CHAPTER EIGHT
Maya puts her megaphone to work the second it arrives.
The morning after the cocktail party from hell, a shrill siren jolts me awake. A quick look around confirms the apocalypse hasn’t come early—it’s just Maya. After the megaphone’s blaring doesn’t do the trick, she resorts to banging on every bedroom door, summoning us in a colorful mix of Spanglish expletives.
Everyone shuffles into the living room, where she’s waiting for us in her usual training gear.
“Good morning, team!”
“Why?” is all I can manage to say.
She rolls her eyes before shepherding us into the kitchen. “We need to go sign up for the games ASAP.”
Dear God. I know the games are high stakes this year, but not enough to make us be first in line for sign-ups. Registering early doesn’t give us an advantage. Sure, we’ll finally know what events we’re up against, but that’s a moot point considering we’ve already started training.
Dad and Isabel don’t put up a fight, blearily walking to the coffee maker. Maya pulls me aside while they’re distracted, elbowing me in the ribs once she has me alone. “You’re supposed to agree with me, dingus. We need to get in and out before the Seo-Cookes show up.” She flicks my forehead. “Unless you want to play Future Mr. Seo-Cooke in front of Dad.”
The warning wakes me up faster than five cups of coffee. Nothing like the fear of pretending to date your archenemy in front of your dad to get you going. “Right.”
Panic in place, I help Maya hustle everyone out of the kitchen as fast as we can. It’s easy enough to convince Andy to face the morning after promising him homemade breakfast in exchange for the trek.
We’re not sure what to expect from sign-ups, but none of us could’ve anticipated that a small crowd would be gathered around the bulletin board in front of the visitors center.
“Where did all these people come from?” Maya scans the crowd, shaking her head in disbelief.
I can’t place any of the faces, though they do look more like the crowd I’ve come to expect at Lake Andreas. Swim trunks and halter dresses paired with oversized sunglasses and vicious sunburns. They don’t take the time to chat and mingle either like the locals from my memories. They bustle in and out of the visitors center, grabbing flyers and downing coffees from Dixon’s.
“I thought Old Bob said they were having trouble getting people to sign up for the games this year,” I say, scanning the crowd for any sign of the Seo-Cookes.
Andy clears his throat to collect our attention, then holds up a flyer he grabbed off the ground. “Isn’t this that new water park?”
Smack at the top of the Winter Games flyer is a very new addition. A massive Allegheny Park logo beneath the words Proudly Sponsored By.
Old Bob appears out of nowhere, leaning heavily on his eagle head cane after snatching the flyer out of Andy’s hand. “The Alleghenys have graciously offered to host this year’s Winter Games at the park. And donated a family pack of season memberships as the grand prize,” he says through gritted teeth as he balls up the flyer and tosses it into the trash. “Thought they’d ‘give back to the community’ by helping us generate some buzz.”
It’s bad enough Allegheny Park has sucked up Old Bob’s usual business. Now they’re taking his magnum opus: the games.
“We’ll actually get to go inside the park? For free?!” Andy asks, practically bouncing on his toes.
If looks could kill, Old Bob would’ve murdered Andy in cold blood. Thankfully, he huffs off to return to his place behind the sign-up table instead, leaving Andy to audibly gulp in relief.
“That explains the crowd,” Maya whispers to me once Old Bob is out of earshot.
At least the admission fees go to a good cause. Lake Andreas could use a face-lift. Still, more contestants mean more competition. Though I can’t imagine anyone here knows what they’re getting into stepping onto a Seo-Cooke/Báez battlefield.
“Dev, go check out the schedule,” Maya orders, pushing me toward the bulletin board. “I’ll fill out the form. Then we’re out of here.” She loops her arm through Andy’s, bringing him with her to the table.
Another scan of the crowd confirms that the Seo-Cookes aren’t around—yet. If we’re quick, we can make it out of here in the next five minutes. I make my way to the front of the crowd, noting the list of events. There’s nothing out of the ordinary. Pie eating, two memorization challenges, a tug-of-war, along with a handful of other events, all leading up to a game of capture the flag in the event of a tie. Not so off base from what Maya predicted, though she’d been hoping for a three-legged race instead of a 5K. That might be a problem, considering my inability to run more than five feet without feeling like my lungs are going to collapse. But it’s too early in the game to be a pessimist. I snap a picture of the schedule to be safe.
The crowd has emptied out, making it easier to spot the rest of my group. Maya and Andy are almost to the front of the sign-up line, Dad and Isabel are making small talk with the Khans—who are in town after all—and Liam is handing out Allegheny Park coupons.
Wait. Liam?
Before I can grab my family and get the hell out of here, an arm wraps around my waist.
“Hey, Devin,” Julian says with a Jokeresque grin.
“If you keep sneaking up on me, you’re going to kill me,” I snap at him, pressing my hand against my chest. “Or I’ll kill you, whichever comes first.”
Julian laughs loud enough to attract an uncomfortable amount of attention. “You’re so funny.”
“What’re you doing?” I hiss.
“Liam’s right there,” he whispers back. As if on cue, Liam catches sight of Julian, waving to him with a devious smile. “We can’t just stand around and act like we don’t know each other.”
Of course we can’t, because that would be too easy. “Why couldn’t they just send a disgruntled teenage employee like any other theme park?”
We watch Liam stall in his tracks to hand an elderly woman a bright red slip of paper. She seems more enamored with him than the discount, making sure to rest her hand on the breast pocket of his puffer vest before begrudgingly letting him leave. Old Bob glowers at Liam, abandoning his post at the table to trail behind him at a careful distance. Gotta give it to Liam—showing up here was a ballsy move. Old Bob is feisty. I wouldn’t put it past him to take a swing at Liam with his cane if push comes to shove.
“Hello, lovebirds,” Liam says once he finally reaches us. “Signing up for the games?”
“We are,” Julian replies, holding me tight against his side. Sweat trickles down my temples as I attempt to discreetly survey the dissipating crowd for any sign of my family. Dad and Isabel are still caught up in conversation, but they won’t be for long. We need to send Liam packing before Dad can find me in any compromising positions with the enemy.
“Fun. I’ll see you there.” Instead of walking away, Liam shifts his attention to me. His steel-blue eyes are piercing even when they’re narrowed to slits. “I thought your name sounded familiar.”
I rack my brain for a time when Liam and I would’ve met before the cocktail party. It’d be hard to forget meeting someone whose dad owns a water park. Besides the Seo-Cookes, the most interesting person I’ve met is the guy who broke the world record for eating the most peanut butter cups in one minute.
“You’re from that neighbor family,” Liam supplies before turning to Julian. “The one Henry said you guys can’t stand.”
“That’s me,” I reply with a nervous laugh.
“We started texting after we ran into each other at the Tallahassee airport.” Julian lets go of my waist to turn and face me, smiling like I’m his sun and stars. “Turns out we had more in common than we thought.” He punctuates the sentiment with a kiss to my knuckles.
He’s laying it on a little too thick if you ask me….
“Cute.” There’s a hint of a sneer on Liam’s lips. “Your dad mentioned you’re going on a hiking trip next week.”
Julian nods warily. “We are…Why?”
“He said you have room for one more.” His eyes flicker over to me for a moment, his confident façade cracking when I don’t wither under his gaze. “Unless Devin’s coming along.”
“He is,” Julian replies before I’m given the option. “We’ve been looking forward to it.”
I’d rather eat glass than go hiking with the Seo-Cookes. Julian hasn’t delivered on his end of our deal—he can’t just pencil me in for extra fake boyfriend shifts when I haven’t gotten within five feet of his house yet.
Julian lovingly runs his hand along my back. His palm against the small of my back makes me want to recoil, but I force myself to relax into his touch, leaning my head against his shoulder. The sooner we can get Liam to leave, the better.
Liam lets out a dark, humorless laugh. “Funny, your dad didn’t seem to think Devin was coming.”
“I guess you missed the memo,” I reply with a smile as sharp as my tone.
Julian’s calm expression falters for a second as he blinks over at me in surprise. What? Spite is a powerful motivator, something Julian and I know all too well.
If the shock of my response gets to Liam, he doesn’t let it show. Instead, he holds out one of the coupons. Any desire I had to visit Allegheny Park went down the drain the day I met him, but I accept the coupon anyway. Liam stalks off after I’ve thanked him for the generous gift, giving Julian a cheeky wink before returning to soliciting the last of the crowd.
“Your ex is the worst,” I whisper to Julian once Liam is out of earshot.
Julian sags, letting out the breath he seemed to be holding since Liam walked away, his hand going limp in mine. “I know.”
My romantic exploits aren’t wide or varied. Just an ill-advised hookup sophomore year with my lab partner, Briana, and a horrendous double date with Maya and another pair of twins—which was as weird as it sounds. Still, I know having an ex like Liam would drive me up a wall. Maybe even make me desperate enough to spend time with the enemy next door.
I’m not sure what to say—whether I should console him or smack him for forcing me into another round of Seo-Cooke Dinner Theater.
Unfortunately, I don’t have to say anything, because Dad is walking straight toward us.
“Hiking, huh?” Dad says, completely perplexed.
If Julian wasn’t holding me up, I’d definitely be on the ground.
Dad’s eyes are laser focused on where Julian’s arm rests around my waist. “I didn’t know you two had gotten so close.”
“We, uh…” I pause to wriggle my way out of Julian’s hold. Why didn’t Maya and I think of an emergency signal before we left the house? “We just—”
“Is there a problem here, Tony?” Mr. Cooke interrupts as he saunters over to our tense circle.
Sweet merciful Lord, this is a motherfucking nightmare.
Dad chuckles awkwardly. “No, no, just a little confused. I wasn’t aware that Devin and Julian were um…” He trails off, looking uncomfortably bashful. “Seeing each other.”
“Can’t say I saw it coming either,” Mr. Cooke replies with a chuckle of his own. “I guess this is what happens when we don’t keep a closer eye on our kids.”
Dad flips like a switch, his eyes darkening and fingers clenching into fists. Mr. Cooke starts to walk away before Dad can respond to the taunt.
“Julian, let’s go,” Mr. Cooke orders. Julian turns to me, lips parted as though he’s going to say something, when his dad adds “Now!” with enough force to startle all of us.
We watch Julian trail behind his dad, leaving me to pick up the pieces.
Old Bob cackles so hard it sends him into a coughing fit. “Well ain’t that the plot twist of the century!”
My throat feels painfully dry, and if someone doesn’t say something soon, my heart might beat out of my chest. I’d welcome it at this point; at least then I wouldn’t have to explain myself.
Before I can think of something to say that isn’t an incoherent plea for forgiveness, Andy and Isabel come along bearing Allegheny Park–branded popsicles.
“Hey!” Andy rushes up to me, pouting like a grounded toddler. “How come you get to date one of the neighbors? You said they were off-limits!”
Dad looks as though he’s going to pass out at any second, a feeling I can very much relate to. “Let’s discuss this at home.”
Yes, please, anywhere but in front of half the town.
We’re headed toward the path when a scream stops us in our tracks.
“Those assholes!” Maya storms toward us, her Dutch braids coming undone and dripping with what looks like muddy water.
Isabel goes into mother hen mode, cradling Maya’s cheeks and checking for cuts or bruises. “Are you okay? Did you hit anything?”
“I’m fine,” she mumbles bitterly, sliding out of Isabel’s grip to undo her braids and wring out her curls. “Some guy came up to me and offered me a soda, but I should’ve freakin’ known better.” She turns around with narrowed eyes, glaring somewhere beyond the trees. Even dozens of feet away, I can still make out the shape of Henry Seo-Cooke. Maya was right—he is impossible to miss. Like a mountain troll.
“Did soda explode on you?” Andy asks, scratching his head.
“No, it shot glitter at me,” she replies sarcastically.
Well, Henry was bound to retaliate for the bush incident at some point.
“Let’s go,” Dad insists, rubbing his temples as he leads the charge back toward home. “We’ve been here long enough.”
Isabel rushes to his side, whispering something to him about being dramatic, while Andy hands Maya his second Allegheny popsicle in solidarity.
“Did I miss something?” Maya asks as she falls into step beside me, shaking herself off like a wet dog.
I heave a sigh, squeezing my eyes shut and preparing for the lashing she’s about to give me. “Dad knows about me and Julian.”
But the tirade doesn’t come. Instead, Maya lets out a low whistle and unwraps her popsicle. “Less than forty-eight hours and you already beefed it.”
“What was I supposed to do?” I hiss, turning down a bite of her Popsicle.
“Hide from Julian until it was time to leave.”
If only it had been that easy. “His ex was right there. We couldn’t just stand around ignoring each other.”
Maya’s brow furrows. “Who’s his ex? The Martinezes son? Isn’t he, like, thirty?”
“The one who was handing out the water park vouchers.” I hold up my own crushed coupon as evidence. “His dad owns the place.”
Maya’s eyes go wide as saucers, her jaw hanging open to reveal a bright red, cherry-stained tongue. “Holy shit.”
My thoughts exactly.
Her shock quickly shifts into excitement. “You think he can get us free day passes?” she asks while nudging me in the ribs.
“Not likely. I’m pretty sure he hates my guts.” I don’t know what kind of power Liam holds over Allegheny Park, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he made sure to have me and the rest of my family permanently blacklisted.
Maya rolls her eyes. “You ruin everything.” With that, she takes off ahead of me.
The walk back to our cabin is excruciatingly silent. Whatever Isabel tried to argue on my behalf doesn’t get through to Dad. By the time we get back, he’s still pale all the way down to his sockless ankles, as if he’s seen a ghost. We gather around in the living room, spread out in a circle like we’re the goddamn United Nations. Isabel, our moderator, takes center stage.
“So, Dev, it seems we have a situation your dad would like to discuss with you.”
Great, a family mediation about my love life. “It’s not a situation. It’s—”
“It’s a betrayal!” Maya easily slips into the role of the scorned sister, slamming her fist down on the arm of the love seat.
Isabel winces, holding her arms out to keep the opposing sides at bay. “ ‘Betrayal’ might be a bit dramatic. Dev, why don’t you tell us about what happened between you and Jude?”
“Julian,” Maya and I say at the same time.
“Julian, right.” She winces a second time, settling down beside Andy.
Burying my head in my hands doesn’t shield me from the burn of the four pairs of eyes staring me down, waiting for me to come clean. I lift my head up and inhale sharply, trying to figure out what in the world could bring two people like me and Julian together.
“We started DM’ing each other a while back, and…things…just happened.” Not my best work, but you try rewriting Romeo and Juliet.
Maya deflates, covering her eyes so she doesn’t have to witness the bloodbath that’s about to unfold over my pathetic excuse of a love story. It’s a terrible half-hearted, half-baked, half-assed lie, yet Dad reacts like it’s the full truth. He throws his hands up into the air, startling Andy and Isabel as he slaps them back down onto his thighs.
“Dev, I know you’re living on your own now, making your own decisions.” He pauses to take off his cap and pinch the bridge of his nose. “But you couldn’t have picked anybody else?”
“Maybe this is a good thing,” Isabel proposes, ignoring the blank stares she gets for such a bold statement. “I’m serious!” She comes behind me, resting a supportive hand on my shoulder. “Clearly Devin and Julian found something in each other that made them want to put the past behind them. Maybe the rest of us can too.” She gives my shoulder a squeeze that makes my stomach churn.
Maya snorts, shaking her head. “So we’re just supposed to forgive the Seo-Cookes for years of pain and suffering because Devin and Julian want to make out?”
There’s a collective grimace, myself included, at the thought of me and Julian making out. No one needed that mental image.
Isabel, though, maintains her composure. “You don’t have to forgive them, especially not their dad. But we can learn to coexist peacefully.”
Maya puts on an overdramatic pout and gives me a thumbs-up when no one’s looking.
“I don’t know,” Dad mumbles, rubbing his bald spot as though the answers are buried in its wrinkles.
“Why don’t we start off easy?” Isabel does a little dance and claps her hands to try to lift the mood. No one budges. “How about you invite Julian over for dinner tomorrow?” Dad goes pale while Maya looks hopeful.
This day is getting worse and worse by the minute.
Isabel doesn’t let our hesitance bring her down. “Dev, ask him if he’s free.” She holds her hand up when Dad opens his mouth. “This is a good thing,” she tells him.
“I don’t think that’s—” I start.
“Come on, Dev!” Isabel interrupts, nudging my arm. “We’re talking about your boyfriend. You should feel comfortable inviting him over.”
“He’s just…really busy…with college prep stuff…” Killed it.
“Too busy to eat dinner?” she asks with a raised brow.
I chance a peek at Maya over Isabel’s shoulder, silently begging her to find a way to get me out of this mess. All she offers me is a shrug.
“O-okay.” I finally give in, and Isabel cheers.
My hand shakes as I open up my thread with Julian, scrambling to find a way to word the text without looking like I’m sending a Tolkien-length message.
I don’t bother to phrase it as a question. Isabel’s made it clear that she’s not going to let this go. Still, I hold on to the hope that he can think of a way to turn down the invite. Julian’s response comes a few seconds later.
So much for him putting up a fight. I don’t have time to process Julian’s apology. Isabel’s still waiting for a response, so I give her the most eager thumbs-up I can muster.
“Perfect!” She beams, turning to the others. “And we’ll all be on our best behavior, right?” She stomps her foot when no one responds. “Right?”
“Right,” Dad, Andy, and Maya mutter.
I wish I could sink down beneath the floorboards and spend the rest of my life as a spirit haunting the crawl space with the possums instead of live this painfully awkward existence.
Maya shoots me a discreet wink while Isabel rattles off plans for tomorrow’s dinner. Knowing her, she’ll find a way to spin this as a good thing. Get the enemy on our turf, show him what they’ll be taking from us if they win, try to get the weakest link on our side. The framed pictures of Mami on the mantel, the smell of her still lingering on her favorite couch throw pillow—the type of mementos that could tug even ice-cold heartstrings.
We can try to do the impossible: give a Seo-Cooke a conscience.