Part 2 (2/2)

”Okay, so I find a way to avoid going back for a week or so?”

”Mom and Dad will absolutely go for that plan. School? Pah! Not that important.”

”Do you think they've heard yet about what happened? They might take pity on me.”

”Well, seeing as Reece gave them all the gory details at dinner, I'm going to say yes, they've probably heard about what happened.”

I throw my head back, letting it smack against the back of my computer chair.

”Well, I'm voting no on the whole you skipping a week of school' thing anyway,” she adds. ”I went through the entire day barely talking to anyone besides Reece at lunch. We were supposed to have a cla.s.s together, and instead, I ended up having to sit by myself in all four of my cla.s.ses for this semester.”

I'd never say it out loud, but I'm not surprised Rhiannon didn't talk to many people today-in spite of all the extra attention our family has been getting. She has this vibe about her that warns people off, and her expression is always dead serious. For people who don't know her, it can be kind of intimidating.

For people who have known her for her entire life, it can be kind of intimidating.

”You like sitting by yourself,” I say. And she does. Rhiannon means business when it comes to school and has gotten annoyed with anyone who tries to distract her in cla.s.s since she was eight.

But I feel bad anyway. I'm not the only Donovan sister who's most comfortable keeping to herself. I know how important it can be to have someone who you know isn't silently judging you.

And now I'm a moron who doesn't know when to keep her thoughts to herself and a c.r.a.ppy sister.

”Fine.” I throw my hands up in defeat. ”I'll be there tomorrow.” It's not like I ever really had a choice in the matter. ”So tell me about it... What did I miss? Was it pretty much like any other math cla.s.s ever?”

”Too early to tell,” she says. ”I'm getting the impression that all of our cla.s.ses here are going to be easier than the ones at Ashmore.”

”It's a little sick that you seem disappointed at that.”

”Shut up.” Rhiannon reaches over and pelts me with one of my throw pillows, narrowly missing my dinner, which I still haven't touched.

”When I got to cla.s.s, there were only two seats left together, against the wall in the back. But since you never showed, some random guy ended up sitting beside me. He didn't seem to get the hint that I wasn't interested in talking or hearing all about how... Never mind. It was stupid.”

”Was there a guy with a green streak in his hair by any chance?”

”Um. I don't think so. Why?”

Hope falls flat into the pit of my stomach. ”Never mind. It was random. Where's my seat? There had to have been at least one left since I wasn't there.”

”Two rows up.”

”Trade with me,” I offer. ”You know you'd rather be sitting closer to the front and that I'd rather be the one hiding in the back-even if that means finding new and creative ways to avoid overly chatty people. Also, I'm your favorite sister and you want me to be happy.”

After the day I've had, I guess I'll be going out of my way to hide out in the back of any and all cla.s.srooms from here on out. If Rhiannon can help give me a head start, then I'm all for it.

”You make a compelling argument,” she says, laughing. Her smile looks just like our dad's, whereas Reece, Reilly and I smile more like, well, each other.

”This will sound incredibly cheesy,” I warn her, ”but it's really nice to see you smiling again. You were so p.i.s.sed for so long and I wasn't sure if you'd ever get back to normal. Not that normal you smiles that much either.”

At first, she scowls at me, but the expression quickly melts back into a grin. ”I know what you mean,” Rhiannon says, and I'm glad I didn't send her spiraling back into miserable-b.i.t.c.h mode. ”I'm getting there. There was just so much going on that you guys didn't know about.”

”So, what is it then?” I try to keep my tone casual, but this is the first thing all night that has truly taken my mind off what happened. There's a chance that pity alone will be enough to get her to start talking.

We've all asked Rhiannon about what has been up with her, and as soon as we do, she clams up. Maybe, if I don't make a big deal out of how she's been acting these past weeks, she'll open up. Either that, or she'll do it to take my mind off my own personal misery.

Is it wrong to hope for that? Probably.

Rhi takes a deep breath, and I have no idea if she's bracing herself to explain everything she's been going through or about to tell me to f.u.c.k off and mind my own business. I'm prepared for either.

”You swear you won't go blabbing this to anyone else?” she asks.

I can barely wrap my head around what I'm hearing. My first instinct is to squeal, pinkie swear, and promise to do whatever she wants if she'll just tell me all her secrets. That would be the wrong approach-Rhiannon is like a baby deer, always skittish and overly cautious. Anything could scare her off.

Honestly, I'm surprised it isn't Reece she decided to confide in. Reece has a code, and she'll never tell on one of her sisters or share any of our secrets without permission no matter how many times the rest of us screw up on that particular note.

”Of course.” I nod solemnly.

”There was this guy.” She pauses, considering her words. ”There is this guy. I met him three weeks before Mom told us we were moving. At that art festival I went to. You remember-the one I had to go to on my own because Reilly was sick and you guys wouldn't go with me.”

A guy. All this time, it's been a guy she's been pining for.

I think my mind may have just exploded or I've somehow been teleported to a bizarre alternate dimension.

I swallow hard and try to come up with something to say. The last thing I expected was for Rhiannon to confess to anything to do with dating or guys. She's never shown interest in anything like that-guys, girls, dating, serious relations.h.i.+ps, none of it. Though now I understand why it isn't Reece she's talking to. Even a hint of Rhiannon's dating would have Reece dancing around like a moron and teasing Rhiannon behind the rest of our backs. She'd never hear the end of it until Reece had somehow taken over Rhi's entire relations.h.i.+p somehow. Which is, I'm fairly certain, the last thing Rhiannon would ever want.

For a full minute, Rhiannon says nothing, and finally, I can't take it anymore.

”So tell me about him,” I prompt. ”Who is he? What's he like? Are you guys still together even though..?”

”Yes. We're still together.” Her tone is harsher than what I'm used to hearing from Rhiannon, who is usually the epitome of no-nonsense and logic. ”Just because we don't live in Richmond anymore doesn't mean we're not together. We still text almost every day and keep trying to Skype, but our schedules never match up.”

My plan hadn't been to put her on the defensive, and I'm not sure how to undo the damage now. ”Okay... I'm trying to be chill about this, but you're killing me here. What's his name? You can at least give me that!”

”Derrick,” she says and then cracks a smile. It's the most genuinely happy I've seen her look in a month. ”He's a student at VSU. He writes music and works at an auto shop.”

”Wait, what? How old is this guy?”

”Only two years older than us.”

I nod and smile, stalling for time until I can come up with a response. Our parents have strict rules about who Reece can date, but that's because Reece would date pretty much anyone. The topic has never come up with me, and as far as I know, they haven't broached it with Rhiannon either. Yet I'm somehow still confident they wouldn't be all that excited about her having a secret boyfriend who is already in college.

”And why didn't we ever meet this mystery guy? Derrick.” My voice comes out dull and lifeless. I should try and make it sound like I'm teasing her or something, but I can't. It's hard to process any of this. Rhiannon has a secret boyfriend. An older, secret boyfriend. An older, secret boyfriend whose existence has been making her miserable for weeks already. I did not see any of this coming.

No part of me ever would have pegged Rhi for the type to become this obsessed over a guy, but I guess that, if it were me, I'd do the same thing. I can't imagine finally finding someone and then being forced away from them a few weeks later with almost no notice. It must have been awful and it's hard not to wish she had told us and let us help her if we could.

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