Page 12 of Half Truths (Secret Society 1)
“I had a crush on him for a hot second, but then I realized . . . ” her voice trailed off. She shook her head. “He wasn’t my type. That’s crazy that he’s your brother.” She stared at me for a long moment as I sipped the drink. The way she looked between the picture of Lincoln and me sitting right across from her started to make me feel uncomfortable.
“Do you think he was part of the secret society?” she asked.
“My brother?” I snorted. “I doubt it.”
“Are you sure? He was always with the guys we saw yesterday,” she said, brows pulling in.
“I’m pretty sure I’d know if my brother was in some secret society.” I took my phone back, scowling. “He’s my best friend.”
“Even best friends keep secrets,” Hailey said softly.
“Not us. Besides, he was the captain of the hockey team, so he definitely hung out with them. That’s probably why you think that.”
“That’s possible.” She moved down the bar with a small shrug, but I could tell she wasn’t convinced.
As she started talking to the couple sitting in the far corner of the bar, I decided to text Lincoln.
Me: What do you know about these secret societies?
Me: Were you in one?
I watched my screen, hoping the little dots with an impending answer would come. When it didn’t, I put it away again. I’d call him tomorrow and ask again. For some crazy reason, even though it made no sense, Hailey saying that planted a seed in my head and I knew myself well enough to know it wasn’t going anywhere. I’d either have to nourish it or kill it altogether.
“Have you started working on your assignments for the paper?”
“Nope. I start tomorrow, actually.”
“That’s cool. Are you into sports?”
“Not even a little.”
“Not even looking at hot guys in uniforms?”
“My ex is a basketball player. My ex before him was a baseball player.” I shrugged. “I’ve had enough jocks for a lifetime.”
“Well, la di da. Not all of us can be as cool as you, Mae.” The twinkle in her eye would have made me laugh if it didn’t look so . . . off. Again with the jealousy. “I’m into jocks myself, but I’m also a biker kinda girl.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met one,” I said. “A biker, I mean.”
“My uncle’s in a club. He’s actually touring the US with them right now. They lost one of their members and went to spread his ashes.”
“Someone you knew?”
“Yeah, Uncle Pete.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s a big family.” She smiled sadly. “Uncle Pete wasn’t really my uncle. Not by blood anyway.”
“I can relate to that.”
My father had a long line of cousins that weren’t related by blood, but by association. People his parents had known since they were born, and by default, I had a long line of cousins as well. Most of whom I hadn’t seen in years, but they were still family.
“Anyway, my dad was never around and my mom was always working, so I was mostly raised by my grandmother and uncles. Riding on the back of the bike feels like home to me.”
“That must be hard without your dad.” I offered a small smile. “But your uncles sound fun.”
We kept talking about family and comparing notes. By the end of the conversation, we couldn’t deny the fact that we were from entirely different worlds. Suddenly, when all of the little things I’d taken for granted growing up were made blatantly obvious. I felt beyond spoiled. Not that Hailey’s family wasn’t doing well for themselves, they owned a handful of businesses, but it was the complete opposite of my family. Sure, we’d all been working summer jobs in Dad’s television networks since we were old enough to, but it was only on his insistence. He didn’t want us to grow up and act like spoiled brats. Our jobs were always an illusion though, a distraction, something to keep us busy and remind us where we were headed in the future. It wasn’t like any of the money we made went to actual bills. Most of the time that money couldn’t even afford us anything in our closets. And ultimately, that was what it taught the four of us—we’d never be as comfortable as we were outside of the family business, because at least if we took a job there, we’d always have a credit card that paid for all of the high-ticket items we were accustomed to. Branching off on our own would mean no credit card and no free spending.
But here was Hailey, working her way through college, and there I was, complaining about my role in the stupid school newspaper because of course, I thought I deserved better. Maybe I did, but Hailey wasn’t the person I needed to vent to. Celia, maybe. Lincoln, maybe. Hailey? No.
“Well.” Hailey’s gaze followed the movement behind me. “Your friends are here.”
