Devotion

twenty four ﾒ shadowed secrets

ANGELICA

The kitchen was occupied by my parents, and I may go to hell for this. But, you know, I don't keep secrets. If anything, I tell them if given permission. We just finished the mandatory dinners with Luca and his father, so now I'm just being a little creep in the kitchen. "Hi, Mom," I say as I walk through the kitchen. "Dad."

My parents, both seemingly occupied, stare up at me with bored expressions. My dad, leaning against the granite counter with a newspaper in hand and glasses perched across the bridge of his nose,. My mother, on the other hand, washes the dishes. "Angelica," my mother greets back. "Why the hell do you look like you want to steal something?"

"Mom!" I gape at my mother for the accusatory statement. "I'm not Rowan, for goodness sake. I'm offended you'd say that. I know we're twins, but damn."

She stops washing the dishes and turns to me. "Then why are you silently scheming in silence? It's weird."

I lean against the island counter, my arms resting on the cold surface. A grin implants on my lips as I stare at my parents. Gosh, aren't they going to be so mad? This should've been planned better. But, oh well, I will suffer later. "I'm not. I'm just...staring. That's not weird. I just wanted to say something regarding a past conflict that my father doesn't know about. It'd be a shame."

"Angelica Rose De Dantis, what the hell are you talking about? Your father and I share no secrets," she says, pausing for a mild second before resuming, "unless you count that one time when I accidentally stole his phone because I was curious about what was on there."

The grin transforms into a mild grimace. "Um, okay. No, I wasn't talking about that. I was going to say that mom cheated on you back when Luca and I were babies with your top rival, Marco." My dad's eyes glare at me before flitting to my mother. "But," I interject to finish my previous statement. "I see why she did. Marco could've had it back then. But I'm in no position to speak like that. Stop staring at me; it's freaking me out, dad."

"Well, you come in here disturbing peace by blurting out that your mom cheated on me with Marco." He shakes his head and glares at his newspaper once again. "Jessica, we will speak about this. When our daughter isn't being a complete idiot."

Rowan walks into the kitchen dressed in shorts and completely shirtless, paying us no mind. All of us stare at his sudden disturbance, and he stops mid-walk with a drink in his hand. "What?"

"I have to leave, fellow parents. I'll be back, or not. It depends on whether you'll fight or not," I say while walking to the door frame that connects the foyer to the kitchen. But I'm pulled back by my mother. "Excuse me, young lady," she says, checking her watch, "you have an exam soon and you're going out? With whom?"

"Yeah, who? Do I know this fucker?" Rowan interrupts, automatically transforming into the "big twin brother."

I stare at everyone. "Um, it's just Leilani, Mason, and Lucia." I would sink into my shirt if that was possible with the shirt I was wearing. "Just going out for some drinks, you know? Regular college activity with friends and stuff," I say. Rowan raises an eyebrow and sets his drink down fairly hard.

"You've been hanging out with Bertarelli for too fucking long. Is that dumbass project over, or is it something more I should know about. Guaranteed, I'll beat his face in until it's bleeding if he hurts you and—"

"And?" I ask. "You're not done with the threats?"

The question was meant to be taken seriously but apparently not since Rowan gets a little heated at the interruption. For Christ's sake! "Angelica, if he's hurting you, just let me know; that's all. I can't let my baby sister be hurt by a rival. Since when did you become an airhead like your best friend? Going out with a rival is crazy work, even for you."