Page 10 of Shine For Me
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“For those four it sure as hell is. They’ve spent our whole lives pretending that their kids will stay kids forever. When Rose and River and our cousin Will moved out, they mourned like they were heading off to Mars or something, and not just moving over to Venice.”
“In their defense, LA traffic sometimes makes Venice feel like Mars.”
I laugh. “True. But they weren’t any better about the rest of us. I don’t know what our moms had to threaten them with to get them to agree to me and the girls doing the reality show. A few years ago, my cousin Santana moved to Michigan to go to a performing arts high school and Uncle Reed didn’t leave his house for like, two weeks.”
June’s face softens as she looks over at their dejected expressions. “That’s really very sweet.”
“It’s nuts, is what it is,” I protest. “Most parents would be excited to finally have their kids out of the house. Those weirdos look like they’ll never smile again.”
The skin around June’s eyes tightens, just a little. “It’s better than the alternative,” she says softly, and just like that I feel like an asshole. She doesn’t talk much about her family, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that she grew up in a very different environment than I did. Her grandfather might be the most powerful person in Hollywood—and a big part of the reason I have a career—but the man is a straight up asshole. I’ve seen her dad at industry events a few times and JJ Cain always gives off the impression that he’s too busy and important for everyone around him. Her twin brother is a prick. There’s another actor brother named Jack who she never seems to see, and a much younger half-sister whose name I don’t know. And I don’t think I’ve ever even heard her mention her mother.
“June,” I say, my throat feeling oddly tight as I watch her watch my dad and uncles. She has a soft smile on her face but there’s something in her eyes that makes me want to grab her and pull her into the tightest hug.
She tears her gaze from the guys and turns a blinding smile on me. “We should go find your little sister and brother, right? Say congrats?”
I’m not sure what I saw in her eyes a moment ago, but ignoring it seems to go against every one of my instincts. Suddenly I feel like the biggest asshole for not asking her more about her family. We’ve known each other for two years and I don’t even know where her momis.
Before I can try to put words to this weird, urgent feeling strumming in my chest, June turns, boring plain sparkling water in hand, and walks out into the party.
