Page 95 of Whispers of Wisteria

“I-I’m not lonely,” I replied.

“It’s cool anyway,” he said, leaning back into his seat. “I had a break between classes, and Julian asked me to keep an eye on you.”

“Oh.” I frowned down at my coffee. So, he was only talking to me as a favor?

Anthony grinned and leaned over the table. “I thought you might want to do something fun.”

“Something… fun?” I asked, unsure. “What is it?”

“Something you’ll like.” Anthony’s grin grew wider. “So—” He opened a silver spiral-bound notebook on the table and ran his finger over the lines. There were columns of scribbles, but Miles’s name caught my attention. “—Miles missed a few classes and skipped practice, and no one knows why.”

I tried to read the tiny, loopy writing, but only parts of it were legible.

“Is that Miles’s schedule?” I recognized those classes. I, too, had written out variations of the boy’s calendars. “Are you stalking him? We can’t prank Miles.”

But... was he skipping school? I should have been more vigilant.

“Pranking?” Anthony’s brows drew together. His dark brown eyes shone with hurt. “What makes you think I’d do such a thing?”

“Ah.” I leaned back in my chair. “D-Damen said you and Brayden are close.”

He pursed his lips. “And?”

“Brayden is so h-happy and carefree?” Why did it sound like I was asking a question? “He likes to go after Bryce.”

Although now that I thought about it, Brayden was a lot of talk. I’ve neverseenhim do anything to our brother.

“You don’t need to worry about Bryce,” Anthony said.

I wasn’t worried. Not much.

Or maybe a little.

“He’s more than capable of holding his own.” Anthony’s serious mood continued. “Brayden absolutely cannot win against him. He’s badass. But Brayden still tries—he likes a challenge.”

Bryce… a badass? I’d been growing curious about this supposed legendary prowess. I needed to see it for myself.

“And Brayden isn’t carefree at all. He’s one of the most serious people I know. I mean, he likeslibraries,” Anthony continued. “He might be cheerful aroundyou, but that’s because he’s trying to make you feel relaxed.”

“B-but…” My mind raced. “Damen said you two werefun.”

Anthony’s eyes widened briefly before he threw his head back in a laugh. “Oh, he did?” he gasped. “Ignore him, he’s just jealous.”

“Jealous?” I asked, touching his lip. What reason would Damen have to be jealous of anyone?

“Because if he’s unhappy, he wants everyone else to suffer too.”

I looked at him blankly.

“Damen has attachment issues.” Anthony sighed. “Titus and Damen were best friends when they were younger. But they drifted apart, and Damen latched on to Bryce. Those two dideverythingtogether up until a few years ago.”

“What—” I began, but Anthony had already continued.

“There were issues in the Dubois household, and the Abernathy family got involved. They’ve barely been able to stand each other since. As for why he’s jealous, I think it’s because he hates anything that reminds him of what he’s been missing.”

I touched my fingers together. “That’s so…”

Stupid.