I felt like I was sweating bullets each time he studied me closely. Loren, Rich, and I had rushed to clean up, get dressed, and make our way to the front of the house as if nothing had happened. Laine was too busy starting dinner to notice the tension and our ruffled appearance, but Houston was right on our trail.
I knew he wouldn’t appreciate me having sex in his grandmother’s house the first time he brought me over. Or ever.
Yup.
Never having sex here would have been better.
I couldn’t even blame anyone but myself since it had been my idea to goad Loren and Rich into having sex.
Unable to take the heat, I got the hell out of the kitchen and made my way to the bathroom. I splashed water on my face and once again tried fixing my hair. Once I accepted that it wouldn’t get any better, I finally left the bathroom only to run into Houston waiting for me. He was leaning against the wall across the hall with his hands in his pockets.
“Have fun?”
I fidgeted on the threshold. “I-I um—”
He walked toward me, and I stopped speaking immediately. I stared up at him while he towered over me, but I refused to cower even when I was in the wrong.
“You wait until I’m gone to end the hiatus? Tell me why I shouldn’t be pissed.”
“Wait…that’s what you’re upset about?”
“What else would I be upset about?”
“This is your grandmother’s house, Houston.”
“You do realize I was raised here, right? I spent my teenage years in this house. You didn’t do anything I haven’t done a million times. Besides, she wasn’t here.” He then glowered at me. “Neither was I.”
“We didn’t have sex.” I paused. “Well, I didn’t.” I paused again when I remembered that I wasn’t entirely innocent. “It was my idea, though.”
Houston’s brows rose, but he didn’t comment on what I’d told him. Loren and Rich fucking wasn’t news to him. Houston simply took my hand and then led me down the hall to his bedroom. I immediately looked around even though I saw it briefly during the tour hours ago. Unlike Loren and Rich, Houston had a queen bed situated between two windows. He also had a desk that I tried to picture him sitting at while studying for a test or writing a school paper.
“Have a seat,” he ordered after closing the door.
Instead of doing so, I watched him walk over to the dresser and pull open the top drawer. He then looked over his shoulder, and when he saw me still standing, he stared.
Hearing his silent command, I walked over to the bed and sat on the edge.
Why had he brought me in here?
It wasn’t that I minded being alone with him in his childhood bedroom. It was just that I couldn’t help noticing the tension lining his shoulders and back.
Maybe this was when the other shoe dropped, and he told me he had a wife and kid too. I didn’t know what I’d do then, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.
Have faith, the angel on my shoulder whispered.
Unfortunately, the devil who was never far away still felt a little raw and wasn’t in the mood today. Shut. The fuck. Up.
Houston quickly found what he was looking for and came to join me on the bed. I frowned when I realized what he held and even more when he handed it to me. I hesitated only until I glimpsed the words printed in bold at the top of the newspaper clipping.
DOUBLE SUICIDE PARALYZES PORTLAND
March 9, 2004 / The Portland Pioneer
Married couple Jake Morrow, 32, and Susan Morrow, 31, were pronounced dead yesterday afternoon. The famed duo died from an overdose on antidepressants, which sources report had been prescribed to both victims. It is also rumored but has not been confirmed that the two were found in their home by their thirteen-year-old son, Houston Morrow.
I stopped reading.
It took a few deep breaths before I could bring myself to look at him. Houston was staring at the cut-out portion of the newspaper with no expression. I knew better, though. I was inside his head like he was in mine. It seemed he needed to gather his emotions, too, before meeting my gaze.
“You found them?”
Slowly, he nodded before looking away like he was ashamed. He was reliving it, and he didn’t want me to see. Standing from the bed, I stood between his legs