Page 97 of The Other Brother

Mel’s right. I’m a shit liar. I can feel my face heating up, and Frank gives me a skeptical look.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

I stumble back to the table.

Cody reemerges a few minutes later, walking back to the table with his dad. I feel Frank’s gaze land on us as Cody retakes his seat.

Luckily, people are standing up to play games now, so it’s a chance to separate myself from Cody and escape Frank’s scrutiny.

As we play the games, I try not to interact with Cody so I don’t increase Frank’s suspicion. But then I start to worry that it’s going to make it worse if I avoid Cody, like we’re trying to hide something. Shit. How much interaction is normal between guys who get on well but aren’t sticking their tongues down each other’s throats?

There’s a chance I’m overthinking this.

The last game we play is one where we have to use a piece of string to guess the size of Kate’s bump, which she then measures against the real thing to judge the winner.

I ridiculously overestimate how large she is, which Kate takes offense to.

After the game has wrapped up, Cody and I dangle our strings next to each other. He went in the other direction and underestimated the size of her bump, which I mock him about.

“It’s way better to be too big than too little,” I state. “That’s my theory, anyway.”

Cody grins at me. “I’m aware that’s your theory.”

The air between us sizzles.

I rip my gaze away to find Frank standing a few feet from us, watching. Shit.

“Cody says you’re doing well in biology now,” Frank says abruptly.

“Um… yeah.” I wind the string around my hand.

“Maybe you’ve reached the point where you don’t need a tutor anymore?”

Mum’s at a nearby table putting tinfoil over the leftovers. But it turns out she’s not too busy to defend me. Or maybe she’s looking for any excuse to argue against Frank.

“The boys are allowed to be friends, Frank.”

Frank’s gaze narrows, his eyes going tight. “I’ve tried to explain to Cody that some friendships are healthier than others,” he mutters.

Mum’s spine stiffens. “What the hell do you mean by that? Ryan is a great kid.”

Frank snorts.

“May I remind you that it was your son who was so drunk at a party that my son had to rescue him?” Mum says. Her grip on the tinfoil tube has tightened. There’s a chance she’s about to turn it into a weapon.

Beside me, Cody shuffles from one foot to the other. Shit. Our parents are like this when they think we’re friends. Imagine what they’d be like if they discovered the truth.

“Cody doesn’t need distractions. He’s at an age where a few wrong moves can screw up his whole life,” Frank says. “I don’t want that for him.”

Mum bristles, putting the tinfoil down with a bang. “Are you ever going to forgive me for getting pregnant? You realize I screwed up my life as well? It wasn’t just your magical music career that had to be sacrificed. I had to give up my dreams too.”

Well, that escalated quickly. It’s a supreme talent they have.

Kate steps forward. “As I’m the product of your unplanned pregnancy, I don’t want to hear about how much I screwed up your lives, okay?” Her voice is defiant, but tears glisten in her eyes.

Chris leans over and squeezes her hand.

Luckily, her words deflate both Mum and Frank. Mum picks up the tinfoil again and continues to wrap up leftover sandwiches with venom, snapping the foil violently. I don’t think tinfoil has ever been so abused.