Free Letting You Know by Nora Flite

with her?
    Something
slammed downstairs, dogs barking loudly. Surprised, Leah and I pulled
apart, untangling ourselves nervously. “What was that?”
She asked, her lips still deliciously tempting in their half-open
position.
    Resisting
the urge to kiss her again, I stood, dusting off my pants. “I
think that was the sound of Nicholas arriving. He always slammed that
back door way too hard.”
    Grinning,
Leah jumped up in a flash. “I guess we should go down and meet
him, then.”
    “ Do
you want to meet him ,
or the delicious food you've been smelling this whole time?”
    Blushing,
she pushed me lightly, acting more offended than I could tell she
was. “Shut up, I really do want to meet him.” Pausing,
she shot me a sly glance. “And, I want to meet what your mom
has been cooking for hours, yes.”
    Laughing,
I kissed the top of her head, hurrying out of the bedroom. Together,
we skipped down the stairs, the lightness in my body reminding me of
how I would jump down those steps as a child.
    Everything felt... easier, in that moment. Knowing that Leah didn't
want to discuss Bethany took a weight off of me I hadn't even
understood before. I don't want to remember. I don't want to talk
about any of it.
    And
now, I
thought, rounding the corner into the kitchen where I could hear a
number of people chatting excitedly, now
I won't have to.
    Smiling,
I looked upon a room of familiar faces. My father, grinning, my
mother, hugging Nicholas while the corgis danced around his ankles.
    And
there, standing beside him like she belonged among all of us, was the
person I seemed unable to escape.
    Bethany
Sommer was in my house.
    Instantly,
the air was thicker. I could sense the way all the eyes were on me,
watching my reaction and doing their best to do what my family was so
great at; pretending nothing was amiss.
    “ Deacon,”
Nicholas said, slipping away from Mom, smoothing his short hair. He'd
always had slightly darker hair than mine, it made his extremely
green eyes much sharper, more electric.
    Now,
those eyes that had always been so indifferent, so chill, were fixed
on me uneasily.
    He
knows this isn't right, I
realized, working hard through my daze to understand what was going
on. My mouth, dry as tinder, struggled to make words. “Hey,”
I said, not bothering to smile. “How are you?”
    “ Good,”
he admitted, and I didn't doubt it. “Tired from the long drive,
mostly.”
    “ I
heard you finished your finals.”
    “ Yeah,”
he laughed, “they sucked.”
    “ Yeah,”
I said, nodding slowly. “So, can I talk to you for a second?”
    No
one else had spoken, the quiet was torture. Bethany looked between
Nicholas and me, before finally smiling at my mother. “I'll go
hang our coats up, Jenna.”
    “ Yes,”
she nodded, turning towards the stove. I couldn't exactly tell what
she was doing, I refused to take my unblinking stare off of my
brother.
    Nicholas
flicked a look behind me, eyeing something else. “You must be
Leah,” he said.
    “ Oh,”
she gasped, slipping around me, deeper into the group. I glimpsed how
drained of blood her face was. “Uh, yes, you're Nicholas,
right?”
    He
opened his mouth, I cut him off briskly. “Nicholas. Outside,
with me, please.”
    Something
akin to sarcasm, as if he were humoring me and everyone else was in
on the joke, rolled across his face. “I guess I'll have to get
a proper introduction later, Leah. Good to meet you, brief as it was.
Well, excuse me.” Ducking his head, he shot me a frustrated
glance, passing around me so very close in the doorway. Even so, he
didn't touch a single fiber on my shirt.
    Leah
was staring at me, but I had no time to assure her everything was
fine.
    I
couldn't have lied, and it definitely wasn't.
    My
legs were numb, carrying me through the living-room. Nicholas
understood we needed to be alone, he didn't slow down until we had
slipped out the front door, into the chilly winter evening.
    I
only knew it was cold because of how dark and grey