Page 28 of Wrong For Me

Rose

Six Weeks Later

“You’re being awfully quiet, Rosie.”

I jump a little in the passenger seat at the sound of my brother’s voice. I’d been completely zoning out, my mind a million miles away.

“I would think you’d be happy about some peace and quiet,” I point out. “Aren’t you the one always complaining about how loud this family is?”

“True.” He signals to make the turn onto our parents’ street, following close behind our cousin Will’s truck. “But it’s still weird when the quiet comes fromyou.”

I should laugh it off. Turn the tables and tease him about something. It’s what I normally do—smooth things over. Distract everyone from anything potentially unpleasant. That’s always been my role in this family.

But the truth is, I’ve been having a much harder time doing that lately.

“You okay?” River asks, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. If my family role is peacemaker, River’s is definitely jokester. My little brother is rarely serious. But he seems pretty serious now as he parks the car behind Will’s truck out on the street in front of our parents’ house.

“I guess I’m not in a party mood.” I nod my head towards the house, which by now should be teeming with people. “Tomorrow’s kind of a big day.”

River rolls his eyes, uncharacteristic gentleness apparently long forgotten. “Yes, this is going to be such a trial for you. Having all of the aunts and uncles fuss over what a big shot you are, starting grad school tomorrow.”

I manage a smile, even as my stomach clenches. My brother has no idea.

“Try being the family fuck-up and see how much you enjoy these little get togethers,” he adds, but his tone is cheerful as he climbs out of the car, letting me know he’s joking. Still, I’m not so sure I should let that one go.

“You’re a not a fuck-up, Riv,” I chide, following him onto the sidewalk. “No one thinks that.”

He barks out a laugh. “Sure. That’s why Mom and Dad are always on my case about going to school or finding a better job.”

I frown and open my mouth to argue. Mom and Dad might bug him occasionally, but it’s only because they want him to find something he’s passionate about. They would never pressure him to take any specific path—they just want him to be happy. But before I can tell him that, he drapes an arm over my shoulder. “It’s fine, Rosie. Fuck-up suits me. Just like family superstar suits you.”

“River—” I begin, but Will and his girlfriend, Eva, arrive at our side before I can argue with him.

“Everything okay?” Will asks, looking between the two of us with his usual tight-jawed, gruff expression. He’s wearing sunglasses in the bright Southern California sun, but I’m sure if I could see his eyes he’d look wary.

Will has definitely noticed there’s something off with me lately.

“We’re just wondering who’s going to lose their shit with the insanity in there first,” River says. “Now that your King Temper Tantrum crown is up for grabs.”

Will smirks, pulling Eva closer and kissing the reason for his distinct lack of temper lately. “They’re not so bad,” he says, and we all laugh. He was singing a much different tune about our family not so long ago.

“Hey!” a bright voice shouts from the direction of the house, and we all turn to see Violet and Will’s little sister CeCe hanging out the front door. “You guys coming in or you just going to stand out there like morons?”

“We’re standing out here toavoidthe morons,” River shouts back, and the girls giggle as they duck back in the house. “Guess that’s our cue.”

The four of us make our way to the gate at the side of the house, knowing just about everyone will be in the back by now. River, Will, and I are the only kids to have left the proverbial nest at this point, and since our uncles all live within blocks of each other, we’re probably the last to arrive.

Sure enough, as soon as we step into the backyard we’re greeted by a chorus of hellos and several little kids swarming us.

So here’s the thing about my family—it’s big. Really, really big. The aunts like to joke about how it’s all my parents’ fault. My mom and dad wanted a large family, which they achieved with their five kids, and they got started on it before they were even married, having me in their early twenties.

Proving that the Ransome brothers will literally be competitive about anything, the other brothers quickly attempted to catch up. Which is why every single family gathering ends up like this.

Uncle Reed is the oldest, and the one who took care of his brothers after their mom took off. He married Paige Brennen, whose craziness does a good job of softening his control-freak tendencies. They had four girls, all named after a famous musician—just like Reed and his brothers had been. Everly, Presley, Santana, and Vega all look just like their mom, with wild black curls and gorgeous blue eyes.

Uncle Cash is next in line. He married Sam Warner and adopted her son, Wyatt. Wyatt is nine years older than me and a concert pianist who tours most of the year. I miss the hell out of him when he’s not around. Sam and Cash had three more kids—Will, Silas, and Cecelia.

Uncle Lennon and his wife Haylee Hunt jumped on the kid bandwagon a little later. Haylee is a rock star in her own right, the leader singer of the band Intrigue. They spent the first several years of their marriage alternating between tours with the two bands before having Lyric and Cadence.