Garden of Sins

Mom giggles and Dad smiles. “Aren’t you going to say hello to me now, baby?” She gives him a gross kiss.

Ava makes vomit noises and then suddenly remembers that she’s pouting and shuts up. Mom tries to get up, but Dad pulls her back down again. “I decide when you go, Emilia,” he reminds her forcefully.

“Oh, you’re so disgusting,” Carter says to them and stares greedily at the lasagna. He is still hungry and a

“Be quiet,” Dad growls in his direction, “you parasite.”

Alayna, I think he got that from you. You called Carter that a few times. Carter’s gaze darkens like a thundercloud moving in front of the sun. Then his gaze is distracted by the lasagna that I am now pulling towards me before I calmly begin to divide it into perfect portions.

Carter flares his nostrils knowing why I’m doing this so slowly while Dad allows Mom back into her chair.

“So, how was your day?” Mom asks without looking at Carter or me because I think she can tell how our day was. Her gaze glides towards you. She believes you are a safe haven. For some reason, you are. If she only knew.

I leave the food alone because I want to listen to you, Alayna, but keep the lasagna with me without pushing it back into the middle. It stands between the two of us. Carter flares his nostrils again and glares at me.

“Oh,” you say pensively, “I was actually just up in Caden’s room reading. Mostly.” You’re blushing a bit, baby, because you probably remember what we did on the front window in my room and how my lips were between your legs. I serve you a piece of lasagna because I like the answer. I like to reward. One should do so. And the reward always has to be immediate, Alayna.

Dad moans in disgust. “Read, all right, Alayna. I read a lot too when Emilia...”

“MASON!” Mom elbows my dad in the ribs, but he doesn’t even flinch.

Now I’m going to serve myself a piece of lasagna. Carter’s fingers are drumming on the table because he can’t take it anymore and your gaze stays glued to them for a moment, Alayna. I falter as you watch for a few seconds as his fingers bounce on the tabletop again and again in a steady rhythm. Index finger, middle finger, index finger. Then you look away again.

“What’s wrong, Alayna?” I ask warningly and you flinch.

“Caden! Stop pissing off your brother and give him the lasagna before he knocks over the table,” Dad snaps and I grin before I passing Carter the casserole dish. “Shit! I come home and you’re already pissing me off.” Dad shakes his head. His black hair is disheveled and he still wears his gun holster over his black shirt, but he has taken the gun out like he always does.

“Well, Alayna?” I look up. “Is something wrong?”

“No, Caden!” you answer forcefully and look me in the eyes. “It’s nothing. Why do you always ask me that?”

“Wow,” Carter says as he serves himself. Finally. “Is it really nothing, Alayna? You sound tense.” I guess the stuff in the garage wasn’t enough to unload. I let my gaze wander to Carter and give him a warning look. Fuck, this is starting to piss me off. My brother is not looking at me.

“By the way, Melissa was here today,” I a

Carter drops his forehead into his hand in defeat. He knows why I do it, but you don’t, Alayna. Dad stiffens. “So, that means she was here last night. All night. With Carter, of course,” I state clearly, nodding emphatically as I cut my lasagna.

Mom places her hand on Dad’s arm as I take a bite.

You put your fingers on my thigh under the table and give me a look. You instinctively realize that I don’t want my parents to know about it, although I never mentioned it. So smart, baby girl. I love that.

“Caden,” you whisper.

“And where is she now?” Dad asks, growling dangerously.

“AT HOME!” Carter exclaims and stares at me, pissed off. Does it have to be this way, bro? his expression says.

Yeah, mine replies.

“Melissa was here?” Ava asks, who can never stand to sulk for long, and frowns.

“Yep.” I take another bite of lasagna and push your hand off my thigh. You don’t get to tell me what I may or may not say. Not after you stared at his fingers and snuck out to have a chat with him, Alayna.

“Eww... What did you do?” Ava asks, although she is disgusted and doesn’t want to know. Her indefinable eyes shimmer green and she is a mixture of curiosity and disgust.

“Picked flowers, Ava!” Carter replies sarcastically and pushes his plate away. He must have lost his appetite. Poor little Carter.

“Dammit, I told you two she was off-limits after the shit that happened,” Dad growls. You listen carefully, Alayna, as you eat your lasagna, but keep your eyes lowered and your shoulders tense. I know you can’t handle rejection, but I don’t care, and Dad really should stop talking.

I also know you think I’m lying, and yes, I lie or I twist the truth to fit my needs. I willingly do it, but I’m not a fan of lies.

“She spent only the one night, Dad. It was a slip. I was pissed off. She was at that party and I hadn’t seen her in a very long time,” Carter explains lazily, still toasted, tired of the shit, and a

Mom sighs. “You’re not good for her,” she says gently. My father gives Mom a look under raised eyebrows, but she pushes his face away so he won’t look at her. Shaking his head, he takes another bite and says seriously to my brother, “Not again, Carter, I mean it. Leave her alone.”

“That was the plan, Dad!” Carter pulls the lasagna back and resumes eating because he loves food too much.

While chewing, I try to think of what else I can taunt him with because this is not enough. Carter sees it in my eyes and shakes his head in warning. But I don’t want to slow down now, so I lean back, throw an arm around your shoulders, and play with your hair. “Maybe I should pay Melissa a visit and talk to her about what happened back then, just so we can put this shit to rest,” I say sensibly. I’m the only sensible person here, so I have to make sure.

Your head slowly turns to me and your brows lift. “Excuse me?” you ask quietly.

“Well, she’s my ex too, before Carter stole her from me, as you know.” I wave my hand in Carter’s direction and he slaps my fingers out of his face. That’s fine.

“You’re not going to do that, Caden,” Dad growls.

“Why not? After all this time, we can have a normal conversation, can’t we?” I ask i

“No! You can’t,” Carter growls, who must be fed up with me. Well, DITTO, BRO!

“You sound angry, bro. However, I’m the one who should be. Oh, yeah, right, you love each other so much, I almost forgot, but don’t worry, I have a girlfriend now.

Alayna, you move away from me a bit and my hand falls off your shoulder.

ALAYNA!

You should never do that.

With raised eyebrows, I stare at you and when I put my arm around you again because you’re fucking mine, you freeze.

“SHIT!” Ava cries. “You did it again! Caden, you are such a sick psycho!” With one hand outstretched, my little sister points at you in indignation, as if we were in court and she was defending you. That little defense attorney. Let’s see how well she can defend herself.

“AVA!” Mom warns and I give my sister a friendly smile. She knows exactly what I’m doing because she’s more mature than most people think and she’s already playing with the big boys, which nobody here has any idea about — except me. I know everything about my family.