“Well, I’m not really on a diet, but I work out a lot to keep my stamina and strength up, eating too much sugar just makes it harder to do so. I don’t like going to the gym to begin with, so no reason to make the workouts even worse.”
Her gaze lingers one more moment before she turns around and piles more pancakes onto a plate and hands it to Wayne. “Here. Go sit with your daughter.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he jokes and moves to sit next to me.
I don’t look at him, still reeling from the fact that Lizzie is the opposite of the person I convinced myself she was. While I always knew deep down she wasn’t the manipulative shrew who stole my father away from me, it was easier to think of her as a bad person, someone I wouldn’t like, instead of admitting she might be nice. It’s harder to accept when good people reject you.
Silence descends in the kitchen, but neither my father nor Lizzie seems uncomfortable. Like they don’t feel the pressure to fill the silence with idle chatter. Instead of feeling the same calmness, my anxiety is building. I’m unsure what I should think of them not feeling the need to fill the silence like I do. Instead of trying to figure out a way to calm my mounting anxiety, I just finish my plate before Wayne is even halfway done and stand up, causing them both to look at me.
I smile awkwardly, trying in vain to cover just how uncomfortable and out of place I feel in their house. “Thank you so much for breakfast. I really appreciate all you’re doing for me by letting me stay here until I’m better.” I grab my plate and mug awkwardly in one hand and move around the bar to place them in the dishwasher.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” I hear my father behind me. His voice is even and filled with warmth. Like my awkwardness doesn’t faze them.
I turn around to look at them, my face carefully blank. “I hope you don’t mind me going to lie down for a while. I seem to be constantly exhausted since the accident.”
“Of course not.” This time it’s Lizzie who answers.
“We understand,” Wayne continues. “Your body clearly needs the rest. I doubt your little excursion to the barn this morning helped.” There’s only a twinge of a reprimand in his voice, but the smile tipping the corner of his mouth lets me know he isn’t too serious.
“Thank you,” I say before I hurry out of the kitchen and up the stairs to the second floor. I’m well aware how sound travels in this place since this morning, and I really don’t want to hear them talk about me. Once was enough.
I move down the hallway toward my room. I close the door behind me and lie down on the soft bed. I’m replaying my morning in my head, going over everything that happened. From hearing Kade calling me an untrustworthy, spoiled brat, to the strange draw I felt toward him in the barn before I knew who he was, and the awkwardness in the kitchen, even though I know Wayne and Lizzie tried to make me feel welcome.
I’m deep in thought, trying to figure out where the hurt I feel is coming from, and why it’s mostly over the fact that Kade seemed to hate me before he even met me. I don’t know him; I shouldn’t value his opinion of me.
It’s the ringing noise of my cellphone on my nightstand that drags me out of my thoughts. I reach over to grab it and see Dakota’s face flashing across the screen. Excited to talk to my best friend, I pick up the phone with happiness filling my heart.
“Dakota,” I say with excitement. “How’s Florida?”
“Humid. How do people survive in these conditions? I’m not surprised Florida produces so many killers and generally weird people. I’m miserable and uncomfortable.”
“Sounds like you’re having a blast,” I say through laughter, unable to hold it back.
“You suck,” I can hear her pout on the other end. “I don’t know why you always find my misery entertaining.”
“Because you do the same to me.”
“True.” She sighs audibly, and I’ve known her long enough to be able to tell something’s bugging her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I miss you down here. Competing without you just isn’t the same. I have no one to crack inappropriate jokes with.”
“Dakota.” I make sure she can hear the seriousness in my voice, it usually helps to get her to open up to me. “What’s really going on?”
She huffs in annoyance before she tells me the truth. “Destiny is here.”
“That’s what got you so riled up?” I ask in confusion. “It’s not the first time you’ve had to deal with her.”
“But it’s the first time you’re not around to prove her wrong.” I can hear the anger rise in her voice, and I know something more has happened she isn’t telling me. Dakota doesn’t get angry often, and if she does it’s for a good reason. She’s always been like that, the calm and peaceful winter morning to my summer rainstorm. She’s one of the few people who can diffuse my explosive emotions when I can’t control them myself.
“What’d she do this time?” I sigh, knowing instinctively whatever is coming is going to upset me.
“Well…” she draws out the word, and I brace myself for what’s to come. “The usual stuff like how you cheat to win, sleeping with whoever you can to get a leg up, and that it’s good to finally have a fair chance. How she’s going to expose you for who you really are—a fraud—and she can’t wait to get rid of you…” she
