Secrets, Lies, and Summer Skies

Prologue

Only my BFF could make responsible into an insult. If I'd been an irresponsible person, Dad never would've agreed to let me attend college so far from home. To be honest, I wasn't sure he was all that happy about it. He'd accepted it and he knew it was too late to change the situation now, but I felt sure he'd rather have had me living at home and commuting to my classes with him every day. Sure, I'd have probably had my tuition paid for me if I'd given in to his wishes, but I'd be too conscious of him keeping an eye on me. I didn't want that. No teenager did. Besides, the whole point of college was to find yourself.

Okay, so it was actually to get an education, but weren't you also meant to get an education in becoming an adult and all that stuff?

That wasn't going to happen with Dad breathing down my neck.

Walking into the house was like stepping through a veil. Outside had been all sticky heat, but inside the A/C had been cranked all the way up. The tile floor was like ice beneath my bare feet. I hastened my steps, rushing through to the kitchen in search of water and if I was honest, a break from all the noise. It was great that everyone wanted to have one last day of carefree fun together, but I'd have been just as happy lounging around and taking a breather before I threw myself into college life.

One thing I'd miss about living at home was all the space. There were a few reasons I'd chosen to live with my dad after he and Mom divorced a few years ago. For starters, I loved him, which was obviously important, but it also meant that I could finish out school with my friends, and I wouldn't be cramped into some tiny apartment in England where Mom had run off after her new boyfriend. Dad's house was like a testament to his career. He was one of the most respected professors in his field and his salary reflected that. I guessed that he'd invested in such a large house because he'd always hoped to have a bigger family to fill it. Mom just wanted a pool. In hindsight, he probably should've known she'd run off once someone offered her more than he could, but people didn't see their partner's flaws when they were helplessly in love like he was. It was hard to ignore them once she was dragging a suitcase through the door and shouting about alimony.

Still, even though it was just us, the house had never felt empty or lonely.

I supposed that'd change once I left.

I tore open the fridge door, grabbed a bottle of water, and gulped it back. I'd hoped it might dislodge the sticky lump of guilt that'd swelled in my throat, but all it did was make me choke. I placed my hand over my mouth and coughed into my palm.

Hardly elegant, but at least there was no one around to see that I was such a dysfunctional human being that I couldn't even drink water properly.

I sighed and closed the fridge door, little knowing that there was someone waiting on the other side. The guy had come out of nowhere and I reacted the same way most people might. Namely, I dropped the bottle of water and swore so loudly that it echoed around the cavernous kitchen.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked him once I'd regained my composure. I placed a hand against my chest and reached out to the kitchen island to ground myself with the other. "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

"On the fridge?" he asked.

My eyes narrowed in annoyance. "What are you doing here? I didn't invite you."

I hadn't invited most of the other partygoers either, but that wasn't the point.

Grayson Reed was one of those family friends who'd just show up without notice. Whenever he felt like hanging out with my dad, he'd walk through the front door and head right up to his office to drag him away from his work. I appreciated that he'd helped him come out of his funk with the divorce and everything, but it was still our house. It was weird that he waltzed in like he owned the place, took a beer out of the fridge, and made me leave the living room because a game was on or something.