allowing her to help was off the table. She looked down at the paper in her hand and bit her bottom lip. I looked away, trying to keep myself cool. I needed to focus. You would think that after years of readying myself for law school I could keep my shit together, but somehow Kinsley always knew how to push my buttons.
“Maybe it’s just a stupid joke,” she said, folding the paper into her palm. “Maybe this has nothing to do with your mom’s case,” she added in a way, that suggested she was trying to convince herself just as much as me.
“Maybe it is.” I nodded, my voice calmer. I would’ve lied through my teeth, if it meant she would stay away. But it was too much of a coincidence for me to believe it had nothing to do with it.
“But you can never know,” she continued. “I want to stay, and I want to help.” Her voice was determined.
I sighed.
Everyone had their obsessions. Mysteries waiting to be solved were Kinsley’s—I raised my eyes at her—and she was mine. And sometimes, you just had to walk away from the things you wanted most in the world. My heart hammered in my chest. She was my responsibility while we were here, and I knew myself enough to know that I couldn’t do my best if I was always looking out for her.
“Kins—”
The sound of a car door closing cut me off, and the two of us moved in sync. I opened the front door, keeping her behind me with my free hand, until—my eyes landed on my car, and I swallowed the breath I was taking, struggling not to cough. Kinsley took the opportunity to poke her head out.
“Well, damn.” She let out a relieved chuckle like we didn’t just witness my little brother making out with Kevin Miller on the hood of my car.
Chapter Nine
Kinsley
I’ve been fascinatedwith mysteries ever since I was a little girl. I used to spend my afternoons at my nan’s house while my mom worked, and because she spent most of her time watching crime shows on her old TV, I did too. When I was ten, we started to make a game out of it. Whoever solved the case before the detectives could choose the dessert we would eat the next day. For years it was pecan pie, my nan’s favorite, but shortly after I turned thirteen, I finally started to master the game. I could see signs I didn’t catch before and as the time passed we ate more and more cheesecake instead of pie. That was when she gifted me her mystery books to read. They were harder to predict and figure out than TV shows were, and it was intriguing. It wasn’t long before I fell in love with each of them.
So, what does one do when a cold case suddenly drops at their feet? Well, I guess most people would leave, but as soon as Thomas initiated me, my brain started to twirl, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
“I asked you to bring my car home, not to make out with my brother on it,” Thomas’ voice was calm, but the boys still froze.
Connor slowly opened his eyes, and his gaze widened. He slipped away from Kevin, who twisted around to face us. For amoment the four of us just stood there like statues, staring at each other. Then Connor marched toward the house.
“I’m twenty, for fucks sake,” he grumbled as he passed us, and I looked up at Thomas, trying to see what set Connor off…well, besides us ruining his make-out session. But whatever it was, he already hid it.
He walked down the stairs with chilling stillness and that was my cue to leave. I turned around and followed Connor back into the house.
I found him on the couch in front of the TV, turning on the same show as before the party. He pulled his legs up and was struggling with a huge big blanket, so I grabbed the edge of it to help him.
“Thanks,” he said, tucking half of it under himself and holding up the other half for me. “You think he’s angry?” he asked as I crawled under the blanket as well. “Because of the car.”
“Thomas is unreadable,” I muttered, my thoughts still wrapped around their mom’s case. How could we find out who sent the letter? Was there a possibility that the post office had any kind of database to look into? “What’s it called?” I asked, pointing at the TV show in hope it would distract us both.
Connor sucked in a sharp breath and jerked his head toward me. “Don’t tell me you don’t know this show.” He spoke with such passion I couldn’t decide if I should really answer him or not. Luckily I didn’t need to. “Miss Kinsley Green,I only watch crime shows,” he sighed, and I snorted.
Something like that.
“OrScooby Doo,” he added and my grin widened. Who didn’t loveScooby Doo? “It’s calledModern Family,by the way.” He nodded toward the screen. “My latest obsession.”
I sank deeper into the couch and we stayed there, watchingModern Family—which I had to admit was entertaining—whilewe waited for Thomas to come inside. After a while, our heads bumped against each other, and we fell asleep.
???
I woke with sharp pain in my left leg and my arms. I opened my eyes very slowly trying to adjust them to the blinding light that streamed into the living room through the huge windows. I lifted my head just enough to find the source of my pain, but my view was blocked by a dark green fabric. I needed a second to realize it was Connor’s pants, the same ones he wore to the party yesterday. Last night came back to me in a blink. We fell asleep on the couch waiting for Thomas to come inside. And now one of Connor’s legs rested on my arm while his head was pressing into my ankle. I groaned and lifted his leg off me, before freeing myself fully, trying my best not to wake him up. I fixed the white dress I had been wearing since last night and grabbed my phone from the coffee table to check the time. It was only eight in the morning, but to my surprise, two texts already waited for me.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
Converse Girl, u left without saying goodbye
