I sat up and with trembling fingers I slipped into my shorts, staring at Aston’s grim face.
“Where did he go?” I whispered to him, worried.
“To the lookout,” he whispered back.
My heart battered inside my chest as I looked toward that direction. “Do you think he’s calling Dad?”
“Probably. I don’t know.”
“We-we can’t let that happen.”
Aston’s lips tightened. “We can’t stop him, either, El. This is bad.”
I stood up on wobbly legs and used the tree next to us for balance. I felt sick with worry. What would we go home to? Oh, God, how were they going to react to this?
“I can’t let that happen,” I said hastily. “I can’t.”
“El –”
I was already gone, marching in the direction of the lookout. When I emerged, I found Adrian standing where we had been minutes ago. He was staring out, rubbing at his face like he was stressed. I stopped beside him, my body turned to him. He didn’t acknowledge me, but he let out a long sigh, aware of my presence.
“Adrian,” I choked out, “please, don’t say a word.”
“About what?” he gruffly asked.
“About what you saw.”
“You mean you having a relationship with your adopted brother?”
“When you say it like that, it sounds worse than it really is. It’s kind of mean, Adrian.”
He looked at me briefly. “All I know, Elise, is you both have been thick as thieves since he was taken in. I never saw any looks exchanged in…that way. Both of you were so young, you grew up together as siblings. I thought it was completely innocent.”
“It was never innocent,” I argued, breathing erratically now. “I always loved him and I never looked at him as a brother.”
He raised a brow, studying me. “How long has this been going on?”
“Not long.”
“What do you think your parents are going to say when they find out?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you going to tell them?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you know anything?”
I cringed. “I don’t know. Everything is a clusterfuck.”
“You can’t keep hiding this.”
“Then give us the chance to tell them.”
He laughed shortly; it wasn’t real, and I didn’t like hearing it. He turned to me, his brown eyes warming as they traced my face. “El, I’m your godfather. I knew you before you walked, before you talked, before you were even born. Do you really think I’m going to tell your parents?”
A tear fell from my eyes. I sniffed. “Not when you say it like that.”
He let out a long exhale. “Let this be a wake-up call then. Be careful of your actions. It might have been your father walking in on you both, and that would have been a terrible way for him to find out.”
I nodded urgently. “Okay, I agree.”
He touched my arm and squeezed it gently. Then he dropped it and walked back down the trail, disappearing from sight a minute later. I returned to Aston and found him in the exact same spot I left him. I sat down next to him and pressed my body against his side. He wrapped an arm around me and kissed the top of my head.
“He won’t say anything,” I told him.
He looked relieved for a moment, but then his face went hard again.
“I have to let them know,” he replied grimly. “We can’t hide this from them any longer, El. It could have been worse. What if it was Deck-chair or someone else you know? They’d have used this like arsenal and the town would have blown up with rumours within a week. They have to know.”
I swallowed hard, concerned. “But…you don’t think we should wait a little while longer, until I’m done school first? I don’t want to have to deal with them if it goes down badly.”
“Elise, it’s hard enough hiding it now and we’ve been at it a few weeks. Another year would be impossible.”
“I know, but then I think of Dad’s reaction, and… I’m just…scared.”
He sighed. “I know you are. I’m scared too. But it’s the right thing.”
“But…is it the right time?”
“There will never be a right time.”
I nodded stiffly. I was agreeing to something I was terrified of. “When are you going to do it then?”
“He’s been talking about going fishing for a while now. I’ll put a day aside and we’ll spend time together. I’ll have to open up to him then.”
“I should come with you.”
He shook his head. “No, El. Let me do that. We’ll break the news together to Mom, but…Dad is going to be a different matter. If it goes to shit, at least he won’t take it out on you.”