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I grabbed a fork and took a bite of the scrambled eggs with cheese and gave him a genuine smile. “Hey, I was expecting instant death and needing to smile through it, but this isn’t bad at all!”
He looked at me with a bit of skepticism. “Are you just saying that to be nice? I’m okay with that, but you know… in the spirit of honesty and all that, I like to at leastknowwhen I’m being lied to.” His expression turned amused.
“Drama queen much?” Luna said, tossing a chunk of scrambled egg at him.
He opened his mouth to catch it and missed terribly, the chunk breaking apart upon contact with his cheek and veering off in multiple directions.
I laughed as he wiped at his face. “Wow. That was impressive. And no. I’m not lying. I can tell you’re a novice, but novice doesn’t meanbad.It means room for improvement. Ilovemaking spaghetti at home. It’s delicious. I have zero idea how to make an authentic sauce, so I just use the noodles from a box—usually the cheap store brand—and some Prego, and then I top it off with Kraft grated parmesan cheese. When I was stuck in bed, Rick made authentic Italian spaghetti, and I learned what I was missing. Does it mean I hate the boxed kind with store bought sauce? Hell no. I’ll still eat the hell out of it. I love it! But itdoesmean that more knowledge means better food science. More flavor. So, no. I absolutely think you’re rocking the cooking thing. Keep practicing!”
His smile broadened. “Nice save. That was very well put, and it actually made me feel a little less insecure about learning to cook. Thank you!”
He turned away from the island and started to clean up the stove and counter.
“Wait, did you say Rick?” Luna asked.
“Hmm?” I mumbled, my mouth full of eggs.
“You said when you were stuck in bed, Rick made authentic Italian spaghetti for dinner,” she said.
My eyes widened as I went back through what I’d said.Holy shit. How the hell had I been so careless? I didn’t eventhinkabout what I was saying. I justblurtedit out!
“Oh, yeah! You did say that,” Justin said. “You’ve never mentioned him before. Is your uncle named Rick?” He went back to cleaning as he waited for an answer, paused, then turned around. “Wait. Didn’t you say your aunt lives by the Averys? Harper’s dad’s name is Rick. Your uncle’s name is Rick, too? And they live next to one another?”
Their tones were light and inquisitive. It was quite obvious they were just having a casual conversation, trying to get to know their friend better, but I could see in Luna’s eyes she was piecing things together.
“Justin,” Luna said, looking away from me to him. “Shut up.”
“What?” he asked. “I was just try—”
“Justin!” Luna snapped.
She stared at him with what I could only describe asthe mom look.Eyes wide, nostrils flared, lips pursed. The look that said, “if you don’t shut it right now, you’re in trouble.”
Clearing her throat, she calmly said, “I think this is one of those times where Tempe needs us not to ask questions.”
Justin stared at her for a moment before realization struck him. His eyes turned to meet mine. “You… don’t have an Uncle Rick, do you?”
Luna sighed. “That’s a question, numb nuts.”
I set my fork down, staring at my hands as I realized they were trembling. Luna’s left hand covered my right one, her soft, dark skin a beautiful contrast to my lighter olive skin.
I looked up, tears stinging my eyes as I fought back the tidal wave of anxiety and emotion. Deep down, I trusted both of them. Somehow, I felt with all my heart—with my soul—that they would never breathe a word of anything. Even if I told them every last detail, I knew they’d never tell anyone.
But I couldn’t risk it. I couldn’t riskthem.
“No,” I said, my voice quivering more than I’d like.
Justin nodded. “It’s okay.” He reached over and placed his hand over my left one, both of them squeezing almost at the same time. “You don’t have to say anything else. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”
I took a slow, deep breath and blew it out even slower through my lips. “I don’t know why I said what I said. It might be the head injury. It might be that you both make me feel so damn comfortable. I honestly don’t know. But I did.” I paused, debating on how to proceed. “The truth is that my relationship with the Averys is…complicated.” I gave an unamused laugh. “Verycomplicated. That’s why Harper hates me so much.”
Luna’s hand moved to my back, rubbing gentle circles as she looked at me with obvious concern. “It’sokay, Tempe. You don’t owe us any kind of explanation. We already discussed the need for boundaries surrounding parts of your life. This part of you and this part of our relationship will be a bit complicated. We’re bound to hit a few speedbumps along the way, but you were honest about hiding whatever this is. We’re going to respect it. You don’t have to say anything else.”
“Though, you probablyshouldhave a cover story just in case you slip in front of anyone else,” Justin offered.
“That’s a good point,” Luna said.
I sighed and nodded. “Okay. Uh, well…officially… I suppose there were times when myauntcouldn’t care for me, and the Averys stepped in. Rick sometimes made dinner and brought it to me when I was stuck in bed after the accident. And before anyone getsanythoughts in their head”—I looked Luna in the eye before turning to do the same with Justin—“Rick’s kindness wasfatherly. Nothing gross. I can absolutely, positively, without ashredof hesitancy tell you that the ‘complicated’ relationship I have with them is nothing disgusting or shady.” My face scrunched before a disgusted chill rolled through my body, punctuating my point.