Page 97 of This Blood That Binds Us

“Yeah, kinda. Standoffish—and not to mention the big fight he got in with the twins just a couple days ago.”

“He didn’t say anything about a fight.”

Just like he hadn’t mentioned anything about going hunting.

“That’s not surprising. It was intense. He yelled. Zach almost broke a light pole. Then he just stormed off. He hasn’t been right since then.”

“Was this...on your hunting trip?” I said, lowering my voice a bit.

“Oh, so you know about that kinda stuff, then, too? Sweet. Yeah, it was.”

“Did Aaron . . . drink blood on your trip?”

The words felt weird coming from my mouth, but there was no way around the question. I had to follow the thread.

Presley eyed me suspiciously. “Yeah, we all did. We don’t kill people, though. You know that, right? He told you?”

“Yeah, yeah. He told me.” My mind spun in circles.

Was it possible William lied about Aaron? At that point, anything was possible, and it explained a lot. Aaron did seem off on our camping trip. Maybe this was just a trickle-down effect and not as serious as I had thought, or more likely an idea William had compelled in some way.

If that was the case, Aaron might never agree to tell his brothers, and I’d need to be the one to do it. I hated the idea of doing something like that without Aaron’s agreement or help, but I couldn’t wait anymore. Whatever was wrong with him, his brothers had to know.

“You don’t need to worry about Aaron. He’ll come to his senses. As for the twins, I don’t think it will be a big deal. I mean, it’s not like you guys did anything dangerous. You’re obviously not going to tell on us.”

A lump caught in my throat. If only we had justonesecret. They were all dangerous.

I spotted the twins in the distance, who were walking over from the food court. My hair was drying and falling away from my shoulders. One swift breeze, and the scars on my neck would stand out. Dropping the bomb on the twins in the middle of the park with tons of bystanders was probably not the best idea.

“I have another favor to ask you.”

I couldn’t hide my fidgeting, and Presley spun to see where I was looking.

He smirked. “You’re running up quite the tab. Remember, you owe me.”

The twins were closing in.

“Okay, fine. I owe you. Give me your shirt.” I tugged on his blue shirt that had a little embroidered logo on the sleeve.

He laughed. “Weird request but okay.”

I wrestled the thin cotton number over my bathing suit. After a few moments, the twins appeared, looking less solemn.

“There you are. Wait, why are you wearing his shirt?” Luke searched for the missing link between us.

I held up my wrapped hand. “I had to sacrifice mine for the greater good.”

“Yeah, and Kim’s embarrassed of her bathing suit.” Presley’s voice held no hesitation.

“Why didn’t you just say that earlier?” Zach said.

“Aaron’s calmed down a lot. He told us about what happened with Chelsea. We tried to catch up with her but it looks like she took her stuff from the campsite and left. I know we haven’t made this all that fun for you, but we promise...no more slapping.” Luke’s grin radiated eternal optimism.

“Except, if you want to slap us to let go of all that pent up anger here, go ahead!” Presley leaned his face close to mine.

A soft laughter escaped my lips. “Yeah, I’m up for anything at this point.”

Their attempt to lighten the mood worked, and for the first time that day, I could see things working out. I just needed to get them alone. I resolved to tell them at the campsite. With or without Aaron, I was going to come clean. They’d be upset, but maybe they would understand. We could figure out the William problem. We could do it all together.