Page 5 of Our Darkest Summer
The moment the helmet was gone, the stranger asked, “Are you moving in or just here for the summer?” I raised my eyebrows, and the boy brushed his straight, dark hair from his forehead. He jumped off his dirt bike and made his way up the stairs.
“Sorry, but who are you?” I dodged his question, glancing toward the door to make sure it was still open in case I needed to retreat.
His skin was slightly sun kissed in a way that implied he’d been here for a while now, and he wore a dark gray T-shirt, withCaltech 2020printed on it, meaning one of two things: either he goes there, or he wants to, which put him in an age range between eighteen and twenty-two, roughly. But it was enough to just look at him to know that he was around my age anyway.
“Braxton Lee, at your service.” He grinned, and from this distance, I could see the slight sunburn on his nose. “I’m the neighbor.”
I arched a brow and looked around incredulously. I definitely didn’t see any other house around here. “Sure,” I answered, giving him one last suspicious look before I turned to leave.
“I’m having a party tonight.” He caught up with me. “The Lee parties are legendary around here. You should stop by if you want.”
Before I had the chance to even consider answering, footsteps approached from inside the house, and we both turned our heads toward the sound.
“Kinsley, you need to—” Thomas emerged from the house, stopping mid-movement when he noticed us. His eyebrowswinced, which was the small sign of his annoyance? I couldn’t tell.
“Rhodes?” Braxton broke the momentary silence, his voice cracking. So they knew each other. Which meant Braxton Lee was probably wasn’t lying about being the neighbor. “I haven’t seen you in forever, man.” He took a step closer, his arm outstretched.
“Lee.” Thomas’ answer came with a measured tone, shaking the other boy’s hand. I bit back the smile creeping up on my face. I still enjoyed the simple sight of Thomas Rhodes, being entirely uncomfortable.
I moved around him, stepping toward the threshold.
“I really thought you sold this place.” Braxton’s words stopped me once again, and I turned back to see him looking up at the house. “I was just telling your girlfriend, I thought she was moving in.”
Thomas visibly stiffened, and I forced out a snort, my heart plummeting.
“I’m not his girlfriend,” I cleared, adjusting the bag on my shoulder. “You were telling me about a party.” I added, before neither of them could’ve reacted.
Braxton’s grin returned. “I’ll send the address over to you.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. The look on his face was smug enough to make me curious of how did he plan to do that without having my number or my name. I really hoped he wasn’t planning on asking Thomas for it, because I had a feeling I could already say goodbye to the party then.
I crossed the threshold and closed the door just as Braxton struck up a conversation about Thomas’ father, thebigJosh Rhodes—his words, not mine—owner of the Rhodes Architecture and Design firm. At least Thomas was tortured a bit. I smiled at the thought of that, and set my bags down at the entrance.
The house was everything it promised from the outside. A comforting wooden design echoed through the open space, melding modern and rustic seamlessly. To my left stood the kitchen, a big island anchoring the space. To my right was the living room, with two couches, a TV, and a stone fireplace. My eyes rounded as I took in the wall made entirely of glass. I walked closer to it, while trying to push down the desire to explore as much of this place as I could.
The glass wall looked out over another porch, though this one faced the forest behind the house instead of the lake. My eyes lingered on the darkness between the tree trunks, and for a moment, it felt as though someone stared back at me from within. The front door closed with a big thump, and I jumped a little, the hairs rising on the back of my neck despite the sound breaking the odd sensation. I blew out a small breath to calm my nerves, and the moment my heart stopped pounding, I felt it.
Thomas’ eyes were on me from where he stood between the front door and the stairs. I was expecting him to say something about the party or Braxton but he didn’t. I still tended to forget that we weren’t likethatanymore. Instead his gaze held mine and we just stood there frozen in time, until footsteps thumped on the stairs.
“What took you so long?” Connor called, and I broke my gaze away from Thomas’. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs next to his brother and looked back and forth between the two of us. When neither of us answered, he let out a sigh. “Gosh, I’m glad we got invited to that party, because I’ve no idea how else I would survive being stuck between four walls with you two.”
“We got an invitation?” I asked, surprised and he held out his phone to me.
The temptation was enough to have me crossing the space. I looked at the screen, my lips parting in disbelief. A red pin,pointed to a location not far from where we were. Underneath it, a simple statement:
You’re officially invited to the party of the summer! Hosted by none other than the legendary, Braxton Lee.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to see the same invitation Connor got, followed by an anonymous text.
UNKNOWN NUMBER
are u impressed?
I read the message twice before I typed back.
ME
I’m guessing you’re already a student at Caltech
