Adjournment (The Fate Series) (27 page)

I sink my teeth into the flesh inside my mouth just as Molly catches my attention and silently asks, “She works?” Trying to mask a laugh, I shove a forkful of potatoes into my mouth.

“We just laid around in the pool, so it’s fine.” Our mother brushes her off, and their conversation gets quieter from there.

“I didn’t need your help… but thank you,” I whisper to Simon. He gives my knee a couple of quick squeezes and a feeling of heat rolls through me. Reigniting something in me that I thought I had stomped out. It’s becoming uncomfortably warm in here all of a sudden, and I feel myself losing my appetite. His scent overpowers the smell of the food, making me dizzy with every breath I take.

Why does he have to sit next to me?

“Will you be joining us for game night?” my mother asks the McAllisters.

Part of me wants them to leave right now and part of me is hoping they say yes.

Is that bad?

Of course it’s bad!

You need distance.

I can feel it starting, the throbbing in my ears, my heart pounding against my chest—I need to get out of here.

I can’t breathe… I need air…

I try to calm down, to think about anything else, but the more I attempt the worse it’s getting. “Actually we can’t, we have some things to take care of,” Judith explains.

Focus on what everyone is talking about. Don’t think about anything, just focus on them. I repeat it over and over in my head.

It doesn’t work, all I can hear is my breathing and my blood pulsing through me.

I can tell by Judith’s tone she isn’t happy about whatever it is going on. The guys are probably in trouble.

My hands begin to tingle.

Dammit! Not even trying to decode her vague answer is helping me.

“But we will be back bright and early to help with anything you need,” Judith adds.

I need to get it together.

“Not feeling well, Pet?” Simon leans closer, his arm presses against mine.

“I think it’s the wine and the sun from today.” I push my chair away from the table. Our eyes connect briefly as I go to stand up and I damn near fall over my chair. His hands grab my hips holding me steady.

“I’m going to get some air.” I steady myself, and he pushes his seat back his hands still firmly holding me. “Please don’t follow me,” is the last thing I whisper before wrapping my hands around his wrists to remove them.

I rush out of the room on wobbly legs to find some sort of sanctuary.

“You had to do that?” I hear Simon snap from behind me.

“Would you like me to go speak with her?” Judith asks.

Oh, please God, no.

“No!” they all shout. 

I’m losing my mind is all I can think when I make it outside. That’s it, I’m losing my mind.

An anxiety attack begins to contract inside my chest making it a struggle to breathe normally.

The speech… that must be what this is about.

Once I figure out the trigger I begin to breathe through it to calm myself down. Reminding myself that Molly and Morgan will have to speak as well, and during the ceremony no one will be looking at me. They’re here for my parents.

I laugh as it starts to subside.

Ha! Take that stupid anxiety attack and stupid Judith.

I stay where I am until I hear them leave so Judith doesn’t set me off again, then I decide to rejoin everyone in the great room, where my mother has laid out all the fixings for a game of charades on the coffee table that sits in the middle of three couches near the fireplace. Giving my anxious mind a quick shake I try to remind myself I only have to see him for the weekend and the weekend will soon be over. We take our seats, and Grams drives in with a scheming look on her face.

Morgan is inspecting her and stands abruptly.

“Grams has to be on a team or I am not playing.” She points at Grams who has her skillful stunned look on her face.

“I agree, I’m not playing if Grams doesn’t pick a team. She is a sneak and a cheater!” Molly adds as she joins Morgan to stand and point at Grams like she is on trial. Jacob, Lexi, and Tyler are seated on the couch between ours and the one our uncles and mother are seated on with a look of shock on their faces as they watch my sisters begin to berate what looks like an innocent old woman.

Grams isn’t, and they don’t mean what they say since it’s all part of the act.

“Ladies, stop!” our mother shouts at them. Everyone stills to look at her. “Your grandmother is not playing. You know she gets too excited when she plays.” She scolds them and starts passing around the hat that has equal amounts of ones, twos and threes in it so the teams are chosen at random. 

We’ve been accused of “stacking the deck” in past games so ever since we have to do it this way.

“Girls, if I didn’t help them, they would never get any points.” Grams gives us a wink as she steers the wheelchair next to where I’m sitting and slips me three pieces of paper. I slowly pass two to Molly and she hands off the last one to Morgan while our uncles and mother argue over who cheats more—us or Grams.

If they only knew.

We take this game… well, every game, very seriously so we can’t just leave it up to chance. My sisters and I learned a long time ago as sore of losers as our uncles and mother are, they are even worse winners. So we all decided one night that they could never win again.

As the hat gets passed to me I slowly put my hand in and swish it around pulling out the same paper that was tucked in my palm to begin with. Unfolding it I read out the number two, then hand the hat over to Molly who does the same and pulls the same number two. Groans from my mother and uncles erupt with the realization that we are on the same team.

Molly, going along with it, sticks her tongue out at Morgan as she passes her the hat which causes Morgan to roll her eyes back at Molly. Morgan slips her hand in pulling out the final two which sends the room into a frenzy and the coffee table spinning through the air before landing upside down with a crash. Luckily we have all perfected the innocent look.

“Give me the hat. They are cheating! I demand a count of the papers to make sure we have even numbers per team!” our Uncle Sal yells reaching to grab the hat from Morgan, who looks hurt and shocked by his allegations. Jacob, Tyler and Lexi are paralyzed with fear as their eyes shift from Sal to Morgan. Her hurt face turns to anger quickly. She shoots up to argue back that he is a sore loser, and he can’t mess with Fate as she tosses the hat back to Sal. We all show our numbers to prove there are equal teams.

Oh Grams, you really do think of everything. Instead of placing all the papers in the hat she kept three with the same number on them for us. And her kids think she likes them more because she coughs an answer here or there. Pfft. Grandparents always love their grandkids more than their own.

After arguing over the teams and setting the table upright, we sit down and begin the game. Unfortunately for Jacob, he’s on Team Madness and Sal.

“No, we are not playing another round, Matt! I have over a hundred people coming in… It’s one AM! You idiots kept me up until one am? What is the matter with you? I am going to bed! Give it up, you aren’t going to beat them,” our mother says, getting up to storm out of the room.

“Fine. This isn’t over though, you conniving, evil brats.” Uncle Sal lets out with a rough laugh as he points at the three of us.

“Yeah, the next time we aren’t going to be so nice and let you three devil children win,” Uncle Mitch adds while stretching back on the couch.

After they accept defeat, we clean up and all walk down our separate ways to bed. Grams and my uncles have a small separate wing of the house off from my parents’ side since Grams is in the wheelchair. Everything is more accessible for her there, and our uncles stay in the rooms around hers in case she needs someone.

I think she waits until she knows they’re sleeping to yell out for them. That’s why she doesn’t get a nurse or a helper… torturing her kids is more fun.

As we walk up the steps Jacob clears his throat, “Okay so seriously how did you guys pull off getting on the same team? Because your family might be a little crazy but they don’t seem like the kind of people to piss Fate off enough to team you three up against them,” he says in a rush like he’s been holding it in since it happened.

“It’s just the way the papers get pulled, I guess,” Molly giggles with as much innocence she can gather.

His raised eyebrow lets us know he doesn’t believe a word any of us say.

“Well, I love your crazy family!” Tyler gushes. “I was nervous because your parents are big to-dos in the city, and you’re all so well-known and poised. Then you get out here, and you’re loud and crazy. Like regular people… and your neighbors are the McAllisters, whom by the way are so much better looking in person,” he blurts out.

No they aren’t.

“I guess if you’re into that sort of thing.” Morgan turns her nose up at the idea.

She is the worst liar ever. She is so into that kind of thing.

“Well I know someone who is into that idea.” Tyler gives me a wink.

“He means Molly,” Jacob corrects him.

“I figured that.” I press my lips together as Molly’s jaw drops.

“Me? Is it that obvious?” She covers her mouth to laugh. “I may like him.” She tries straightening out the smile on her face but it doesn’t work. 

Another terrible liar… she’s completely smitten with the man.

“I say we all get up at seven and get some coffee and go for a run. Maybe some yoga on the beach? I don’t want to eat a lot, because I have to fit into my suit since it’s black tie, and I am going to look fabulous!” Jacob cheers, jumping up and down.

He’s been to dozens of black tie events but never to one like this. It will most definitely be one for the history books.

We give cheek bumps while saying goodnight and go to our separate rooms.

“He said we were poised!” Molly blurts out laughing all the way to her room.

Well, I am. But now thanks to pain-in-the-ass Judith I have this knot twisting in my stomach. 

Here’s to be a sure thing… and playing with little men…

Smiling at myself in the mirror, I smooth the nonexistent wrinkles out of my dress.

“Today is going to be a good day,” I say to myself.

Pressing my lips together I inhale deeply through my nose.

Exhaling I repeat my motto for the day. “It’s going to be a good day.”

A knock at my door startles me, spiking my nerves back up to astronomical heights. “Sidney?” I hear
him
say against the door.

I don’t want to talk to any one yet. I’ve managed to avoid everyone so far today, and I need to continue it so I can survive this.

“I’m… naked…” I wrinkle my nose at my reflection.

Seeing Simon won’t help me, well not in the long run anyways. Although the allure of being in a bubble with him for a little while is tempting, I know I have to face this alone.

“Okay, Pet, I’ll be downstairs if you need me. They are starting in a few minutes,” he finishes, and that’s all I hear. A nagging inside of me wishes I could pull him back and beg him to calm me down.

No, no, no, I am in charge.

Another knock on the door brings relief.

For once I’m glad he didn’t listen to me.

Walking over, I open the door to see Molly’s beaming face in front of me.

Shoot me now.

“Come on, Pet,” she giggles wrapping her arm around mine to pull me after her.

I don’t like the nickname when she says it.

“Don’t call me that,” I groan, shutting my door behind me. I walk silently with her down the hall to where Morgan is sitting.

“Oh, right, that name is reserved for the man who makes your insides twist with fiery desire,” she says in a heavily panting voice.

Well it was silent for a few seconds there.

I look over at her, my face twisted in disgust. She takes her arm from mine and clasps her hands behind her back to stroll along next to me.

“My insides do not twist in… scorching desire,” I say, trying to ignore her.

Molly always tries to defuse my anxiety with humor, sometimes it works… today she’s just making me angry.