Page 124 of Trust Me

“I’ve been busy. I did text you.”

“A text is not the same as a phone call. How can you be sure it was me on the other end of the phone responding to those texts?” She throws up her hands in frustration.

Frowning, Kyle looks down at her. “You’re the only sixteen year old on the planet who prefers phone calls over texting.”

She shrugs and grins from ear to ear. “Thank you.”

That’s when she turns to me. She has hazel eyes like her brother, but her heart-shaped face belongs to her mother. I’m surprised to realize that one side of her head is completely shaved and has a line of ear piercings running up her entire earlobe.

It was the heavy combat boots on her feet that had made so much noise as she rushed down the stairs.

“I’m Anastasia, but Stasi for short. Only my parents call me Anastasia, and that’s when they’re pissed at me,” she rattles on.

“Stasi, language,” their mother interjects again.

“Sorry,” she mumbles before sticking her hand out to me. “Who are you?”

“This is Riley,” Kyle’s mother introduces. “And this is Eve.” She nods toward my niece. “Why don’t you take Eve into the entertainment room for a minute while we wait for everyone to arrive and for dinner to be served?”

“Cool.” Stasi shrugs. “What do you like to do?” she asks Eve.

“I like math,” my niece answers.

Stasi gives her a skeptical look. “Not my favorite subject.” Then she snaps. “Ohh, maybe you can help me with my latest measurements for this recipe.” She takes Eve by the hand and pulls her out of the room.

I watch my niece eagerly trail the older girl.

“Don’t even think of turning on one of your true crime podcasts for her to listen to,” Kyle calls after his sister. “The last thing we need is for Eve to have nightmares from listening to that shit,” he grumbles.

I stare at him as he continues looking after the empty doorway where his sister and my niece exited. From the wrinkle in his forehead, I can see that he looks worried.

“They’ll be fine,” his mother finally says. “Besides, don’t you have more pressing matters to discuss?”

Thelike how in the hell you’re married with a whole familygoes unsaid.

I look between the two of them because I also wonder how Kyle plans to explain this situation. Is he going to out me to his entire family?

“What’s to discuss?” Kyle says so nonchalantly that my mouth falls open.

Mrs. Townsend, however, must be used to this side of her son because she doesn’t even look annoyed at his response.

“Maybe the part where you’re married all of a sudden? Let’s start there. How did this come about? Just a few weeks ago you weren’t seeing anyone. You were more married to that damn company than to anyone else. You must really be in love to move this quickly.”

A snort falls from my mouth accidentally, causing them both to look my way. “Love, yeah right,” I mumble. “He blackmailed me into it.”

His mother’s eyes widen and then dart over to Kyle. “What? Tell me that’s not true.”

Kyle looks between me and his mother. “I have my reasons.”

When I think his mother is going to demand more of an explanation, she simply stands there. She glances between Kyle and me, as if trying to figure us out. Good luck to her. I can’t even figure this situation out.

“The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree,” she finally says, surprising me.

I want to ask her what she means by that, but another set of footsteps start coming down the stairs. My heart rate quickens. Not from the knowledge that I’m pretty certain I’m about to meet Kyle’s father for the first time face-to-face but because Kyle moves closer and places his hand at the small of my back.

His mother looks me over. “You’ve married the apple. Now it’s time to meet the tree.”

I scrunch my face in confusion but I’m not given time to ask what the heck she’s talking about.