Page 171 of Next to Everything We Wanted

“Until ten,” I corrected.

Emma groaned. “Why can’t we stay up all night like you?”

I smiled. “You don’t want to be grumpy in the morning.”

“Fine,” she muttered.

We finished watching the movie, but I couldn’t get what the twins had said about Mom out of my head. Was I throwing away a perfectly good opportunity to mend at least some things with her?

She didn’t deserve my forgiveness. I didn’t owe her anything.

So, why did I feel so guilty about what happened?

And why did I feel hopeful for the first time in the past forty-eight hours?

CHAPTER 41

Gavin

Mom wanted to go to the beach on Monday, but I didn’t feel too confident with being in my own skin after my phone call with Justin. For all I knew, people could’ve been on the lookout for me. My sunglasses could only do so much.

Would it hurt to bleach my hair again? Maybe I’d be a great blond.

After receiving puppy eyes from my family—including Dapper—I decided to go to the beach. This time, I wore sunglasses and one of my mom’s sunhats to shield my entire face. I looked ridiculous in the floppy cream-colored, blue-ribbon-wrapped thing, but it did its job.

No one wanted to approach the weird guy wearing a woman’s sunhat.

“You’re not enjoying yourself,” Asher said as he threw a frisbee at Dapper, who couldn’t have been in a better mood as he ran around.

“What do you mean?” I adjusted my hat, which was starting to create a pool of sweat on my head. “I’m having the time of my life.”

“Take that stupid thing off.”

“It’s not stupid!” Mom protested from her beach chair, where she read a trashy small-town romance novel.

Asher shook his head. “Given that you read books likethat, I can’t trust your judgment.”

Mom scoffed. “These books are the definition of fine literature! They’re all the rage these days.”

“What’s so great about them?”

Mom bit her lip, ducking her book down. I let out the ugliest snort.

Asher blinked. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing,” Mom sang in an innocent tone, covering her face with the book.

Asher shrugged as Dapper dropped the frisbee at his feet.

“Dapper has gotten better at this game,” I told him with a smile. “Your training skills have paid off after all.”

“I told you.” Asher beamed, throwing the frisbee at Dapper again. “Some things just take time to master.”

I nodded, wondering if he was talking about something other than teaching Dapper how to play with the frisbee.

“Can you please take that horrible thing off?” Asher pointed to my sunhat. “I can’t even see your face.”

Mom whipped around and shot him a glare from above her sunglasses, but she didn’t protest this time.