“Is there anywhere we can go to smoke this fat ass blunt I brought?” Carmelo whispers and I groan.
“Thank you for small miracles. I really didn’t think I’d make it out of this in one piece.” I grab his hand and poke my head in the family room. “Cam, family meeting.”
Cameron’s head shoots up and his smile is instantaneous, our ‘family meeting’ either means drugs or plotting.
“I’ll be back.” He says to Amelia.
Both boys follow me out to the back yard, through a foot of snow, and towards the large shed in the back of the lot. It’s a place we’ve made our own and my parents have let us take it over since we were kids. Before that, my mother said it was her uncle’s man den or something. There are still a lot of car pictures on the walls and these are rare cars, and a sweet bar in the corner that used to house our juice, but now we hide beers.
I punch in our code on the keypad and hear the door unlock. We open it and step inside, it’s fucking freezing.
“Turn on the heaters.” I tell the guys. The place is insulated but it’s fucking cold in Whitsborough during the winters.
We huddle on the couch and Carmelo sparks the blunt. Each of us taking a hit whenever it passes in front of our faces. We’re quiet, contemplative of our current situations, and I’m finally starting to feel at ease, the anxiety slowly draining away.
“Who fucked up your face this time?” Cam breaks the silence.
“Some new kid,” Carmelo passes me the blunt. “He goes to the local college and one of the guys brought him. He has a hard left hook.”
“We gotta somehow teach you to fight without someone having to pound you into mince meat first.” Cam mutters and I snort.
“Is that funny?” Carmelo knocks my shoulder, “my face being called mince meat?”
“You’re gonna end up looking ugly when you’re older.” I say between chuckles.
“Whatever.” Carmelo rolls his eyes. “You hit Amelia yet, bro?” He knocks Cam’s shoulder.
“How many times do I have to tell you it’s not like that?” Cam huffs.
“It’s really not like that.” I say before I can stop myself. Fucking stoned brain.
“Oh yeah.” Carmelo begins to laugh.
“What am I missing here?” Cam looks between us.
“Fuck, you guys really aren’t that tight huh?” Carmelo taunts him.
“I made out with Amelia a few nights ago at Riley’s party.” Quick, like pulling off a Band-Aid.
Cam’s face looks slightly confused and Carmelo breaks out into another fit of laughter.
“She said she met someone that night…” Cam trails off. “Oh fuck. Ivy, she was fucking talking about you?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug, “I hope not.”
“Shit. She’s really into you.” Cam is staring at me.
“Did you know she was a lesbian?” I ask him.
“I had suspicions but I never asked her, that shit is rude and none of my fucking business.”
“Like Charlotte.” Carmelo mutters.
After that, we all fall into another mind numbing silence. Yeah, it was a little too much like Charlotte.
Family meeting? What family meeting could the three of them be having? And it’s been over an hour.
“Where did they go?” Amelia asks.
“Why?” I cut her some side eye. “Are you looking for Ivy?”
“No.” Her mouth turns down into a slight frown.
“You need to get over her.” I tell her.
“I know, Neil.”
Our parents have long ago joined the others in the kitchen and we are stuck here with all the younger kids. It’s been a while since I’ve seen most of them and I’m shocked at how much they’ve grown.
“She’s toxic and fucking damaged.”
“Neil, she’s not really any of those things. She’s actually sweet and maybe a little sad. You need to stop seeing her as a fucking murderer.” She snaps at me and I am shocked into silence.
“She is a murderer.” I grit through my teeth.
“No, I don’t think she is.” She shakes her head. “You need to realize Charlotte was the one damaged.”
Her words are like little knives, each one slowly slicing into my heart, and bleeding me dry. I need to realize Charlotte was damaged? What does she mean? And how can she know that?
I don’t bother to question her right now because it would only lead to a disagreement. Instead, I get up and decide to give myself a tour of the house. I want to see the luxury Ivy grew up in, the privilege that cushioned her actions, and the wealth that made all her problems go away.
I step out of the family room and into the foyer, to the right is the kitchen, and to the left is a large oak door and the staircase. On the walls in front of me are a lot of pictures of the Greenes as children and the parents when they were younger. It’s crazy that Vin and Ember met in high school and have been together ever since. No bumps, just a perfect relationship.
I turn left and stand at the foot of the stairs. I look up and the sheer opulence of the place. A large mahogany staircase, a chandelier hanging in the center, and what looks to be many bedrooms on the second floor.
I look around and see that my sister hasn’t followed me and no one is in the hallway. I make my way up the staircase and stop on the landing. I look to the right and see one doorway and then to the left I see four more. I would assume the kids rooms are to the left.
That’s the way I go and open the first door on the left, it’s pink and filled with stuffed animals, Dahlia. I
