“You bet! I call getting the fire ready!” He hopped down from the truck and ran over to the pile of wood that we stacked underneath an awning that we built a few years back. The twigs under his boots snapped as he trotted over, and Ezekiel jumped out of the truck before it stopped to tackle Ezra to the ground.
They hated being away from each other, and I think it had something to do with a cosmic twin thing. I didn’t know enough about it, but as I watched them, they always knew when something was wrong with the other, finished each other’s sentences, and I swore they spoke to each other in their minds.
But if I truly
believed that, I’d be a crazy person.
A few doors slammed, and the sound echoed throughout the forest surrounding us. A few birds flew over the canopy of the trees, their wings spread out against the last rays of the sun amid a quickly darkening night sky.
“I didn’t think your ugly mugs would show,” I teased Evan and Ethan, plopping down on the damp ground to start setting up the giant tent. All of us slept in it. Hell, all of us practically lived together too. I had no idea why we rented our own places when we were all staying with each other anyway. We would save so much money living together. It was another reason why I wanted to buy the Hampton mansion and restore it. There was enough room there for all of us.
“Sorry we were busy. Not that you would know anything about that being a firefighter,” Evan jabbed, and Ethan slapped him on the back of the head.
“Watch it. I’m a firefighter too.”
“Exactly,” Evan said, and Ethan put him in a headlock, but since Evan was trained in self-defense being a cop, he had Ethan on his stomach, arm pinned behind his back, and his knee between Ethan’s shoulders in no time.
“Uncle! Freaking Uncle!” Ethan yelled just as Evan tossed his arm down to the ground. “You animal.” Ethan rubbed his shoulder with his other hand. “I think you broke it.”
Evan rolled his eyes, annoyed from Ethan’s bitching. “No, you’d know if I broke it. Want to see?”
“No touchy,” Ethan warned, taking a few steps back. He looked like he was ready to bolt.
I snorted and started putting the pole ends together, shoving them into the ground for support. “Are you ever going to tell me where ya’ll go? Every now and then you just disappear. Is it something illegal?”
“No,” they said in unison. And if I wasn’t mistaken, both sounded annoyed.
“Is it dangerous?” I asked again just as Ezra and Zeke came walking back, their arms full of wood. They were filthy. Dirt clung to their clothes and faces, but both of them were smiling. They tossed the wood in the firepit, and Zeke squirted lighter fluid on it while Ezra lit a match, tossing the flaming stick in the middle. A hot whoosh filled the air, and the hot crackles of fire started. As the fire grew taller, the tendrils licked the sky, teasing the night with a hot threat.
“As if I would do anything dangerous,” Evan said.
“Coming from the detective, that means nothing to me,” I told him, waiting to see any kind of reaction, but I didn’t get one. I went back to composing our tent, and when no one thought I was looking, I stole a glance at my brothers who shared a knowing look.
They were hiding something from me even though we never hid anything else from one another, we were that close, and that really pissed me off.
What could be such a big deal that they felt like they needed to keep secrets?
There was no more room for dishonesty in my life. I was going to find out what they were hiding, and I hoped it didn’t ruin the relationship between us because without my brothers, I wasn’t too sure where I’d be, who I’d be, or what the hell I would do in life.
I really hoped they were smarter than that.
If anyone knew the consequences of a lie, it was me.
Chapter Three
Luna
Most people, when they moved, got their own place because living with your parents was the ultimate loser stamp when you were an adult. It made someone look pathetic like they couldn’t get their life together, but I didn’t care what anyone else thought. My give a damn got busted a long damn time ago when it came to what people thought of me.
I knew the truth.
I lived with my parents because my family needed me. I was their only daughter. Dad was sick, and mom was run ragged from working so much. Plus this was a good chance for me to spend time with my dad because if the cancer beat him, then this time was precious. There was the added bonus of saving money too, but I was going to help out as much as I could.
The drive from Boston to Camden last night was surreal. It was a place I never thought I’d find myself again. When Ethan passed the city limits sign of Camden and the high school came to view, I knew in my gut nothing had changed. Everything looked the same.
Even my room.
I always had the basement of the house so I could come and go as I pleased. It was only light outside when I got I got home last night, but my parents were already asleep, and I didn’t want to wake them. Not when mom worked so hard and dad was ill.