Page 123 of Wrong For Me

A little time. A little time before we get back to the neighborhood and I’m once again confronted with the twins’ scared little faces. My stomach twists.

A phone starts buzzing incessantly and River curses, reaching into his pocket. He presses a button and tosses the thing into a cup holder in the console.

“Who was that?”

He shoots me a concerned look, like he’s trying to decide if he should tell me. “Dad.”

I nod, stomach twisting all over again. They know. My mom has seen it. Hell, they probably knew before I did. They’re probably the ones who sent Reed and Cash.

“They’re coming home,” he says cautiously. I only nod. At least I’ll have a few hours before I have to face my mom.

His phone continues to ding and buzz. I realize that I don’t even have my phone. I wonder if Cash brought it with him. I guess it doesn’t really matter. There’s not anyone I want to talk to.

Leo. My heart aches when I think of him. Did Leo do this?

That thought hurts so badly I have to gasp to catch my breath. I can’t think about him right now. Like River said, we can figure out how this got out later. Right now, we just need to get home to the family.

To the family. As his phone continues to go crazy in the cupholder, I know exactly who’s trying to get in touch with him. The cousin thread must be exploding right now.

“Have you heard from Will?” I whisper, my voice cracking. God, I wish my best friend was here right now.

“I couldn’t get ahold of him,” he says. “He’s in the recording studio with Eva today. I’ll try again when we get back to the house.”

As we approach our family’s neighborhood, the unease in my chest grows. River silenced his phone but it’s still going crazy in the cupholder, lighting up with messages every few seconds and vibrating whenever someone tries to call.

Clearly, the entire family knows what’s going on by now. I think of all my cousins, waiting around for us to arrive. Will they all be at Reed and Paige’s when we get there? That’s what our family does—circle the wagons. We’re loyal almost to a fault. Everyone will know just how awful I feel about this story and their instinct will be to gather around, to offer comfort and support. It’s usually one of my favorite things about our huge, crazy brood.

But not today. Panic is growing in my chest again, clawing at me until I’m gasping for air. “Rose?” River asks, alarmed, hearing my obvious distress. But I can’t seem to calm down. In just a few minutes, we’ll be home and I’ll have to see everyone. I’ll have to figure out how to put on a brave face and not let on how wrecked I am.

And soon, probably within a few hours, my parents will get home and I’ll have to look into my mom’s face and see exactly how much I hurt her.

“I can’t go home,” I suddenly blurt out. “Don’t take me there, please.”

River glances over at me, confusion on his face. “What? Why not?”

“I just…I can’t, Riv.”

“Rose, it’s the safest place. The most private place.”

“Everyone will be there!” My voice is high, panicked. “Please, Riv. I don’t want to see everyone. I don’t want all the younger kids…Not right now.” I swallow hard, close to tears. I know that as soon as I start crying, I won’t be able to stop. But I also know I cannot go into my uncle’s house and put on a brave face for my family.

River is quiet for a moment. Finally, he sighs and puts on his blinker, turning off the road that will take us home. “Where do you want to go?”

I don’t even have to think. “Call Uncle Lennon.”

“What? Why?”

I take a deep breath. “Because he’ll be the easiest one to talk into letting us use the jet.”