Page 102 of Between the Lines

There’s such a loud buzzing in my ear that I don’t hear Penny until she’s right in front of me, her eyes studying my face.

“Fia, you’re freaking me out. What’s going on?”

“I . . . I . . .” I shut my eyes, and Penny’s hand steadies my shoulder. I open them, knowing I’m about to open a can of worms, but there’s no choice now.

The bubble around me had to burst at some point, I just didn’t think it would happen like this.

“It was only supposed to be the roof,” I stammer, arms pinned to my sides. “He was only supposed to fix the roof. I didn’t know about this.”

Penny continues to watch me, waiting for clarity I’m not sure I can provide.

“A new roof?” She tilts her head, and I bite my cheek so hard I taste blood. My sister lets go of me and backs up into the yard, eyeing the roof.

She walks towards the driveway, checking the house out at a different angle, but I stay frozen in my spot.

“Wait—is that a new AC unit too?” Penny points and I shake my head.

“No?” I croak, rushing to her side.

But a shiny new unit sits next to the house, humming to life in the summer heat.

Penny spins around. “Please tell me what’s going on . . .”

I shove my hands into my pocket. “I need to check on Daisy.” I jog back to the car and peer in the window. She’s still napping soundly in the cool backseat.

Penny is hot on my heels though, arms crossed over her pink tank top.

“Is this why you’ve been avoiding me for weeks?” She doesn’t sound angry, but her voice wavers.

It’s teetering on hurt, which is truly a hundred times worse.

“It was just supposed to be a roof fix,” I mumble, the backs of my eyes stinging fiercely. “I swear to you, I didn’t know about anything else.”

“I’m just confused. How can you not be aware of what’s happening here? You live here.”

Her voice is sharp and I want to cry.

“Listen, it’s complicated.” I stumble a step away, my sandal sinking into soft summer grass. “Last month, I found a leak, which turned into the entire roof needing to be replaced. But I figured it out. I had no idea it was done already. If I had known, I would’ve already told you. As soon as I moved back in, I was going to have a family dinner.”

I slap a palm to my mouth. But it’s too late.

Penny’s face flushes. “Wait—you haven’t been living here?”

I shake my head. “For safety reasons, I had to move out while they worked on the house.”

For the past few weeks I imagined telling my sister about this, but this isn’t how it was supposed to happen. I certainly never imagined feeling sick to my stomach, or having to justify things I have no answers to.

Caden wasn’t honest with me about the timeline, and I wasn’t honest with Penny about the house repairs. And now I look like a complete idiot. None of this is happening like it’s supposed to.

Penny’s voice snaps me out of my thoughts. “So how long have you been living somewhere else?”

“I have everything under control,” I reply, but Penny shakes her head.

She throws her arm back towards the house. “Clearly not. Not if you had to hide this from me. I thought we were done hiding things from each other.”

Her face falls, hurt lacing every word, and tears well in my eyes.

With a sob, the dam breaks and every nerve, every fear I’ve been suppressing since the first drop of water fell in my house, comes pouring out. My body quakes with emotion, but I can’t stop, I can’t hold back now.