As her hand curled around the railing and she drew closer to the main floor, she expected the familiar feeling of regret to weigh down her limbs. That leaden despair.
Quite the contrary. She felt light, as if her bones had become feathers overnight, and she practically glided across the hardwood when she reached the landing.
Muted sunlight streamed through the windows.
The wooden blinds were drawn. The drapes, tucked aside and tied off with neat bows. Someone else was awake.
A tea kettle squealed within the kitchen. Kenna was surprised to find Carmen, rather than her brother, at the source of the sound. Her glossy hair crowned her head in an enormous messy bun. A sweatshirt concealed her tattoos.
She turned off the gas burner and a slow smile spread across her face upon realizing she was no longer alone.
Reaching for a second mug, she asked, “Tea drinker?”
“I’ve learned to make do.”
The featherlight feeling dissipated and Kenna grew uncertain about the response. She wasn’t sure what Dayton had told her about their relationship, or lack thereof. It was something she should’ve thought to inquire about amid the stifled moans and lip biting.
Tea in tow, they settled in the living room. A fire blazed, its steady crackling the only relief during an uncomfortable period of silence in which Carmen stared at her while they intermittently sipped from their mugs. Her intensity was reminiscent of her brother’s but there was a softness to her gaze that was rarely seen in his.
“Did he come down?” Kenna finally asked.
“Went for a run.”
“It’s sprinkling.”
Carmen’s brows flexed in disapproval.
“Dayton would run in a thunderstorm.” Coyness pulled at her lips. “And while we’re on the topic of things that are dangerous and stupid, I heard you twobreathinglast night. The walls are paper thin in our house.”
Shame flayed her from within.
“I’m sorry we subjected you to that.”
We. It singed her tongue.
While they’d been intimate twice and she’d concluded that she loved Dayton, the idea alone of entering any kind of relationship with him was the very pinnacle of disaster.
Carmen fiddled with the tag dangling from the lip of her mug. “Usually, I’m protective of my brother. I barely know you but I feel like I need to be a little protective of you too.”
She continued to glance at the windows looking out onto the front porch, worried that Dayton may have reappeared without warning.
“He’s been pretty vague about you two, so I don’t know if you’re serious or not but, the thing is, heneverbrings anyone home, so. You seem like a nice enough kid and I just feel like I should warn you.” Blowing out a concentrated line of breath, she shook her head and mumbled to herself, “After what happened with Audrey.”
Bumps rose on Kenna’s forearms at the casual namedrop. Was it the same Audrey whom Dayton had referred to when he’d assisted her with the trauma project? She felt certain of the answer before the question had halfway formed in her mind.
“He’s cheated in every relationship he’s been in. Not that there have been many. And I’m not just talking about one time. He’d cheat multiple times, always with different people, and then he’d call me and treat me like a 24-hour confessional.”
Carmen laughed but it was devoid of humor.
“I had no idea.”
“He means well. At least, I think he does.” She paused, searching for the right words. “But it’s like there’s this part of himself he can’t control, no matter how hard he tries. He’s my twin. I should side with him, no matter what, but … you said you’re in graduate school so I’m sure you have a hell of a lot going on in your life right now. You don’t need heartbreak thrown into the mix.” Carmen’s eyes brimmed with something she couldn’t quite place. “Just be careful with him, for both your sake.”
The front door creaked inward on its hinges as Dayton came into the house, muddy tennis shoes dangling from two fingers. He didn’t acknowledge Kenna in the slightest but he glanced at his sister while heading toward the stairs. “They’re expecting us in 30. You two better change.”
Her chest sank at the steps creaking under his weight.
Had he not declared her his forever before fucking her against a dresser some 12-odd hours earlier?