stifle a laugh. âCould we be any more doomed?â he muttered.
âEmma, button your top,â my mother said.
âDo you really think you can waltz in here after leaving me on my own for months and months, and start bossingââ
âPlease, Emma,â my mother implored. âFor your father.â
I grumbled, but took pity on my dad and buttoned my top. Bennett looked amused. Guys think itâs funny when theyâve been caught in flagrante a âfor a dead language, Latin could sometimes be quite aptâbut, as a girl, I was supposed to feel ashamed.
Well, I wasnât ashamed. Okay, I was a little embarrassed, but mostly I was pissed. At everyone in my life for appearing and disappearing whenever they felt like it. At having this power I didnât ask for, and all the responsibilities that went with it. I could feel my skin begin to prickle with pent-up anger and frustration.
âGet out!â I said. âAll of you.â
âEmmaââ my father started.
âPlease! Can I just get dressed in peace?â I was close to breaking down, and my voice cracked. âIs that too much to ask?â
Bennett rested his hand on my shoulder for a second, then stood. He sort of herded my parents into the hallway, then shot me one last look before closing the door behind him.
I flopped back on the bed and screamed into my pillow.
I took a long shower and stressed about my parents. Had they only come back for the holiday, or were they here to take me home to San Francisco? I couldnât leave without finishing Neosâthey had to know that, right? As I dried off and dressed, I tried to figure out how Iâd convince them to let me stay. Then I worried that maybe the Sterns had called them to take me away.
I didnât want to be thinking about any of that. I fingered the heavy silver band Bennett had given me. It was Christmas, and all I wanted to do was focus on my boyfriendsurprising me with his presence and his presentâso I spent some time making myself presentable. No stains on my gray sweater or black skirt, and no runs in my black patterned tights. I added some blush to my lip-gloss-and-styling-stick routine, but wiped it off because it made me look like I had a sunburn. Still, I looked better than I usually did. Though I think Bennett wouldâve preferred me
out
of my clothes.
When I stepped into the hallway, I found Lukas leaning against the wall outside my door, looking repentant.
âWhatâs up with you?â
âDude, Iâm sorry,â he said. âYour parents asked me where your room was.â
I gaped at him. âAnd you told them?â
âI had no idea Bennett was in there with you,â he explained.
Natalieâs door swung open. âYour parents came?â Her expression was a little forlorn, or maybe jealous, I couldnât tell. Then her face changed, like a light switching on. âSo wait, not only did
Bennettâs
parents find you guys together, but now
yours
did, too?â
âYup.â
âNo!â She started giggling. âOh, God! Were you naked again?â
âWhen was she naked?â Lukas asked.
Natalie gasped out an explanation between giggles. Halfway through, Lukas started laughing, too.
âI wasnât naked! At least, not all the way.â Which forsome reason they found even funnier. âWe are so cursed,â I mumbled, and marched downstairs into the fray.
I found them all in the kitchen. My parents sat huddled in the breakfast nook across from Bennett and his parents, all of them looking awkward and unhappy.
âThere you are,â my mother said.
âYeah,â I said. â
Iâm
the one whoâs hard to track down.â
My father murmured something like, âNow, now, Emma,â then everyone fell silent.
Celeste handed me a cup of tea, steeped for a long time with a splash of milk, just the way I liked it. There was no room for me at
Bret Witter, Luis Carlos Montalván