Page 20 of Let the Game Begin

“Okay, baby. I’ll call you later. I love you!” I could picture his smile and sweet expression when he said those three little words, which are so difficult for me to repeat. I had never told him I loved him. I was firmly convinced that love was unique feeling, something precious that I could only give to the right person. Someone who would then have the power to crush my heart in their hands.

“Later.” I hung up and searched the house for Logan. I looked briefly into the kitchen and spotted Mia having breakfast with Chloe and my father.

“Good morning, Selene,” Mia said, raising a hand in greeting.

“Morning, everyone,” I replied with a forced smile as I adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder.

“Won’t you have breakfast with us?” my father offered, but I didn’t feel up to it. My stomach was closed tight, still tortured by what had happened the day before.

“I’m running late, and I need to find Logan so I can get to class,” I answered stiffly, hoping against hope that I wouldn’t run into the wrong brother while I was waiting.

There had been no sign of Neil that morning, but we were still living under the same roof and the chances of encountering him were high. Considering how weak and irrational I got whenever he spoke to me oreven just looked at me with those golden eyes, I had decided it was in my best interest to steer clear of him.

Fortunately, Logan already appeared ready to go. Not even bothering to say goodbye, I grabbed his wrist and dragged him out the door in hopes of avoiding any more inappropriate encounters.

“Get up on the wrong side of the bed today?” Logan asked me once we were safely in the car and he could really see my thoughtful scowl.

“It’s the only side I ever seem to get up on,” I admitted

“You know, Selene, I think you’d really benefit from looking at things from a new perspective,” he said, stepping on the accelerator to pass the car ahead of us.

“What do you mean?” I turned to him, but he was staring ahead at the road looking focused and reflective.

“Well, this is your chance… Your chance to change things, make them go the way you want. Don’t look at your life as being dark; think of it as a blank canvas waiting to be filled with color,” he said, quietly and seriously.

“Where did you read that?” I grinned, silently thanking him for chasing away my terrible mood.

“Eh, somewhere, but that doesn’t make it less true,” he answered in an amused tone.

We lapsed into silence for the rest of the trip. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even notice when he parked right next to an unmistakable black Maserati. But as soon as I saw it, I was shaken.

Neil was there.Calm down, I told myself. I would just have to avoid him. And that was all there was to it. Bolstered by this decision and feeling just a hint of fear, I strode through the long corridors of the university.

***

Six exhausting hours later, and I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Neil. I was comforted enough by this that I could even relax as I drove home with Logan.

We had the house to ourselves, since Mia was working, Chloe was studying at a friend’s house, and my father would be at the hospital until late.

“Weird that Neil isn’t home,” Logan muttered. Though I was deeply relieved by his brother’s absence, Logan seemed unsettled and concernedabout it. Why was he so worried? His brother was plenty old enough to take care of himself, right?

“He’s probably having fun with his…friends,” I suggested. I would have just said “girls,” but I didn’t want to offend him.

Logan was getting increasingly agitated.

“Come on, let’s go to the living room,” I said. We sat down on the couch, but Logan kept moving around like he was sitting on needles; a sure sign of how unsettled he was. I tried to start a conversation with him about our classes, the professors, even the thongs that Professor Cooper very clearly wore, but nothing could distract him from his draining thoughts.

“Can you stop talking for one second, Selene! I’m really worried here!” he snapped at me in a way he’d never done before and got up to pace the room. I immediately clammed up, embarrassed by my lack of tact, but then he sat back down next to me and took my hand, apologizing for the way he’d spoken to me. He’d had no reason to do that, he said.

Maybe I didn’t understand his worry because I didn’t really know his brother. Was Neil prone to getting into trouble? Or, even worse, did he have some sort of addiction issues? I didn’t have the nerve to ask him those questions, so I limited myself to simply offering him comfort.

I really understood then how much Logan cared about his brother and the unbreakable bond that united them. I almost envied him—I hadn’t been lucky enough to have brothers or sisters.

“You’ll see, he’s going to come walking through that door any moment in his ‘no fucks given’ attitude,” I tried to put a positive spin on things to defuse some of the tension in the air.

Suddenly, the lock on the front door clicked open.

“Neil! Thank goodness!” Logan exclaimed. He sighed in relief before pouncing on his brother. “Where have you been?”