Chapter Seven

Dinner was strange, to say the least. Win and Bill and Aaron kept giving me looks, as if the name would magically appear on my forehead or something. But Mom and Dad didn't notice anything, so for that I was grateful. They asked lots of questions about football and college classes and it was a big, happy family dinner. Even Curtis spoke up some, which surprised everyone. Bill took the opportunity to get him talking about baseball, though, asking him about his team and a description of his best plays of the season.

I volunteered to do the dishes and – even more shocking – Curtis offered to help. So, everyone else moved into the living room and Curtis and I got started on the dishes, with me washing and him drying.

"So," he said after a moment. "Why were Win and Bill and Aaron giving you those looks?"

So I hadn't imagined them. "I don't know."

"I don't believe that."

I smiled. "They're trying to invade my personal life."

"You mean about your boyfriend?"

I dropped the bowl that I was washing back into the sink, splashing a bit of soapy water on the front of my T-shirt. I looked over at Curtis, who finished drying a cup and set it down to dry. He looked back at me and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"How do you know about that?" I hissed.

He turned a little bit red. "Well, um, don't get mad, okay?"

I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter. "Spill."

"You look like Mom when you do that."

"Great," I muttered. "Spill."

He sighed and looked down at his shoes. "I had to go into your room to get my boots." I had borrowed them a week earlier because mine had a hole and I hadn't had time to get new ones that day. I had gotten new ones since then, but I had forgotten to return his.

"Okay," I said. "And?"

He didn't look at me. "Well, while I was in there, I saw a jacket."

"And?"

But he didn't even have to say it; I realized it. "Well, the jacket was a guy's jacket. So I figured that you had a boyfriend and jus didn't want anyone to know."

"And you didn't say anything."

"Why would I do that?" he asked, finally looking at me. "I don't want you in trouble."

I smiled and reached out to ruffle his hair. "Thanks, bro."

He nodded. "You're welcome."

I grabbed the bowl out of the water and washed it. As I handed it to him, he asked, "So…who is it?"

"Nice try."

After I had finally gone up to my bedroom for the night, I called Brian. He answered on the third ring. "Hey."

"Hi," I smiled and sat down on my bed. "How are you?"

He laughed. "Good. You?"

"Great. Sorry about today; my brothers being there and all."

"It's fine. They didn't suspect me, did they?"

I shook my head. "No, they didn't. They hate you, though."

He laughed. "Oh, yeah? That's unfortunate."

"I guess. I think they'd like you if they got to know you."

"Yeah, I'll win them over with my charm."

I laughed. "So what are you doing?"

"Just laying here watching TV. Flipping through the channels, actually. And wishing that we could hang out. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure," I answered. "But I don't know how easy it would be to get away when my brothers are around. Especially with them wanting to know who you are so badly."

"How long will they be in?"

"They're staying through the scrimmage."

He whistled. "I can't wait that long to see you."

"Me either," I admitted. "What do you wanna do?"

"Could you make some excuse to come into town?"

"Well," I mused. "I can't say that I'm going to practice basketball because Win would definitely want to come and he would probably talk Aaron and Bill into coming, too. I could say that I'm hanging out with Amber, I guess…but I don't know if she'd lie for me since that fight that we had."

"Do you have any other friends that would lie for you?"

"I don't have many friends," I admitted reluctantly. "I kind of keep to myself. Amber's been my best friend for a long time."

"I'm sure we can figure something out," he told me. "And if all else fails, I can sneak over there at night."

"That's dangerous," I warned. "Remember me telling you about Dad catching Bill with that girl in the barn?"

"Well, then, we'll just have to make sure we don't get caught." I could hear the cocky grin in his voice.

I laughed. "Yeah; I'd prefer that."

"So, why don't you try to figure something out and call me when you know something?"

"I'll do that," I agreed. "And hopefully I'll see you soon."

"Yeah," he said softly, in a voice that raised goosebumps on my arms. "I'll see you soon. Get some sleep tonight, okay?"

"Okay; good night."

"Night, DJ."

I hung up the phone and put it on my bedside table, planning to go and take a shower. At the last minute, though, I grabbed the phone and took it with me, not sure what Bill and Win and Aaron were planning. I decided that it would be best to keep my phone on me at all times so that they couldn't get to it.

After my shower, I went back to my room and laid down in my bed. I tried to think of a plan to get away from the house, but nothing was really coming to mind. I could tell Mom that I needed to find Amber so that we could solve our argument, but that was the best I had. But if I didn't actually go and solve things with Amber, how would I get away the next time if Amber didn't lie for me? Or would Mom and Dad even check with Amber? Would Win and Bill and Aaron?

Deciding that I would worry about that when it came, I fell asleep.