“Why don’t you give your brother a call? We’ve tried a few times, but he never answers.”
Though my father had masked his comment as a simple suggestion, I knew it for what it was: a directive I’d better follow. So I did.
With a deep sigh, I got up. “Let me grab my phone.” I headed down the hall toward the bedroom, and once inside, I closed the door behind me.
Drew was lounging on the bed, playing on his phone. “Are they gone?” he mouthed to me just above a whisper.
“No,” I said through clenched teeth. “They want me to call Brody. It’s a long story. I’ll explain later if they don’t kill me first.” My voice was hushed, but to explain why I was taking so long, I called out loudly, “I’ll be out in a minute. Just gotta find my phone.” I grabbed it off the dresser and whispered, “Put some clothes on,” before turning back to the door.
When I opened it, my mom was standing outside. Pulling it closed behind me, I found myself practically up against her.
“Brody’s in there, isn’t he?”
“No, I’ll call him. Watch.”
“Brody,” my mom said, reaching for the doorknob. But I stood my ground, hoping that the delay would at least give Drew the chance to get dressed.
“Is he back there?” My dad was up from the couch and was in front of me in an instant. “Let us in, Sophia.”
I was proud of myself for waiting another ten seconds or so before finally stepping to the side so my dad could open the door. I braced myself for what he might see.
“Who are you?” he asked sternly.
Drew stood up—thankfully fully clothed—from where he’d been sitting on the edge of the bed, with a laptop open but probably not even turned on. Next to him lay one of his business textbooks.
“Drew Nolan,” he said confidently. Smiling broadly, he reached out his hand. “You must be Sophia’s dad. It’s nice to meet you.”
“That’s right,” said my dad, completely ignoring Drew’s gesture. “Patrick Mason.”
Drew slowly lowered his arm. “I didn’t realize Sophia had plans, or I wouldn’t have asked her to help me study.”
“Studying, huh?” my dad practically grunted.
“Yes, sir.”
“With Brody’s MacBook?”
For as sharp as Drew was, my dad was sharper.
“He lets me use it.”
“Are you his boyfriend?” my mom asked, looking almost excited at the idea.
Drew’s eyes darted to me before settling back on my parents. “No?” Drew answered, obviously hopeful that he’d chosen correctly.
My dad kept his body squared to Drew’s but turned his head toward me once again. “I don’t know what the hell’s going on here, but you better hope your brother picks up. We’re not leaving until we find out where Brody is and why there’s a strange man in his bed.”
D R E W
Mr. Mason was scary, intimidating in a way that went beyond Sophia’s description of him. He couldn’t have been over six feet tall, but his expression and posture created anxiety in me more than anyone’s size ever had.
Not sure whether he was mad at Brody or the whole situation, I barely moved, let alone asked any questions as Sophia dialed his number. She held the phone so it was facing her, leaving her parents out of the frame completely.
I heard the FaceTime call connect, and Brody’s voice immediately after. “What’s up, little sis? How’s college life? The Greek goddesses let you back in the house yet?”
“I have a meeting with them in a little while, actually,” she replied.
Was Brody picking up on the tension in her voice?
“Sweet. Let me know what happens.”
It was more likely Brody was making conversation than it was that he actually cared about the result. Well, beyond wanting to find out when Sophia would be moving out of his apartment.
I heard a female voice giggle and Brody say, “I’m on the phone, babe. Un momento, por favor.”
“I see you’ve improved on your Spanish since high school,” Sophia said, and I had to bite my tongue from laughing. Scared to make eye contact with Mr. and Mrs. Mason, I kept my gaze fixed on Sophia.
“Ha-ha,” Brody said dryly. “Is Drew there? I wanna find out how my classes are going.”
“Yeah, he’s here,” she said, adjusting the phone so Brody could see me.
I chanced a glance at Mr. Mason, who mouthed Where is he?
“What’s my GPA looking like?” asked Brody.
“Good,” I answered. Better to give as little information as possible and ask even fewer questions.
“Nice.”
Just when I thought this whole thing couldn’t get any more