Inborn (The Birthright Book 1)

Chapter 2

I don't know how many times I hit the snooze button that morning. If I could have shot laser beams out of my eyes and blown up the alarm clock, I would have. But I don't have that power, so I had to settle for hitting snooze with as much hatred as possible. Especially after the waking nightmare of the previous night. First, I couldn't fall back asleep, and then once I did, I slept restlessly, waking every few minutes. Or that's how it felt.

But Mom made it plain we had to suck it up and go to school, anyway. They didn't mention the body, or the police, or anything. They acted like it was just an average day in the Brandt household, so I played along. I guessed this is what they meant when they told us we needed to keep up appearances sometimes. It meant when you discovered a dead body on your property, you went to school or work the next day like nothing happened.

I regretted oversleeping while I shimmied into my jeans, put my wet hair in a bun, and ate a granola bar Mom shoved between my teeth all at once. I flew downstairs just as Xavier started the car, yelling good-bye on my way out. I passed my dad outside, the sunlight illuminating his dark hair, except for the dappling of gray at his temples. He forced a grin, and I was satisfied to see dark circles under his eyes too. But I wondered how long they were up after we went back to bed.

"Do well on your test!" he said before I slammed the car door. I waved back, but then we careened out of our long driveway to the road.

Our house was modern, but still looked like it had been there in the middle of the woods all along. It sat at the top of a small hill, and we had large picture windows on the backside, which faced the lake. Mom and Dad's room had a huge floor-to-ceiling window so they could admire the view from bed. Dad had proposed on the property before building the house, which was a gift to my mom.

I meant to review my math notes on the way to school, but I ignored the voice that told me to do that and listened to the louder one telling me to lean back and close my eyes and enjoy the few more minutes of peace I had left. Well, except for Xavier's music blaring. I couldn't always stand noise first thing like that, but that morning I was too exhausted to fight about it.

The sun pierced through the orange and gold leaves on the oaks and maples and birches along the way. We lived in a small town in western Massachusetts. No other houses were visible from our property. When I took our small motorboat out on the lake, I could see one or two other houses on the shore, though most were fenced off by trees.

"So how'd the person die?" Xavier said over the music.

I kept my eyes shut. "I don't know. It wasn't obvious–to me anyhow."

"You didn't recognize them?"

"Never seen her before." I wiggled around to get more comfortable. "Do you think Mom and Dad went out to see the body after we got home?"

"Probably. It was on our property."

"Do you think they called the police?"

Xavier shrugged. "Guess it depends on how it happened."

We got to our school, a private high school about thirty minutes away, and even after the ride, I was still dreading opening my eyes. The car lurched to a stop.

"Is it safe for me to go?" Xavier said. "You won't skip class, will you?"

I opened one eye. "I never skip classes."

He grinned. "Don't embarrass me on this test. And lock the doors when you get out."

"Whatever, Zave."

A motorcycle roared into the space next to me, jolting me awake. A guy swung his leg over the side of a Japanese-style bike, decked out in a black leather jacket, tall lace-up boots, and a black helmet with visor. I was pretty sure I'd never seen that bike, and when he pulled off his helmet, I was also pretty sure I'd never seen that face.