The Secrets We Keep

The Seventeenth Chapter

Hayden

I set the table for lunch as my mom shows Nathan how to make Mac and Cheese. I don't know how his visit turned from a simple check-in to a cooking lesson but it has. I laugh as he awkwardly steps back after draining the water from the pasta shells. Drying dishes might come naturally to him but I don't think he's ever made himself a single thing to eat before in his life. 

He catches my eye after looking up at my laughter. His smile is so wide as he looks at me that I realize he has dimples. 

"Great," my mom says once the water has been drained. "Now put all of the pasta back in the pot so that we can add the cheese sauce," she orders from where she's busy grating cheese to add to her bechamel sauce. 

Nathan dutifully follows her orders and I look away as I start laying out the five sets of knives and forks. 

We all have our own ways of coping when tragedy strikes. Nathan's way is to seek out company. My mother's is to start bossing people around. 

I hear a door open and look up to see my brother skulk out of his room again. I guess Damien's way of coping is shutting everyone out. 

He stops midway to the kitchen when he suddenly spots Nathan. He looks back at me, his face the picture of confusion. 

"What the hell-" Not wanting Nathan to feel unwelcome, I rush over to my brother and pull him out of earshot. "Ow," he says, once I've let go of his arm. "What was that for and why is he here?" Damien practically spits out and it makes my brows lower. 

Surely we've been through enough together that he can let go of whatever it is that he has against Nathan?

"He came to check in on us," I explain as Damien continues to peer into the kitchen to where our mom and him are making lunch. "So be nice."

"Don't you think that's a little weird? I mean, what right does he have to barge in here and-"

"Did you not forget that he was with us when we found the body? Damien, he doesn't have a family like ours. He was all alone and had no one to process yesterday with."

Damien's posture relaxes as I speak. He still looks unsure of Nathan being here but at least he isn't acting too hostile anymore. "Fine. I'll be nice. I still think it's weird though." 

"Thanks," I say and turn back around to finish with the table. 

"You do realize you're still in your PJs," Damien calls after me. I throw him the bird on my way back. 

-

Once the dish has come out the oven, we all take a seat at the table to dig in. I'd thought my dad would've been able to join us by now but it seems he's still busy at the station. 

"So, Nathan, why were you at school yesterday?" Damien asks after he's done stuffing his face and there's been a lull in conversation. 

Everyone at the table stiffens. My mom and I both throw mortified looks at my brother and I even kick him under the table. 

"What? If you can ask me that, Hayden, your own brother, I can ask him," Damien says, glaring at me. 

"Hayden, you did what?" My mother shrieks. "Please don't tell me you thought-"

"I didn't!" I exclaim, sinking down into my seat. "I was just checking facts!"

"Just like I am," Damien says, looking away from me to interrogate Nathan. He props his chin on his hands as he looks at him. "So tell me, Nathaniel, why were you at the school yesterday?"