Chapter 16
I held my breath and had to work up the courage to tap lightly on my aunt’s door, and even then, it was hardly a whisper of sound. I jerked, still, as if I rang a clarion, fearing she might beat me to death for daring to disturb her.
“What?” my aunt shouted as she opened the door, leaning out to peer at my face. “What do you want?”
As if afraid to meet her demanding gaze, I looked away, focusing instead on the room behind her, which I hadn’t ever seen before.
The tan walls matched the rest of the apartment, but then again, my aunt did favor beige.
Personally, I preferred Dina’s red walls.
Colorful perfume bottles glittered in the sunshine from the armoire in the corner, all half empty and of varying sizes.
A framed picture sat in the center of the bottles featuring my aunt and uncle.
They seemed younger, thinner, her in a full length gown of the darkest black and him in a bright white tux.
Near the window, she used a full length chaise lounge to drape her bathrobe neatly. Finally, I found my voice.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Aunt Tricia.” I swallowed, proud I managed to get my words out without choking on them. “But Mrs. Lent is here to see you. She is waiting in the living room.”
My aunt’s eyes widened, her gaze shooting past me then focusing on me again quickly. She opened and closed her mouth several times before she managed to ask, “Dina Lent is here , in the apartment. Right now?”
I nodded. “Yes. She is waiting to see you.”
My aunt looked at her own outfit as if horrified, completely discombobulated as she rushed around the room in a panic.
The look she shot me as she rummaged in a dresser could have mortally wounded me if such a thing were possible before she stormed down the hall.
I almost told her to put on some shoes, but then I decided I liked the vulnerability of her being barefoot while Dina was dressed to look like a million dollars.
As I expected, Dina waited in the living room exactly where I had left her.
A bulky sweater draped over her shoulders hid most of her blue collared shirt over white pants, and her expression seemed regal.
Closed toed coral shoes matched her expensive coral bag, and she reminded me of a queen holding court somehow.
A perfect ponytail held back her grayed hair, framing her high cheekbones perfectly and drawing attention to her clever eyes behind their large, framed glasses.
I didn’t make a sound but internally I giggled at the idea of her as a queen, ready to accept servitude from my aunt.
She intoned, “Tricia, good morning. Sorry to just breeze in here so early, but I wanted to chat with you while I had a minute.”
My aunt opened her mouth, but Dina kept talking, not giving her a chance to interject. “First of all, Pullman should have contacted you to inform you Alatheia will be attending in the fall semester. They assured me someone would be in touch, anyway, but I wanted confirmation from you.”
Tricia visibly swallowed. “Yes, but I thought it was a mistake. I tried to get her into Pullman, but even with all my influence, I couldn’t get them to take her, not after the awful performance last year.”
“How interesting …” Dina’s tone said it was just the opposite as she tapped her fingertip against her lip in consideration.
“I had no trouble at all. I said please, I guess, and sometimes it helps. As a second matter of business, though, you’ll notice Ala theia’s rapidly forming black eye, the poor dear.
She was attacked this morning by the private eye you hired to follow her.
” She stopped speaking just long enough for Tricia to whirl around and stare at me.
I guessed she probably never even noticed the black eye.
Then again, for the most part, my aunt tried not to look at me at all.
“Why I … Are you okay?” she sputtered, and I wondered how bad it looked. I hadn’t checked yet.
Dina didn’t give me a chance to respond, snapping, “She’s going to be fine.
We’re looking after her. I can’t imagine why you would sic a private eye, especially one with that level of incompetence, on a minor child entrusted to your care in the first place.
Perhaps you were just worried about her getting hurt?
I’ll assume that is the reason, despite a bodyguard being more useful if you wanted to see to her safety.
What else could there be? I would hate to ask around and find out otherwise.
Regardless, Alatheia is coming to the Hamptons with us today.
I’m traveling with the family and can’t be without my companion, so she’ll stay there with me until the start of term.
Speaking of the Hamptons, didn’t you used to have a place there? ”
After a long pause, my aunt answered softly, “We sold it last year. We just wanted something new. A change.”
She’s lying , I realized. I didn’t get to dwell on the realization, though, because Dina turned to me.
“Go pack, sweet girl.”
I nodded and rushed to obey, then slammed to a stop. “What should I pack?”
She blinked. “Why everything, of course. Everything.”
Everything?
I didn’t dare disagree with her, despite the tiny surge of hope that, maybe if I brought everything, I wouldn’t ever have to come back to this apartment again.
Surprisingly, it took longer than I expected to get everything packed.
I arrived with only one small suitcase, but Julian brought me another to hold more of my new clothing.
He helped me pack, but we both grinned and laughed nervously when we got to my underwear.
Most of it was pretty ratty looking, but it wasn’t like I could hide it from him.
Dina hadn’t bought me new underwear, so I had what I’d brought.
Someday I will buy myself brand new panties and bras.
Little nothing promises made to myself, but soon I was packed.
Julian grabbed my hand when I would have left the room with my bags. “Listen, my family? You are about to meet the rest of them, but we’re not like other families.”
I arched a brow at him, wondering if he thought maybe I confused them with a sitcom family. “Look, the only families I’ve had experiences with were mine so far, and they’re nothing to write home about. That said, I don’t know what families are supposed to be like.”
“Fair point, but still …” He shrugged, seeming to come up short on a way to explain.
“They’re just … different. Very different.
For the most part, we don’t let many people into our inner circle, so to speak.
Most people only know us peripherally, so they only see the show.
The picture from a distance. We already let you see us pretty up close, but you’re going to see more.
Try not to … I don’t know. I’m just afraid to lose you if you think this is too much too soon. ”
I swallowed, considering him carefully. I might not understand what he was trying to warn me about, but I could tell it made him sad to think about it. “Would you rather I don’t come to the Hamptons? I could try to talk Dina out of it. She just decided for me, but maybe she made a mistake.”
He reached for my arm, then his fingertips stroked my skin absently. “No, I want you with us. I just want to make sure I’m up front with you. We are fully aware that we are weird, and we even embrace it. On the inside of the circle.”
I scrunched up my face, since he still wasn’t making sense.
“What is normal? I mean … this whole scene in New York isn’t normal, if we’re being honest. I don’t think the other two cities I lived in represented normal.
For that matter, I learned that the life my mother and I lived wasn’t normal, either, even if I always thought it was the most normal experience of my life.
That’s not even touching on when my father was alive.
For sure, not normal.” I shrugged. “You guys have been very nice to me. Even that isn’t really normal . Not for me.”
He groaned. “Niceness is odd? I suppose that makes sense, but still... So, what you’re saying is that everything and everyone is weird.
You’re not wrong, but we are solidly in the different category.
I promise you that.” He sighed. “Come on. I’ll be glad you’re with us in the Hamptons, at least. I hate it there, but everything’s more fun with you around.
Even things I don’t generally enjoy, like a jazz club. ”
I smirked, amused at him and myself, but still mildly concerned about invading their vacation with family.
“Are you sure? I really hate feeling like I’m intruding, and your family might want some time without any strangers looking at them.
I live like an intrusion all the time, a bother to everyone.
I’m intruding here. Everywhere. I would really hate to get hauled all the way to the Hamptons if you guys really don’t want me to be there. ”
He stroked the side of my face, his eyes gone soft in a way that made parts of me melt.
“We all want you there. My parents will even want you around, once they get to know you. I just … I wish I hadn’t said anything.
It’s not about wanting you with us or not wanting you there. Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
I followed him, explaining, “Life is so strange. I never even heard of the Hamptons before my aunt explained how they couldn’t go this year because of me. I had to look it up to figure out where and what it was, and now I’m headed there myself.”
He winced. “I think there are other reasons they didn’t go this year, and you were a handy excuse.”
I couldn’t argue. “I always assume they’re lying to me, but what do you mean specifically?
” I might not be crazy about asking questions, but if it involved my family, I needed information.
I still didn’t know why they set a private detective after me, not that the idea made any more sense now than it did when it happened.