It’s his house. He threw the party.
“He would’ve called the cops on the party himself if he’d known about Lexie,” Theo assures me. “Hell, he almost did.”
“What does that mean?” I question.
“He kicked everyone out. Dude was telling the guests he’d call the cops if they didn’t leave.”
“I’m supposed to believe he kicked out the guests he invited? What kind of idiot do you take me for?”
“Actually, he didn’t invite anyone,” Theo corrects.
Oh, for fuck’s sake, Theo, just let me hate him.
Let me convince myself that there is nothing good or redeemable about this guy.
“Then how did people know to show up?” The answer comes to me as soon as I finish speaking.
Brody.
Of course it’s Brody.
I saw enough of him last night to believe he could pull something like this.
“You have Brody to thank for that,” Theo confirms. “He and like seven of his college buddies showed up while we were out. Brody told Finn he’d hit up a few people to hang out while he was in town, but a ‘few’ people turned into thirty, then forty, and well… You get the gist.”
I was so certain Finn was to blame. I didn’t even consider for one second that he could be the fall guy.
“Thanks for all this.” I gesture to the spotless house.
“I didn’t clean it.” Theo rises off the couch and stretches.
“Then who did?”
Theo’s eyes connect with mine. “Who do you think?”
The fury and resentment wreaking havoc in my chest taper off in the snap of a finger.
“Finn started as soon as people cleared out. He didn’t stop until he was done.”
This must’ve taken him all night.
“I don’t know what you and your brother told him, but he was furious at Brody.”
I recall Theo stumbling out of the house right as the argument was coming to an end.
“How’d you know he was my brother?”
Theo lets out a low scoff as he heads for the kitchen. “Finn told me. Not to mention your brother almost ripped Brody to pieces for talking shit about you. You two seem close.”
“We are,” I whisper.
I’ve always felt closer to Jesse than the rest of my siblings. Not surprising considering I knew Jesse before I even knew my dads.My parents claim Jesse was my absolute favorite as a child.
All that changed when puberty hit and Jesse started acting out. He went from protecting me from bullies to bullying me himself. He couldn’t stand me for years—to be fair, I was the annoying little sister who followed him around. We may fight and bicker, but at the end of the day, we’d do anything for each other. I’m lucky to have such a great family.
I just wish I didn’t wonder about my other family…
My parents strictly refuse to tell me anything about my biological parents. They told me my birth mother is dead but kept the talk about my dad to a minimum. Every time I ask about him, they either change the topic or dodge the question.