When Stars Collide (Light in the Dark #2) - Micalea Smeltzer Page 0,57
Mom.” I laugh, reaching for Thea’s hand.
“Oh.” She covers her heart. “I just assumed with you guys working there that he did. My bad.”
My brother chooses that moment to walk by, phone glued to his hand as he types furiously. “’Bout damn time.”
“Xavier,” my mom hisses. “Language.”
“About fucking time,” Xavier amends with a crooked grin. We look a lot alike. We both have the same messy black hair and are tall, although I’m taller, much to his chagrin.
My mom tosses her hands in the air and mutters. “Why do I bother?”
“I don’t know,” Xavier says back. “I can’t be controlled. You know this.”
My mom shakes her head and turns to Thea and me. “Why don’t you guys hang out in the kitchen? I need some entertainment that isn’t in the form of this doofus.” She points a finger at my little brother.
Xavier frowns. “I feel like I should take offense to that, but doofus is a pretty accurate description of me.”
“You know what else is?” I ask and before he can respond, I say, “Court Jester.” I ruffle his hair as I pass but I don’t get far before he tackles me and we tumble to the floor.
“Boys,” my mom scolds, and I’m sure she’s shaking her head at us as we roll around. To Thea, she mutters, “They’ll never grow up.”
We break apart and laugh, smiling up at our mom. “You love us just the way we are,” Xavier says.
She sighs, blowing her bangs away from her eyes. “You’re right, I do, but I don’t know why.” She lifts her hands in the air and then walks down the hall to the kitchen.
Thea stands over us, shaking her head. “Silly boys.” Then she passes us by.
“So, you and Thea, huh?” Xavier waggles his brows.
“Shut up.” I push his shoulder and stand.
My dad comes down the hall from his office and glances from me to Xavier, who’s still sitting on the floor. He shakes his head and mutters, “I don’t want to know,” before heading into the kitchen.
“Come on, little bro.” I hold my hand out to Xavier.
He avoids my hand and stands on his own. “You know I hate it when you say that.”
“Which is exactly why I keep saying it.”
He sighs. “So, what’s up with you?” I ask him. “Ready for Yale?”
Xavier doesn’t act like it, and it’s not something he likes to talk about, but the kid is practically a genius. Prestigious universities clamored to get him and he’s so uninterested in it all. I think all he wants to do is play video games. He finally decided on Yale, but I don’t know how excited he actually is to attend.
He shrugs. “Eh, it’s just college.”
“It’s Yale. That’s a big deal.”
“It’s still just a school,” he counters. He sighs and stuffs his hands in his pockets. “It’ll be weird being so far away from home, but I think I need the change.”
“I’m going to miss you.” It’s the truth too. The kid might be annoying as fuck, but I actually kind of like him.
“Don’t go getting all sentimental on me, Xander. It’s weird.”
I shake my head. “Maybe I won’t miss you that much.” I laugh and we finally join everyone else in the kitchen.
The meal is almost done, so my mom has Xavier and me set the table. We only manage to break one plate so I take that as a win. My mom, not so much. When she sees the broken plate, she presses a hand to her chest and mutters, “Not again. So many plates lost over the years.”
I make a mental note to buy my mom a new set of plates to make up for all the ones we broke.
“I thought Cade and Rae were coming?” my mom asks as we carry the food to the table.
Right on time, the door opens. “Speak of the devil,” my dad says and leaves us to greet them.
I inhale a deep breath. I suddenly don’t feel ready for this dinner.
We place the food in the center of the table and take our seats.
Cade and Rae enter the room and stop to say hi to my mom. Cade doesn’t even look at me, and maybe it shouldn’t, but my blood boils.
Stay calm, Xander. It’s one fucking dinner. You can do this.
The problem is it’s not one fucking dinner. It’s so much more.
Thea finds my hand beneath the table and gives it a reassuring squeeze.
Idle conversation is made as we shovel food onto our plates and I contemplate when