My eyes narrow.
Hmm. It would appear that Elle was attempting to mess with me. This must be payback. I realize that she wants me to back off and give her some space. She doesn’t like that I keep a constant eye on her. You know what I gotta say to that?
Tough shit.
“You could have asked me for help,” I tell her. I’ve always aced my math classes and she knows it.
Elle jerks her shoulders in response. When a strange silence falls over the three of us, my curious gaze bounces between the two of them. I’m just about to ask what’s going on when Carson clears his throat and beelines for his books before shoving them into his backpack.
“I should probably get moving.” He glances at my sister before hastily looking away. “If you need any more help, just shoot me a text.”
She nods. “Thanks, I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good.” Carson glances at me for a brief moment. Another odd expression flickers across his face before disappearing. “I’ll see you at practice.”
“Yup.” My brows pinch together as he strides away. A weird feeling settles in the pit of my gut, and I’m not sure what to make of it. My attention slides back to Elle. “Were you two just working on math?”
Her eyes become shuttered. “What else would we be doing?”
That’s an excellent question. And before this moment, it’s not one I would have entertained.
“I don’t know,” I say carefully. I can’t tell if the whole Sydney thing has knocked me so out of whack that I’m creating issues where there are none. It’s a disturbing thought on so many levels.
“Give me a break,” she mutters before nodding to the math book splayed open on the table. “Look, as much fun as this interrogation has been, I don’t have time for it. There’s an assignment I need to finish by three.”
I blow out a steady breath and realize that I’m way off base. There’s no way in hell something is going on between Elle and Carson. Even the idea is absurd. He would never betray me by hooking up with my little sister.
“You know what?” I don’t give her a chance to respond. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to piss you off.”
Her expression softens, and the tension filling her shoulders drains away. “Don’t worry about it. I just wish you would back off a bit and give me some space to live my life.”
As much as I hate to admit it, Elle is probably right. Maybe if I give her a little breathing room now, I won’t feel so out of control when I’m gone next year.
“I’ll try. That’s the best I can do.”
“Thank you.” There’s a pause as she searches my eyes with more care. “Are you okay?”
I drag a hand over my face, not bothering to lie. If there’s one person who knows me well, it’s my sister. We’ve always been close, but the death of our father made us more so. “I ran into Sydney on the way here.”
Elle’s eyes flare as her voice drops. “Did you talk to her?”
As loath as I was to tell her about the connection to the blonde soccer player, there was no way I could keep it a secret. I didn’t want to hide the truth the same way Sydney attempted to keep it from me. How hypocritical would that have been?
To say that she’d been shocked and saddened is an understatement. Strangely enough, she hadn’t blamed Sydney for what happened. Elle might only be nineteen years old, but she’s wise beyond her years. She’s the one who reminded me that it had been a tragic accident and that Sydney had in no way been responsible for her brother’s choices.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected her to respond in that manner. I’d assumed she would be as angry as I was.
I shake my head. Even the thought of being close enough to converse with her makes me feel like my heart will crack wide open. Once that happens, there’ll be no shoving everything that spilled out back inside again. “No. I can’t.”
She reaches across the table, laying her hand over mine. “It’s not her fault, Bray. You know it isn’t. You can’t punish her for something she didn’t have anything to do with.”
“I know.” I really do. Sydney has no culpability in the situation. But still...
Every time I look at her, it’s a reminder of the accident all over again. She’s an unwanted tie to the most tragic episode of my life. How am I supposed to get over that? Or somehow overlook it?
“Okay, then what?” she prompts when I fall silent.
I jerk my shoulders, unsure what to say. The truth is that I’m fresh out of answers.
“It’s obvious that you have strong feelings for her.”
I’ll do us both a favor and not bother denying it. “Yeah, I do.” Sydney is the first girl I’ve ever truly cared about. Certainly the only one I could imagine a future with. The feelings I’d developed make the situation even more unbearable.