Kyle rests his elbows on the table and leans toward me. “Why not?”
I shrug. “I just… Didn’t want to go this year.”
“So, what… You’re gonna stay in Verity Point for however long and work here in your mom’s café?”
“So what if I am? Is that a crime?” I bristle, sitting up straighter. “Not everyone wants to go to college, you know.”
Except I do. I do want to go.
“Hey!” Kyle holds his hands up. “I was only asking. Calm down, Rox.”
I take a deep breath but narrow my eyes at him. “Yes. I’m going to stay in Verity Point and work here in Mom’s café.”
“And next year?”
I hesitate, then shrug again. “I’ll decide when the time comes, I guess.”
He nods slowly, his eyes flitting around the half-full café. “Are you staying here because of Cam?”
“What are you, Dr. Phil?” I snort. “It doesn’t matter why I’m staying. I just am.”
“Wow. Your attitude really does stink sometimes,” Kyle comments as Selena brings over our dinner. She laughs quietly, turning back to the counter.
“What?” I call after her.
She half-smiles. “He has a point.”
I look back to Kyle and the smug smile on his face. “I’m not getting into this again. One unnecessary attitude chat is enough for today.”
Chapter Eight – Kyle
Long, slender fingers curve around my bedroom door and push it open slowly. I fight the twitch on my lips and close my eyes, pretending to be asleep, and count the soft steps on my carpet. One, two, three, four…
“Rah!” I yell, sitting up. My sister screams, jumping backward into my closet, and I laugh loudly.
“You ass**le!” Iz cries, her hand against her chest.
“You should know better than to creep into my bedroom when you think I’m asleep.”
“What the hell was that scream?” Mom asks, rushing into my room. “Oh, Isabel! You’re home!”
“Five minutes and you’re already trying to kill each other,” Dad mutters, following behind Mom.
“I tried sneaking into his room,” Iz sighs.
Dad snorts. “You should know better than to sneak into his room, sweetheart.”
“That’s what I said.” I sit up in bed. “She’s nearly twenty. You’d think she would have learnt she can’t surprise me by now.”
“Alright, brat.” Iz grabs a notebook from my desk and throws it at me. “You win, as usual.”
“Was your flight early?” Mom rushes over to her and hugs her.
“Yep. Why else do you think I’m in Kyle’s room and not on the phone demanding he picks me up from the airport?” She grins.
“Alright, what is this? Family meeting in my room?” I look around.
Iz grins again and moves toward my bed. “Yep. How about a family hug?”
“Yeah… You don’t wanna do that,” I warn, holding my blanket around my waist tightly. I’m pretty certain she doesn’t want to see what is usually under my boxers.
“Right,” she demands. “Get up and get dressed. You can take me for breakfast.”
“I really haven’t missed your bossy ass,” I mutter as she follows our parents out of the room, but she hears and grins at me over her shoulder. “Shut the door!” I yell after her.
She laughs as she skips down the hallway, turning and flashing me that grin again at the top of the stairs. Damn, you’d think Iz was five, not nearly twenty. My feet tangle in my covers as I get up, still holding the sheet round my waist, and push my door shut. Fucking sisters.
I pull on some clothes and head downstairs. The hallway is crowded with Iz’s bags, and I’m pretty sure she’s got at least one extra one in the last six months. My eyebrow raises as I look at her questioningly, pointing a finger toward the suitcases.
“Shut up,” she grumbles, grabbing her jacket from the back of the sofa and opening the front door.
I smirk and slide my feet into my sneakers. I catch up with her halfway down the front path, and she’s flicking her hair over her shoulders so I poke her.
“You’re not in Miami anymore, Iz. No fancy surfers here to impress.”
“Oh, ha ha. You’re such a dick. It was stuck in my jacket.” She shoves me back. “I guess we’re headed to Myra’s?”
“Even though it’s not called Myra’s, yeah.” I stuff my hands in my pockets and shrug. “I can’t afford anything else. I’m a student.”
“So am I!”
“You have a job.”
“And you should get one.”
“Oh yeah. I forgot about all the spare time I have at college.”
Iz frowns at me. “You don’t do anything besides college. I have college and I’m on the cheer team and I can still find time to work and party. Maybe being in a fraternity is frazzling your brain.”
“My brain is not--”
“Let me guess. You spend all your time drinking beer and eying up girls.”
“Hey...” I pause. “Maybe sometimes.”
Definitely since I’ve been home. Except girls is just girl.
“There we go then.”
The cafe is filled with the older generation of Verity Point grabbing their morning coffees, and Myra runs back and forth behind the counter, putting both normal and take out mugs in front of the customers. My sister and I make our way to a table in the corner until the queue has thinned, and she goes to order.
“No Roxy?” Iz looks around when she sits down.
I shrug one shoulder. “Can you see her?”
She hits me with the menu. “Alright, smartass. I just wanted to see her. Believe it or not, I’ve missed her cute little butt.”
Resisting the urge to laugh is harder than I thought. “There’s pretty much nothing cute left about Roxy.”
“I don’t believe it. I mean, I’ve been told the same things you were before we got back, about how she was coping, but I just... I don’t know, Ky. I can’t see it.”
“Yeah, well. I have seen it.” I tell her about the night at Selena’s and the way Roxy was with Tom.
“Well, shit,” Iz mutters and looks up, smiling at Myra with our breakfast in her hands. “Thanks, Myra. How are you?”
“Same as every day, Iz. It’s good to have you both back in town.” Myra puts the plates in front of us and squeezes her shoulder, turning back to the counter.