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I rub my chin, not knowing what to make of this. “Yeah. That is weird.”
“I know! At first, I chalked it up to him trying to get in contact with Thomas, since I’ve heard him bitching at Mom about how Thomas won’t return his calls. And maybe he wondered if I’d seen you ’cause he was trying to interrogate me on any inside information at Moore’s. But now it’s just… weird.”
I know why I don’t return Stan’s calls, but why wouldn’t Thomas? Before he walked away from Moore’s, my brother and Stan got along just fine. Thomas is the only kid my dad actually likes.
“Did you know I actually skipped class to feed Mike? I was worried Dad would follow me to your place if I headed straight there. And we all know how you don’t like Dad in your space.”
Bless her. “I’m sorry you missed class. But I really appreciate you feeding Mikey this morning.”
“Yeah, well, if I missed something vital to the mid-term, you’re taking one for the team and sleeping with my professor to get me an A.”
I bark out a laugh, relieved her sense of humor seems to be returning. “I’m not sleeping with your professor. You can’t pimp me out to women for your benefit.”
“Who said my professor was a woman?”
I snort. “Nice.”
Her laugh relaxes me. I don’t know what’s up with Stan, but I don’t like when my sister is involved in any of our dad’s shit. He mentioned cutting Liz off earlier, but I don’t know why he would now, as I’ve kept up my end of the deal. The quarterly reports are in, and Moore’s is finally back in the black. Barely, but it’s there. And now I’m sure that with Bell’s help we’re going to have a Renaissance year. So why is the old man pissed now?
“Sorry I’m out of sorts, bro. Things at the house have just been awkward. I meant to call you a few days ago, but I got distracted by this mid-term project coming up.”
“That’s okay. Class comes first, Lizzy.”
“Ugh. Stop with the Lizzy.”
“Sure thing.” We both know that’s a lie.
She mumbles something I can’t understand before brushing me off. “Anyway, Thomas is going into Dad’s office when Dad isn’t home. I caught him coming out, and he asked me not to say anything. I just shrugged and walked to the kitchen, so I didn’t technically agree not to say anything, so I’m not really lying. Right?”
Dad’s office? What the hell is Thomas doing sneaking into Dad’s office?
“Chase?”
“Uh, yeah, right. Fuck Thomas anyway.”
Another sigh. This one I’m pretty sure is directed at me. “Even Mom is acting strange, being more reclusive than usual.”
“Is she around when Thomas comes over?”
“She’s in the house, but I haven’t seen her go into the office with him. Why? You think something is going on? Want me to snoop?”
I’m distracted for a moment when I hear the shower shut off.
“Do you?”
“No.” I rub a hand down my face, suddenly exhausted. “There seems to be enough snooping going on at the moment. I think you should move back into your apartment until whatever this is blows over.”
“Really? Are you sure? I mean, I’m not going to lie, I’d move out in a heartbeat at this stage, but I’d feel bad if I left and I could’ve been useful. What if Dad tries to ambush you in your office again? I won’t be at the house to warn you if I hear anything.”
“Don’t worry about that. Just get out of there. You need to focus on school. Besides, I told you that house is toxic.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She pauses. “Hey, on a side note, why couldn’t you feed Mike today?”
The bathroom door opens, steam spilling out. Like a slow-motion movie reel, one bare leg, then another, emerges from the doorway. One of those too-small hotel towels barely covers the top of Bell’s nipples, and when she turns to the closet, the bottom of the towel reveals the underside of her ass cheeks.
“Chase?” She waits for me to answer. “Bro?”
“Huh? What?” I clear my throat and wipe the drool from my chin. “Liz?”
