Because You're Different ✔

74. Baby

It was. With a sigh, I placed my phone on the table, again pressing the home button to check if I'd missed any messages. None. After sacrificing hours and hours of sleep, it seemed Luis got by fine without me. That, or Valentina had accidentally set fire to the building and was too afraid for my reaction to call me. Somehow that thought was more comforting.

"Well, you should. After all, this is like a mini-vacation, right?"

I tensed, trying to hide it by awkwardly walking to the fridge. Automatically, I inspected the floor underneath it. Dry. God, how I loved this kitchen and everything in it — except for him then. Ever since he stumbled upon me in the living room, a restless vibe had been clouding us, like we were in this play and neither of us knew each other's lines or our own ones, for that matter. It was obvious he wanted it to end as soon as possible, curtains drawn. He wouldn't have kept asking me how many days I'd be here otherwise. Yeah, he'd said I could stay as long as I liked, but that didn't mean he meant it. He'd seemed pretty relieved when I'd announced I was going to bed last night.

"Yeah," I said, opening the door of the fridge. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

Oh... Look at all that food... Again, I was met with a surge of jealousy — how long it'd been since I could afford to buy every vegetable I needed, and here, right in front of me, was a whole variety of them, purchased at the supermarket yesterday. He could afford all this, and on top of that, he could fund two college educations, no problem. When I was younger, I'd never had an issue with it, but maybe that was because then it'd been mine too, in some ways. I didn't need a Lexus, I didn't need a flatscreen tv, though to have a fully operational fridge and no trouble with getting a healthy meal together sounded like absolute heaven.

A sneer touched my lips, remembering when Nathan, Sam, and I would be browsing for charities together, looking for the ones to support in the coming year. Surreal. We only have two houses, we aren't that rich. Of course. But now Nathan was working too, and Sam would soon get access to the trust fund set up by their grandma. How much did family lawyers make? Oh, come on, June. It wasn't like you hadn't Googled it.

Without warning, a piercing beeping emitted from above me, and I startled, bumping my elbow into the white bottle of wine from yesterday. Shit. That was right. The fridge would warn you if you left it open for too long. Quickly, I closed it. "Sorry," I said, turning around, expecting to find him laughing at me.

Only he wasn't. He was holding my phone, frowning down at it, his shoulders tense.

Oh no... Did something happen? Did Vale actually set fire to the building? My hands clenched into fists. "What's wrong?"

Slowly, he looked up, his eyes meeting mine, widened in shock, something in them I couldn't place. He held up the screen, showing me my background, the picture of me kissing Luis on his cheek. "Is he... is he yours?"

Oh. This wasn't the first time I'd gotten that question, although it was the first time it made me flush scarlet. That'd happened way too often since I'd returned. Stop blushing like a ten-year-old, June. It was only Nathan. There was no reason to transform into a tomato every five minutes you were in his company. Get yourself together. I opened my mouth, ready to contest his conclusions, when I closed it again. On a whim, I crossed my arms over my chest, nodding my head. "Well, yeah," I said. And just like that, I felt in full control again — tricking him, like I used to, and he was totally falling for it. Time to make him sweat a bit.

He stiffened, gaze flickering from the phone to me. I let out a dramatic sigh, then tried to casually lean against the counter. "I might have been a little reckless," I said. "But I mean, you know what it's like, right? The temptation. You just can't help yourself. And then this is what you get." By now, he should've known I was making stuff up. Judging by the fact he was frozen in place, his when-is-June-lying-skills hadn't been kept up to standards. A laugh bubbled up in my stomach, and with all my might, I tried to keep it there. He should've known better than to believe me. "I mean, I knew I was in for trouble. The guy was my teacher, so of course there would be. Only I didn't think it'd be this kind of trouble. I tell you, condoms really suck. I think it was me, you know, because I can never get them out of the package without using my teeth. Seriously, the minute I stop breastfeeding, I'm gonna get on birth control."