Chapter 16

Rhett

 

Okay, it was official: I was pissed off.

I’d been trying to understand Danica’s weird behaviour since the whole situation surrounding us was bizarre, but now I couldn’t take it any longer. She was pointedly ignoring me, so much so that it was embarrassing. Every time I tried to even speak to her, not about anything in particular, she would just walk away. I had no idea how we were going to discuss what had happened between us and what we were going to do now if she was flatly refusing to even make eye contact with me.

It wasn’t just me that had noticed Danica’s bitchy attitude; even my self-absorbed father had commented on it, and for him to spot anything that didn’t directly impact on him was a damn miracle.

“Ooh, what have you done to piss her off?” he teased me, laughing about it, not even aware of how hurt I was.

But then again, the man didn’t know me well enough to know when I was upset, so I wasn’t sure why I’d expected more from him.

The more I thought about his joking words, the angrier I became. This wasn’t fair at all. I couldn’t think of anything I’d done wrong to Danica, to make her treat me like that. Unless she thought I knew about our parents and still hooked up with her. That was the only explanation that I could come up with, but I couldn’t honestly see it as the case.

How messed up did she think I was? Did she really think that little of me?

I had to get to the bottom of things. I really needed to sort it out before it damn well drove me insane. All I needed to do was get her alone, even for a second. Then I could break down this barrier and sort everything out once and for all.

Get her alone…surely that couldn’t be too difficult. Right?

But after the third room that I walked into, just to see her scurrying away, I decided to push her to the back of my mind. She was so obviously trying to avoid me, and while she was behaving in this way, I couldn’t see what I could do. I already felt like Dad and Lyla were watching me, trying to work out what my intentions were, and I didn’t want to make their suspicions worse.

I would come back to Danica when I had a more solid plan in place. But for now, I had something else that I needed to do. A point that I had to prove. I had my mission to think about, the one that I originally came here for. I needed to find evidence of my dad’s dickish behavior in some way or another, I needed to show everyone that I was right and they were all wrong.

I just had to find…something. I wasn’t sure what. I just hoped that I knew what it was as soon as I saw it.

The only problem was this fucking massive house! I didn’t even know where to begin looking for this unknown proof. But since everyone was out doing something wedding related, except for Danica, who was in bed ill yet again, then this was the absolute best opportunity that I was going to get. If I didn’t look now, I couldn’t guarantee I would get another chance.

I really didn’t want to go home empty handed.

So out of simple indecision, I decided to begin at the top of the house. The attic seemed like the perfect place to hide any secrets anyway, so it seemed like the most sensible thing to do. I pulled out the attic ladder and I made my way up the creaky stairs and into the dusty atmosphere, an excited anticipation overtaking me. I wanted to be vindicated, and I couldn’t wait for that to happen.

But as I stepped out into the absolutely gigantic attic, and I found myself faced with what felt like a million boxes, a cold sensation overtook me. I felt overwhelmed, and I instantly regretted my decision to try and tackle this today when I really wasn’t in the right frame of mind. This was a stupid idea–how the hell was I going to get through all of these boxes in such a short space of time? And what if it was a fruitless task that led me nowhere?

But I hadn't come all this way for nothing; I had to at least try. I would never be able to forgive myself if I went home with no evidence, without even bothering to look. Everything that I said to James would mean nothing, and my mom would think that she was right about Dad changing.

I couldn’t have that. I wouldn’t have him prove himself for Lyla–as much as I liked her–when he wouldn’t for my mom. That just was not fair, and I couldn’t stand it. My mom was the best woman I knew, and I hated my dad for treating her like crap yet again. She might not have been bothered, but I sure as hell was.

So, I began the long and arduous task of scanning my eyes over all of the boxes, and I started the search that felt like it could quite easily completely consume me.

After an hour, I was totally exhausted and I still had absolutely nothing. I’d been through all of the boxes that looked even remotely like they might contain anything useful, and I’d read endless boring bits of paperwork that made absolutely no sense to me whatsoever, and I was growing increasingly frustrated with my lack of anything. I was so convinced that anything incriminating he had would be here, so it was annoying to have to leave with nothing.

In the end, I forced myself to leave the attic, to head back downstairs before I drove myself insane with it all. I couldn’t look through another damn box without screaming. I felt dejected and sad as I made my way away from the one place I had been certain I would find anything. It was awful to admit that I’d failed, but I couldn’t see any other option. If I hadn't found anything already, I couldn’t see that I was going to.

I would just have to wait for my next opportunity alone, and go through every other room. I wasn’t ready to give up on my mission just yet.

But I would have to wait for the time being because almost as soon as my feet hit the floor, I heard the front door open, and Lyla and my dad were coming back inside. They were home already, much earlier than I’d been expecting. But as I glanced at my watch, I realized that wasn’t the case at all. I’d just been in the attic for far longer than I’d assumed.

My heart pounded as I tried to imagine what it would have been like if they’d found me up there. There was no good excuse for that. It would have caused hell, and I would have been sent back home with all those loose ends still left unresolved.

“Rhett!” I heard Dad yell up the stairs. “Danica!” He waited for us to reply, but neither of us did. “We have a dinner planned, so you’re going to have to come downstairs in an hour.”

I let of a sigh of relief. Okay, a dinner; I could do that. I wasn’t in any shit, at any rate. I raced back to my room to get myself ready before facing the family once more. I needed to put myself together if I was going to deal with my dickhead dad, his fiancée who I actually thought was pretty nice, and my new stepsister–the woman I’d thought I’d been falling for not that long ago.

What a disaster this was going to be. I just hoped that I could get through it without any real drama.

 

***

 

I awkwardly shoved my chair in at the oversized dining table, feeling like I was under intense scrutiny. This felt like a really serious meeting–like a damn job interview or something. It was horrible, and I was starting to regret not making an excuse to get out of it. I should have been the one feigning illness for once.

“This looks lovely,” I smiled uncomfortably, and indicating to the plate set in front of me. “Thank you, Lyla.” She’d made some sort of complex pasta dish that wouldn’t have looked out of place in a posh restaurant, but the frosty atmosphere was killing it.

I glanced over to Danica, who was purposely avoiding eye contact with me, bringing my annoyance back to the surface once more. Was she ever going to give me the time of day?

“So, Rhett,” Lyla dragged my attention back to her. “Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself? I don’t feel like I don’t know you very well yet, and I’d like to.”

She shot me a warm smile, which made me feel a little funny inside. Much as I felt like being a dick, just to treat everyone as shitty as they were making me feel, I couldn’t. She’s just trying too hard, and there was a real kindness inside of her that couldn’t be ignored.

“There isn’t much to tell, really,” I shrugged my shoulders, trying to act like I didn’t care. “I guess my main thing is sports–I love doing physical stuff like that. I’m going to Grange after the summer to study sports management, which I hope to turn into some kind of career. I want to do what I love.” I smiled at her, hoping that vague information would be enough.

“Oh, Danica is very sporty, too,” she jumped at the chance to connect us, to give us some kind of common ground to build a bond from. How little she knew! “She worked at Camp Woodtree this summer–a sports camp for kids. I used to take her there all the time when she was younger.”

My heart pounded in my chest as I was left with a decision. Did I admit that I’d been there too, or not? Would I fuck everything up forever if I did? Or would it be seriously weird if I didn’t?

“You worked at Camp Woodtree, too, didn’t you?” my dad jumped in like an idiot, shattering my fear. What the hell did he say that for? Could he not read the room? And how the hell did he know about that? I certainly hadn't said anything about it. “Your mom mentioned it when I spoke to her.”

I flicked my eyes over to Danica, who was finally looking right back at me for the first time since I first arrived. The terror was evident in her eyes, which made me decide to get rid of this elephant in the room once and for all. There was no point in trying to hold it in any longer, it was pointless. We would only look guiltier if we tried to ignore it now.

“Yeah, I did work at Camp Woodtree,” I said, tearing my eyes away from her. “I did actually meet Danica there…”

“Only briefly,” she interrupted sharply, looking only at her mom. “Camp Woodtree is a huge place, so it isn’t like we got to talk or anything.” What the hell was she playing at? Why was she still lying? It wasn’t as if I was about to tell them that we’d slept together or anything. Was she really that ashamed of even knowing me? “We just…saw each other in passing.”

I nodded sadly, feeling disheartened and confused by her behavior. Yet again, my focus was dragged away from my mission, and my sole attention was dragged right back to Danica. She was up to something, and I absolutely needed to know what.

I needed to speak to her. There was no beating around the bush any longer. I would get her alone, and I would get this sorted once and for all.