Page 41 of Tell No Lies

I lost myself for over two hours before another girl opened the door and asked if she could use the room.

I gathered my things and my bag and headed to my car. I sent Brandon a text letting him know where I was and when I would be home. I knew I was going to be on a short leash for a while. I was shocked he’d even let me go to the studio by myself. I had visions of an ice bath when I got home. Otherwise, I would be too sore for practice tomorrow.

I bought a few bags of ice on my way and waddled through the front door trying to keep a grip on the bags, my dance bag, and my backpack.

I made it a few feet when voices caught me off guard. Brandon had been working late most nights, so I wasn’t expecting anyone to be here for a few hours. Dropping the bags on the floor, I called out for him.

“Hey, Aubrey, we’re in the living room.”

We?

Brandon was sitting on the couch next to Carter with a pizza box between them.

“What’s going on, slackers?”

Carter pulled his gaze off the flat screen long enough to nod and smile before turning back.

I looked at the TV, trying to figure out what had their attention. Basketball. Of course. Soon there was a commercial break, and Brandon turned to me.

“Anything interesting happen today, little sister?” He touched a finger to the edge of his glasses, sliding them up.

I held his gaze. I learned long ago to never admit to anything first. Let him tell me what he knew.

“Anything at all?” Holding out longer earned me a raised eyebrow. He knew something. Nothing interesting had happened, except for Mike, but how could he know that? Actually, there was Mckayla, Diane … even Mike could have already told him.

“We’re going to start a new lab in chemistry next week. We might even get to use real chemicals finally.” I said it with a straight face, not wanting to cave in yet.

“That is interesting. Anything else?”

“I worked on my solo for two hours. I’m pretty comfortable with it now. I actually got ice for a bath, so if you don’t have anything you need to talk to me about, I’m going to go put that in my tub.” I turned, hoping for a quick escape.

“Sit.”

Or not.

“You’re honestly not going to tell me about Mike?” He feigned hurt.

“You already knew.”

“How did you know?”

“I’m not usually greeted by an inquisition of my daily activities.” I folded my arms over my chest. Discussing this in front of Carter didn’t feel right, especially since I’d landed him in the hospital just two days ago.

“Enough with the attitude, munchkin. So, you and Mike? How did that happen?”

“He told me he didn’t want to be just friends anymore, so we’re trying the couple-thing.”

“Well, I’m happy for you. Mike’s a good guy, and I know he really likes you.”

“Yeah, I know.”

I snuck a look at Carter. He had been silent through this conversation and was staring straight ahead at the muted TV. There was nothing I wanted more than to be able to read his mind right then.

I waited for a few more heartbeats and finally fled the room before either of them could see my disappointment. I was happy about being with Mike, as long as I didn’t think about Carter. That was probably not a good sign.

The ice bath came as a sort of punishment for myself. I shivered in the cold as random shots of pain assaulted my body. After a few more minutes, I stood and toweled off.

The one upside of the torture session was how it cleared my mind. Carter made it clear how he felt about me, and I needed to accept that. I wasn’t going to let some unrequited crush ruin what I had right in front of me.