Chapter 27
HIDE AND SEEK
Sera
Iwander down the trail, looking for Bradley, Thane, Bash—or anybody for that matter. When I finish changing into my swimsuit, the lake and dock are empty, rows of soaking-wet towels left behind as the only proof of life.
“Hello?” I holler into the trees. “Mom? Dad?”
I listen quietly, hoping for an occasional squeal or laughter from Thane’s nieces and nephews playing, but the birds in the trees and the boats on the water are the only sounds. I throw on my cover-up and meander toward Jamie’s parents’ lake house, hoping everyone went down for a visit.
As I near their dock, I spot Bradley crouching behind a rack of kayaks.
My brain throws a flag on the play and I’m instantly suspicious of him.
Call it a hunch, intuition, or just mediocre detective work, but something doesn’t feel right.
My eyes follow his line of sight through the trees.
He’s eavesdropping on Bash and Thane, so I slow my stride and tiptoe to observe.
A twig snaps underneath me as I approach, and he whips around.
“Serafina! There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!”
I fold my arms. “Looked more like you were spying on my brother and Thane, if you ask me,” I say.
He shifts on his feet. “Well, I didn’t want to go down to Jamie’s lake house without you, so I was trying to see if you were there before I invited myself over.”
Funny, you didn’t think twice about inviting yourself on my vacation…
“I was changing into my swimsuit. Where have you been all afternoon?”
His narcissistic grin makes my skin crawl. “Getting some work done down by the lake.”
“Then you would’ve seen where everyone went. I’ve been looking for them.”
His eyes look everywhere but mine. “I wasn’t at your guys’ dock. I went to one down the trail that was unoccupied.”
“Mmmm-hmmm,” I say, not buying a word of his story.
“Anyway, I wanted to go on a hike with you. But let’s go this way.” He grabs my shoulders and whirls me around toward the direction I just came from, and creeps up the path.
His phone chimes like crazy while we’re on our hike, and he ignores it repeatedly. After he silences a call coming in—twice—I stop on the trail. “Are you going to answer that? It seems pretty important.”
“Nah, it’s fine. Probably just some work stuff.”
“You never ignore work stuff,” I say, doubling down.
“What do you want me to do, Serafina? Answer every little message and call?” he shouts, and I startle at his overreaction.
I put my hands up in surrender. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, I just know how important work is to you, and I wanted you to know I didn’t mind if you answered it.”
“I don’t need your permission to answer phone calls or ignore them. Stay in your lane,” he says before stomping off ahead.
I watch him go. I know I should feel upset about how he treated me, but in order to be hurt by someone, you have to care about them, and in that moment, I realize I don’t.
At all. I couldn’t care less about what he thinks of me—or my weight—for that matter.
I’ve been so submissive so he’ll stick around, when what I should have done is sent him packing the second he showed this side of himself.
Instead of chasing after him and trying to smooth things over, I let him throw his tantrum, and pivot back toward the lake house instead.
He’ll find his way back… eventually.
An hour later, Bradley returns with a scowl on his face. I resist the urge to pacify him, and focus on the snack I’m making instead.
“Hey, Brad, how was the hike?” I ask in a cheery voice.
“You know I hate being called Brad,” he grumbles. “My hike was horrible. Not only did you leave me, but I lost service on the trail and couldn’t find my way back. Now my phone is almost dead.”
He stomps past me and up the stairs, coming back a few seconds later.
“Serafina,” he says with irritation in his voice, “where is my phone charger?”
I pick up the loaded sandwich I just made, take a big bite, and say, “Last I knew it was on the floor next to your suitcase.”
“Well, it’s not there anymore. Let me borrow yours.” When he sees my eyebrows raise at his demand, he finishes with a pathetic, “Please.”
I point to the kitchen counter where my cable is plugged into the wall.
He darts toward it, only to frown when he sees the connectors are wrong.
“Sera, what model is your iPhone?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s a few years old. Why?”
“Because my brand-new iPhone doesn’t fit the old cables. I need a USB-C, not a Lightning end.” He growls in frustration and wanders upstairs again.
The thumping and knocking sounds coming from the bunk room tug at my curiosity, so I wander up the stairs with a bag of Cheetos to see what he’s up to.
Everything has been dumped out of his suitcase, my suitcase, and every dresser drawer. Clothes are tossed all over the floor, my toiletries bag has been dumped on Thane’s bunk, and every nightstand and bed has been pulled away from the wall.
“Is this really necessary?” I ask, folding Thane’s clothes and placing them back in his drawer. That’s when I spot it: a round, flat skipping rock sitting in the corner by his socks.
I pick it up, running my thumb over the smooth surface. Bradley’s ranting fades into the background as the memories of that summer come crashing over me. In an instant, I’m back on the beach with Thane, adding another secret to our “things only we know” arsenal.
The drawer next to me slams hard, and I startle from my daydream.
“Were you listening at all, Serafina?” Bradley barks. “My phone is almost dead. My charger is MIA. Do you not care about my business at all?”
“Well, an hour ago you seemed so nonchalant about answering your messages and calls, I thought you were trying to turn over a new leaf,” I say with a shrug.
“I have to go into town and get a new cable—now.” His temper is hot and barely under control. I know if I don’t tread lightly, this could blow up really fast.
“Okay,” I concede. “Let’s go find the keys to the rental car and we’ll go.”
I look in all the regular spots that keys would be, but come up empty. After twenty minutes of searching the rest of the house for the rental car keys, I pick up my phone. I can hear the grin on Thane’s face when he answers.
“Heeeey, Fina,” he says in a devilish voice.
I bolt for the patio so Bradley doesn’t hear me.
“Nathaniel James Donnelly, what have you done?”
“Whoa, there. Don’t go using my full government name unless I’m in big trouble. What’d I do?” he asks.
“You tell me,” I seethe. “Bradley’s phone charger is nowhere to be found, and his battery is under ten percent.
We need to go to town right now and buy him a new charging cable or he’s going to blow a gasket.
Yet I can’t seem to find the keys to the rental car.
You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?
” I can hear him cover the microphone to stifle a chuckle, and I growl impatiently. “Thane! What did you do?”
“I’m not taking the sole blame on this one. Secret Service Agent Spencer is the mastermind behind this psychological warfare—not me.”
“You two are insufferable. I’m going to murder you both…” I threaten.
“You gotta find us first. Happy hunting!” He and Bash laugh like they did when they were teenagers, and Thane hangs up on me.
I’m fuming as I come back in through the sliding glass door.
“Do they know where the keys are?” Bradley asks as he’s flipping over couch cushions.
I know if I answer honestly here, there will be hell to pay. “Uh, no answer. Let’s just keep looking.”
I wander through the kitchen while Bradley searches every bag and purse hanging in the mudroom.
When I lose sight of him, I slip into the pantry to stress-eat a cookie.
I just need one Oreo to calm my urge to put Thane’s pillow over his face when he’s asleep tonight.
I grab the package from the top shelf and very carefully slide open the wrapper.
I’ve never noticed how loud the packaging for Oreos is until I’m trying to sneak one in stealth mode.
I cringe as the plastic crinkles, and I pause in the quiet, waiting for Bradley’s footsteps to approach.
After a few seconds of stillness, I rip it open the rest of the way and groan.
There, inside the last place Bradley would look—and a spot that sends a message loud and clear to me—are the keys to our little rental car.
“Thane Donnelly…” I mumble under my breath as I slide the keys into my pocket and put the Oreos back.
I slip out of the pantry and find Bradley on his hands and knees in the laundry room with his veiny arm halfway under the dryer.
“Hey. I found ‘em. Let’s go.”
He jumps up like I just told him there was a BOGO sale on creatine pre-workout powder at GNC and runs into the garage. I take a deep breath in, wishing I would’ve thought to grab a cookie for the road, and hop in the driver’s seat.
The ride into town is spent in silence, but I can feel the frustration emanating from Bradley. I don’t bother trying to smooth things over. He can be a drama queen and pout if he wants to be; I’m too tired to fight right now.
He opens the charging cable before we leave the parking lot.
He breathes a sigh of relief when he plugs his phone in, like he’s been without oxygen for hours.
I, on the other hand, breathe a sigh of relief because for now, his “Hulk Mode” is calmed and tucked away again.
I’ve only seen him get super mad a few times, but it was enough to scare me into never triggering it.
He spends the fifteen-minute drive back to the lake house frantically answering text messages.
I can’t understand how selling supplements can be such an emergent job, but apparently it is.
He doesn’t look up until we pull into the garage.
Then, without a word, he gets out of the car, slams the door, and leaves me in the silence.
I pick up my phone and send a quick message to Thane:
Sera: You hid them in the Oreos? Really? You are in SO much trouble.
Thane: You’re welcome, Pidge.
Sera: Sends .gif of Liam Neeson threatening, “I will find you.”
Thane: Sends .gif of Ryan Gosling giggling.
I curse under my breath, turn off my screen, and throw my phone in my purse.
But then I think about the ingenuity of hiding the keys in the Oreos, and I start to giggle.
I don’t give Bash and Thane the satisfaction of a full-out laugh, but I secretly give them points for creativity—though I’ll never tell them.
I’ll keep this secret appreciation locked in a vault forever.
I take my time going back into the house.
The peace I find in the car to sit in silence and breathe out my stress is a much better deal than what I’ll be walking into.
I’m surrounded by darkness when the overhead light for the garage door opener turns itself off, and I take that as my cue to go back to reality.
As I open the door to the mudroom, I hear Bash and Thane chuckling as they come in from the backyard, and I know my troubles with those two have only just begun.