Page 46 of Shine For Me

“It started when he was twelve. And he left just before he turned seventeen.”

I shake my head, remembering how my younger cousins had pictures of Grey on their walls. “Twelve seems so young for that kind of attention.”

She scoffs. “He was getting attention way before that. He did a movie with Dad when he was three. And then he had that Disney show in elementary school.”

“Jesus. He’s been in the spotlight literally his entire life.”No wonder he’s such a douche,I think, but don’t say it out loud.

June is quiet for a minute, watching her brother on TV. “I’m always surprised Mom let Dad put him in that first movie. She was so opposed to us starting work until we were older.”

I bite back all the questions I’m dying to ask. June never talks about her mom. I’m desperate to know more, but I don’t want to scare her off, either.

“Is that why you weren’t a child star?”

She gives me a smile that looks more sad than anything. “Partly. I was really shy as a kid, so my dad and grandpa didn’t push me as much. And I always felt like that made my mom happy—that I was in school and living a more normal life. But then Grey started working so much he had to leave school and get tutors, and I didn’t want to do school without him, so I stayed home, too. That really bothered her, I think. So once I grew out of the awkward stage and acting actually could have been an option for me, I decided to keep on the school track. I graduated early and got my degree online.”

“To make your mom happy.”

She shrugs. “It always felt so confusing. Either I pleased my grandpa and my dad and tried acting or I stuck with school stuff so my mom would be proud.”

“What about what you wanted to do?”

She stares hard at her brother on the TV but I don’t think she really sees him. She seems to be a million miles away. “I guess I never really knew what that was.”

That urge to hug her tight washes over me again, but then her phone dings with a message. Her entire face eases when she looks at the screen, a real smile tilting her lips. “For some reason Grey didn’t like the picture I sent him of the amazing hair.”

“Shocking.”

She holds the phone out for me to see. “I asked him if he could fit an entire horde of chipmunks in there or just a few.” Her brother’s response was a gif of a chipmunk giving a finger.

I chuckle. “Tell him I’m a fan of the big hair.”

Her smile turns gleeful. “Oh, he’ll hate that. It will piss him off so much to know we’re both watching this and laughing at him.”

“The two of you really have a sweet relationship, you know that?”

She laughs as she types another message to her brother. “Right? We’re basically a Hallmark movie.” She waves at the TV. “Okay, you can change it now. I’ve had enough of staring at my idiot brother’s insane hair.”

“That must be weird,” I offer as I change the channel. “To know there’s a good chance you’ll stumble across one of your relatives every time you watch TV.”

She shoots me a look. “And it’s any different for you? Ransom is still on the radio all the time.”

“I guess I’m just so used to all their music it doesn’t feel jarring when I hear it.” I laugh. “They play constantly, you know? Just about every time we have a family dinner they end up getting out their guitars. I swear to God, I’ve never been to a bonfire that didn’t have someone in my family playing music.”

“Do most of your cousins play?”

“Everyone knows how to play at least one instrument—my grandfather made sure of that. Some are better than others. And some have zero interest in playing much whether they can or not.”

“And what camp do you fall under?”

“I enjoy playing guitar. But only for fun. Presley and Silas—those are the cousins who are right under me in the age lineup—have wanted to be in a band since they were little kids. I used to practice with them sometimes, ’cause I thought maybe it would be my thing too, you know? But I would always get bored way before they did. It was pretty clear early on I wasn’t going to have a life based on music.”

“Did that bother you?”

I shrug. “Not really. Our dads didn’t pressure us or anything.” Then I feel like an asshole because it’s clear that her dad and her grandfather did pressure her. So I decide I may as well be totally honest—I probably owe her that. “It did suck to feel like I didn’t have a place. Like, River and my older cousins were always tight. They spent all their time together whether we were out with our dads touring or at home. And then Silas and all of those guys had their band. And I was just…kind of in the middle, you know?”

“That’s never a fun place to be,” she says, and from the tone of her voice it’s clear she knows that fact from experience. “But then you started the fashion line with Everly and Alex,” she says more brightly.

I snort. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure the only reason they wanted me involved is because I knew how to code.”