Page 33 of The Other Brother

“Thanks for that insight.” My voice is as cold as the wind whipping off the ocean.

Chapter9

We get rid of all the interlopers by ten the next morning and then spend the next two hours erasing all evidence of the party.

I drive two trash bags containing all the bottles from last night to the recycling center. We straighten furniture and cushions, vacuum up the remains of spilled popcorn and chips, and I even clean the grill on the barbecue.

When Mel waltzes in, Cody and I are standing at the breakfast bar in the pristine kitchen, admiring the immaculate living space. We should write the handbook on how to have a secret teenage party and get away with it.

“What are you looking so smug about?” Mel asks me, her eyes narrowing.

“This is my pleased-to-see-you expression. Didn’t you recognize it?” I ask.

Mel puts her handbag on the counter, her suspicious expression not wavering.

“How was the party?” Cody asks.

“Great. She held it at the Juggernaut, which I thought was a weird choice, but it turned out to be a great venue. They have this massive deck…”

Shit. As Mel’s talking, I spot a bottle cap lying under the corner of the living room rug that we’ve somehow missed.

Cody asks more follow-up questions, and I let the perfect brother run interference as I casually stroll over and pick up the bottle cap, stashing it in my pocket. I keep my face completely nonchalant, but Cody gives me a strange look.

“You want to head out for a surf?” I ask Cody.

“Sure.”

On our way through the dunes, the sand warm on our feet, Cody glances at me with a grin. “I know you’re still trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, but I’m thinking a career in acting might not be your thing.”

I don’t have a suitable reply, so I go with the tried and true. “Jackass.” I give him a mild shove with my shoulder.

He shoves me back, and we stroll along like that, giving each other little shoulder bumps until we reach the water.

The surf is immense today. It’s one of those days when I catch every wave I go after and get a great ride after ride. Cody’s doing awesome too and grabbing some sweet waves.

I’ve just caught a great wave when he catches an epic barrel that cuts towards the shore in a perfect line.

I watch as he pulls out of the wave and jumps off his board.

“That was unreal,” Cody says. He’s standing in the thigh-deep water, his hair plastered to his head, grinning triumphantly. The black of his wetsuit makes his blue eyes stand out even more. His eyes that match the sky perfectly.

My breath leaves me.

“Yeah, unreal,” I echo.

Something in my expression must be weird, because he gives me a puzzled look.

I try to quickly morph my face back into the dudes-hanging-out-surfing-together realm. I’m not sure I’m succeeding, because the curious frown line stays wedged between his eyebrows.

Just as my brain is scrambling for something lighthearted to say, a scream pierces our little bubble. It has a different, desperate edge to the usual shrieks of beach-time happiness.

I whirl around.

Standing on the shoreline twenty feet from us is a woman wearing an oversized sweater and a long dress that the wind whips around her knees.

“Help! Help! Please… my son.” She wades into the water, flapping her hands in distress.

I spin in the direction of her gaze. In between the waves there’s a flash of unnatural red in the water sixty feet out. The red object is being buffeted by the waves but doesn’t appear to be moving by itself.