The Simplicity in Chaos Read online

  I shrug. “Not always, but sometimes.” Around people I don’t know.

  “Well, I don’t want to frighten you”—he backs for the porch steps again—“but you might want to consider being a little more outspoken, or the chaos of the Everettson family is going to swallow you up.” He smiles then turns around, leaving me with a huge lump of fear wedged in my throat.

  Might want to be more outspoken? Yeah, every time I’ve tried that, I ended up humiliated.

  As he jogs back to his truck and opens the passenger side door, I step inside and attempt to collect myself. I’m still wearing the plaid shirt and T-shirt I had on yesterday but traded out the jeans for a pair of cut-offs sometime during last night’s drunkenness. I smell like beer, whiskey, and stale pizza, just like this living room. Hopefully, Gabe doesn’t have issues with the mess or the evidence that I was drinking last night. My parents never cared, just as long as I never drove drunk or got arrested.

  Gage sits up on the sofa and rubs his bloodshot eyes. “Who was that?”

  I pick up the half-empty bottle of whiskey from off the floor. “Gabe. My … temporary guardian, I guess.”

  Nina buries her face in a pillow. “Did you tell him to go away?”

  “I wish I could.” I rotate the bottle in my hand as an unspoken silence blankets over us. “God, I can’t believe this is really happening.”

  “Me neither.” Nina sniffles then staggers to her feet and wraps her arms around me. “You have to come back every weekend, and we’ll drive out there when you can’t come here. And promise that none of our plans will change. We’re still moving in together after we graduate, okay?”

  I nod, giving her an awkward hug back. “Nothing’s going to change. I promise.” But I feel like such a liar. Because things are changing.

  Everything is changing.

  Too quickly.

  And I can barely keep up.

  As tears threaten to pour out, I start to pull back when Nina abruptly stiffens.

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” She crosses her arms as she glares at someone behind me.

  “Who are you talking to?” I ask, twisting around.

  Then my heart slams against my chest.

  No. No, no, no, no, no. This can’t be happening.

  I blink. Then I blink again. I blink so many times my eyes begin to water. Yet, the guy standing in the doorway remains.

  The mysterious guy I tried to hit on yesterday.

  Four

  He appears as stupidly dumbstruck as I do—his eyes wide, his expression frozen.

  Well, at least he remembers me.

  Yeah, remembers how he told you to get lost.

  “So, what are we moving out first?” A guy around my age suddenly steps through the doorway with a smile on his face. He’s dressed similar to the mysterious stranger—all in black—but instead of short, dark hair, his hair is chin-length and blond. He also has silvery eyes like Gabe. When he enters, he takes one look at me, Nina, and who I’m assuming is his brother, then frowns. “Aw, hell, Foster. Please don’t tell me you’ve already fooled around with our new sister?”

  The shock that had swept across the room rapidly thaws.

  “I’m not your sister,” I say while the mysterious stranger—Foster—bites out, “I didn’t mess around with her, and you know that, asshole.” Then his gaze zeroes in on me and his jaw ticks. “And even if I could, she’s not might fucking type.”

  My jaw nearly drops.

  What a fucking asshole.

  The blond guy openly checks me out. “Maybe... She’s definitely my type, but I’m not really interested either.”

  Now my jaw nearly ninja-kicks the floor.

  Great, they’re both assholes. The only difference is Blondie does it with a smile on his face, while Foster just seems irritated. Well, that and I feel more hurt about Foster’s rejection. Who the heck knows why. After yesterday, I should be over him—I need to get over him.

  My insides coil as Blondie’s smirk widens. Luckily, Gabe strolls in and deflates the situation with a clap of his hands.

  “Have we done introductions yet?” When he notices Nina and Gage, his asks me, “Are these your friends?”

  I nod, continuing to glare at Blondie. “Yeah, they stayed over last night to say goodbye.”

  Gabe’s attention drops to the whiskey bottle in my hand, and a frown etches into his face. “I see.”

  Great. Am I in trouble?

  Blondie smirks at me while Foster stares at me with his brows arched.

  “Well,” Gabe starts, shaking the frown away. “How about we get this little moving fest going so we can get you home and let you know all the house rules, okay?”

  Awesome. My bet? Rule number one is no drinking.

  Gabe starts to walk across the room but then pauses, turning toward Foster and Blondie. “Did you guys introduce yourselves yet?” When they shake their heads, seeming bored, he sighs. “Skylin, this is my son Easton”—he gestures at Blondie who has the audacity to wink at me, then motions to Foster—“and this is Foster.”

  So, these are the non-identical twins who are my age and who are supposed to show me around my new school. Lovely.

  I force a smile. “My name’s Sky. No one really calls me Skylin, except for my mom, and only when she’s really pissed off.”

  Gabe smiles at that, Foster continues to look irritated, and Easton, well, he looks amused, but I have a feeling that might not be a good thing.

  “Okay, Sky it is,” Gabe interrupts the silence, seeming a bit uneasy as he looks at me. “Why don’t you show me everything that needs to go with you, and then what needs to go in storage. That way, we can load up the storage stuff last so we won’t have to move all your stuff around.

  Nodding, I turn for my parents’ bedroom, figuring that’s the best place to start. As I pass by Nina, I hand her the whiskey bottle and tell Gage and her to wait a minute before taking off.

  After I get done showing Gabe what goes where, he suggests something that’s kind of nice.

  “Why don’t you go have lunch with your friends and say goodbye,” he says. “Foster, Easton, and I can handle getting everything packed and cleaned up.”

  I peer around the messy house crammed with furniture. “Are you sure? There’s a lot of stuff.”

  He pats me on the shoulder. “With everything you’re going through right now, you deserve to say a proper goodbye to your friends.”

  I nod gratefully, but a drop of uneasiness stirs inside of me.

  He acts as though I’m saying goodbye forever, as if he knows my parents are never coming back. But even if my parents don’t return—and that’s a huge if—I’ll eventually come back to Nina and Gage. My time with the Everettsons is only temporary. I know this, so why doesn’t Gabe not seem to?

  Five

  Before I leave the house with Nina and Gage to grab a bite to eat, I change out of my smelly clothes, wash my face, comb my hair, and put on the necklace I almost always wear. It was a gift from my mom on my fifth birthday. She told me her sister had once given it to her.

  The teardrop-shaped pendant is made out of steel and is supposed to bring the wearer good luck. But, considering how unlucky I’ve been, I don’t buy into the story.

  After I get cleaned up, I head out. Easton makes a point to smirk at me again, and Foster simply ignores me.

  “Well, they’re an … interesting family,” Gage comments from the back seat of Nina’s car as we drive toward the center of town.

  “Interesting?” Nina glances at him in the rearview mirror. “They’re a bunch of assholes.”

  “Gabe doesn’t seem too bad,” I attempt to find the silver lining in all this.

  Maybe the rest of the family will be like Gabe? I sure hope so, or else my time with the Everettsons is going to suck.

  “Yeah, except for the fact that he looked upset you were holding a bottle of whiskey,” Nina reminds me as she pulls into the parking lot of the local burger joint.

  “So, h
e’s a normal parent then,” Gage chimes in with a shrug. “That might not be that bad.”

  “Have you ever had a normal parent?” Nina questions, knowing very well he hasn’t. “Because my ex-stepfather was like that—all about rules and normalcy—and it sucked ass.” She steers into an empty parking space then unbuckles her seatbelt. “I was so glad when my mom divorced him and things went back to normal.”

  “And by normal, she means she got to return to her evil vixen ways of running wild, drinking, and doing drugs.” Gage shares a teasing smile with me as he slides across the seat to get out.

  Laughing, I climb out of the car and meet Nina and Gage around back.

  “I still can’t believe you’re going to be living with the guy you’ve been crushing on for the last couple months,” Nina says as we head inside.

  “Was crushing on,” I clarify, splashing through puddles. “The crush ended the moment he opened his mouth.”

  “Well, asshole or not, at least you’ll have something pretty to look at every day,” Nina muses. “That Easton guy was pretty hot, too.”

  “They’re twins,” I tell her as I pull open the door.

  She grins as she steps inside. “Even better.”

  Gage and I share an amused look as we follow her in.

  “You know she’s going to hit on him at least one time, right?” he whispers to me as we wander toward the counter.

  “As long as she comes and visits me, I don’t really care,” I whisper back.

  “Are you two bitches talking about me?” Nina grins. “It’s cool if you are. Just make sure it’s all good things.”

  A smile touches my lips. Man, I’m going to miss this—miss them. Even on the shittiest days, the two of them can make me smile.

  The smile remains on my face as I skim the choices on the menu. I’m dithering back and forth between a hamburger and chicken tenders when Gage lets out a sharp cough.

  “Creeper alert at five o’clock,” he hisses under his breath.

  I casually tilt my head, glancing to my right to see what Gage is yammering about. Standing a little ways to the side of us is a tall man, maybe a few years older than us, with dark eyes and black hair that reaches his chin. He has a scar across his forehead, and is wearing slacks and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the top button undone. Even businessowners in Honeyton rarely sport suit attire, so he stands out like a ballerina in a mosh pit. What really makes him creepy, though, is the way he’s staring at me, as if he’s attempting to burn a hole into my head.

  “Do you know him?” Nina glances from the stranger to me.

  I shake my head and start to look away when the stranger approaches us. I tense as he nears us, wishing I brought my pepper spray.

  “You’re that girl moving in with the Everettsons, right?” His voice is shockingly deep.

  I feign stupidity because there is no way in hell I’m about to tell him the truth. “Who?”

  “Don’t lie to me, little girl,” he warns, a bit of an accent seeping into his tone. “I know you’re moving in with them. I came here to warn you to be careful around them.” He looks at my friends and then leans in and lowers his voice. “They’re not who you think they are.”

  “I have no idea who you’re talking about.” I resist the urge to gulp as my pulse accelerates.

  He reaches into his jacket pocket.

  Fearing what he could possibly be grabbing, I instinctively step back. But he only retrieves a card.

  “When you run into some trouble with them, which you will, give me a call.” He urges me to take the card.

  I keep my hands at my sides. “Look, I don’t know who you are, but I’m not sure what you’re talking about …”

  He drops the card at my feet, spins on his heels, and then strides out the door, glancing at me one final time before walking outside.

  “Holy hell,” Nina breathes out. “That was beyond creepy.”

  “Agreed.” Gage bends over and picks up the card. “Okay, this just got even creepier.”

  “What?” I take the card from him, and my brows knit. “It says he’s a private detective.”

  “That’s weird.” Gage scratches his head. “That was really strange, especially how he knew you were moving in with the Everettsons.” He looks at me with worry. “Do you think we should call the police and report him?”

  “It wouldn’t do any good. Technically, he didn’t break a law. And considering how interested the police have been in finding my parents, who are missing, yeah, I don’t see the point in telling them.” I restlessly pat the card against the palm of my hand, questions flooding my mind.

  How did that detective know I was moving in with the Everettsons unless he’s been watching me? And what did he mean by the Everettsons aren’t who I think they are? I’m not sure, but the whole ordeal has me on edge and really wishing for my parents to return.

  Six

  An hour later, Nina pulls up in front of my house to drop me off. We spend about fifteen minutes hugging and saying goodbye while promising to visit each other every weekend. Then as I’m getting out of the car, they give me a goodbye gift.

  “Because I have a feeling you’re going to need it,” Gage explains as I glance in the gift bag that is full of an assortment of mini bottles he must have stolen from his mom, along with a small, wooden box. “There’re a couple of joints in that box, in the false bottom. I’d recommend keeping them in there, too, until you’re ready to light up.” His gaze travels to the Everettsons’ truck in the driveway. “That Gabe guy seemed like he could be pretty strict.”

  “Yeah, it’s definitely going to be interesting living with him.” I hug the gift bag against my chest.

  “The gifts are from me, too.” Nina rummages around in her purse. “But I also got you this.” She hands me a small box.

  I lift the lid and smile at the gift inside—a silver lighter with my name engraved on it. It’s totally a Nina type of gift.

  “Thanks, guys.”

  We sit there silently for a moment and everyone’s eyes begin to water. I should get out of the car. I need to get out of the car before my waterworks gets the best of me. But getting out means it’s time to go.

  It’s time to go, Sky. Get out of the car.

  Sucking back tears, I push open the door.

  “Best friends forever!” Nina shouts.

  We used to say that all the time when we were kids.

  “Best friends forever,” I repeat then shut the door and walk away, making my way across the grass and toward my house.

  Walking away from my old life and toward my new.

  “About damn time,” Easton says as I wander through the front door and into the living room.

  He’s sitting on the floor, resting back on his hands, with a soda bottle beside him. He’s the only thing in the room, the furniture and boxes now gone.

  “You guys got everything out already?” I ask in surprise. “That was fast.”

  “Yep.” The corners of his lips tug into a smirk. “We’ve just been waiting around for your slow ass to get back so we can hit the road.”

  “But I was only gone for a couple of hours?” I shake my head. No, there’s no way they could’ve cleared out the house already. He has to be screwing with me.

  I march back to the bedrooms to check for myself with Easton’s snickers chasing after me. As I stick my head in one room after another, I start to wonder if maybe Easton was telling the truth. When I reach the final room—the washroom—I find the answer.

  That room, like all the others, has been cleared out.

  I frown, realizing my time here is up.

  “Oh, good, you’re back,” Gabe greets me with a smile as I return to the living room.

  Easton is still stretched out across the floor, and Foster is leaning against the front doorjamb with his arms crossed. The door is open, and his gaze is fixed on the street outside.

  “You got everything loaded up already?” I ask the obvious, still a bit skeptical.
Or maybe I’m just trying to procrastinate leaving.

  “We already made one trip to the storage unit,” Gabe explains, taking a sip from a water bottle. “We just need to drop the last load off, and then we can go. I thought, if you were ready, we could lock up and drop the keys off at the landlord’s on our way.” He twists the lid back on the bottle. “Of course, that’s only if you’re ready. If you want to stay here for a little bit while we drop off the last load and say goodbye, I completely understand.”

  My gaze skims the bare, patched-up walls, the stained carpet, and the empty space around me. Say goodbye to what? This place is no longer my home anymore. It’s just a house. That’s it.

  I don’t have a home anymore.

  Don’t have a family.

  I smash my lips together, trying not to cry as thunder rumbles outside.

  “We better get going soon. It looks like it’s going to storm again,” Gabe mumbles then looks at me. “So, did you want to stick around here for a bit and say goodbye?”

  Bottling down the pain, I shake my head. “Nah, I’m good. There’s nothing left to say goodbye to anyway.”

  I turn and walk out of the house that was once my home. Walk away from everything I’ve ever known and toward the frightening unknown.

  Seven

  After we leave, we stop by the landlord’s house to drop off the key then we head over to the storage unit. During the drive there, I remain stuck in my thoughts of how the life I once knew is no more.

  “So, are you this quiet all the time?” Easton asks from the passenger seat after his dad climbs out to unlock the storage unit.

  Foster is sitting in the back seat with me and has been silently staring out the window the entire drive.

  I shrug.

  He studies me with a glint in his eyes. “Well, just a warning. Being quiet at our house means being eaten alive.”

  I pick at my fingernails. “Yeah, your dad already warned me about that.”

  “Did he?” Easton grins at Foster. “What do you think about that, Fost? Sounds like Dad is trying to play favorite with our new little sis.”