Page 18 of The Family Guest

“That sucks.”

“Big-time.”

Will took the phone from me, scrolling further, and then made a horrified face. “Eww!”

“What?”

His freckles almost jumping off his face, he handed the phone back to me, and I saw what had grossed him out.

“Oh my God!” It was photo after photo of Tanya posing in the skimpiest of bikinis and showing off her to-die-for body. While I was sitting here with Will, she was in my sister’s room taking half-naked selfies. Already boys from my school were posting comments like Freakin’ hot! I’m in love with you! You rock! with heart-eye and flaming-fire emojis. Panic swelled inside me. What if Lance saw them? It took all my self-restraint not to freak out in front of my brother.

“Should I show them to Mom and Dad?”

Will, the thinker, pondered my question. “Nah.”

“Why not?”

“Best-case scenario: They’ll probably just lecture her. Maybe confiscate her phone for a few days. Worst-case scenario: She’ll make her IG account private.”

I weighed Will’s words. He was right. I couldn’t afford to lose access to her Insta. What she posted might be revealing. And God knows how else she would retaliate. For all I knew, she’d figure out a way to screw Lance right before my eyes.

“Okay, Einstein. What should I do?”

“You need to follow her.”

“Well, I can’t exactly shadow her every minute of the day.”

“No, dodo. I mean, on Instagram.”

“Then she’ll think I’m spying on her.”

He rolled his eyes back. “Just create a new account with a fake ID. She’ll have no clue.”

God, I loved my little brother. Our family brainiac. He’d even skipped a grade and was going into high school next year.

“Great idea!” I said, logging out of Instagram.

His face split into a grin. “You could have thought of that, but then again, you’re a dumb girl.”

I knew he didn’t mean that and was just needling me. But I decided to play into it.

“I am a doofbrain, and that’s why I need your help. The thing is, we have this strange, obnoxious girl living in our house. And we virtually don’t know a thing about her. I want to find out everything there is, even if it means hacking into her computer.”

Will’s face lit up. “I could do that.” He snapped his fingers like he was a magician about to make a rabbit appear. “Easy-peasy.”

“We just have to get access to it.”

“There’s gotta be a way.”

I smiled. I’d always told him, “Where there’s a Will, there’s a way.”

I now officially had a partner in crime. And our secret mission had a name: Operation Tanya.

“One last thing. I’m going to need your help to install a new doorknob—one that locks from both the inside and outside. I don’t want her to have access to my room. It’s bad enough I have to share a bathroom with her. And FYI, she’s a total pig!”

Will snorted. I cracked up, laughing hard.

Five minutes later, I was back in my room.