Page 8 of Unspoken Lies

“I was just thinking about that, as well as cleaning and maintaining it all,” I admit.

“You didn’t think about that before?” Elijah teases me, gazing outside as well.

“I know, I have mused over it, but there were a lot of other things to worry about,” I say.

“Calvin texted me this morning to see how we were,” Jared says. “My parents are never home, so I think he’s bored.”

Or maybe he loves you and he’s checking in, you dolt.

Rolling my lips inward to keep my words from spilling out, I shrug.

“What do you think he’d think about this place?” I ask.

“He’d tell you that the cleaners did a shit job,” he says with a laugh. “He would also be checking the temperature of the pool and making adjustments to ensure that it was cool enough.”

“I was going to see how we did and then decide if we should bring him down, but if he’s up to it, we can do it sooner,” I say.

“Being an adult may be overrated,” Elijah says with a snort. “It’s after two and we haven’t eaten yet.”

“Fuck, I also forgot to plug in the fridge,” I groan.

“Did you see if it’s clean enough to turn on?” Jared asks, smirking.

“Call him,” I sigh. “Try to pretend that we didn’t epically fail at being independent.”

“My stomach still says that you’re protesting too much,” Elijah says with a smirk. “I’m going to order food and we can keep unpacking. Otherwise, I’m going to start stabbing things to deal with my hunger.”

“You’ll still be hungry though,” I snort as he flicks me off to search for somewhere that will deliver.

Jared is already pulling out his phone with a happy smile. Just because we’ve graduated high school, doesn’t mean that it isn’t odd to be on our own. I know people do this all of the time, but they usually have parents or someone who cares about them to help navigate the waters.

We don’t have that.

Calvin is the closest person for Jared, which means that’s where we’re going to lean for help.

“Hey, Calvin,” he says when the phone call connects. “We’re unpacking the truck now.”

He hits the speaker button on the phone, and I listen in as Calvin responds.

“— movers clean well enough?” he asks.

I missed part of what he said due to the speaker turning on, but I can get the gist.

“Yes, they cleaned, but I can see where they missed spots,” Jared admits. “We’re probably going to need to clean ourselves.”

“Absolutely not. Give me the number and I’ll ensure that you get your money back. That’s unacceptable. I want to clean the house,” Calvin practically growls. “Stop unloading the truck right now.”

Holding back a smile, I decide that righteous indignation will work just fine.

“Yes, sir,” Jared says. “I’ll book your flight now. How long would you like to stay?”

“Permanently,” Calvin says firmly. “You boys need someone to make sure you’re eating and taking care of yourselves.”

Well, I guess that’s that!

CHAPTER 3

ELIJAH