“Are you enrolling in an art school?” Dad asks.
“He’s thinking about it,” I answer. “Weighing his options.” I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like the expression on Anthony’s face. So I don’t look.
“Where have you applied?” Ethan asks.
There’s an awkward moment of silence. Anthony rips his roll in half. “Nowhere. Yet.”
“School starts in August. You haven’t applied?”
Anthony’s eyes fix on Ethan as his fingers tear the roll into tiny pieces. “Nope.”
Mom taps Ethan’s arm. “I think we’ve asked enough questions.”
Dad nods. “If you are interested in a CC grant, let Mai know and she can get you all the information. You have to submit an application and letters of recommendation, but if you want to pursue art, it might start you down the right path. In fact, I’d be happy to mention you to the person who oversees our grants. She’ll be at our fundraiser on Friday.”
Anthony rips another piece of roll. “Yeah. I heard about that.”
“It’s our biggest event of the year. We get to cheer about our people and their accomplishments.” Dad’s eyes widen as if he’s just remembered something. “I forgot for a moment you’re a volunteer. You’ll know one of our team we’re recognizing—Amber, your project leader.”
His fingers finally stop ripping. He brushes crumbs off his hands. That’s about all that’s left. “Amber is great.”
“I’m sorry our volunteer spots are all taken or you’d be welcome.”
“That’s too bad. I’d love to be there.” He shifts in his chair. “I guess I thought the Senns could get anyone in.”
Dad smiles. “We have to adhere to head counts like everyone else. We just have the five spots.”
My heart skids to a halt.
“Five?” Anthony takes a loud breath that sucks all the air from the room. Must be why I can’t breathe. He looks at me. “Five?”
My eyes flicker to his face. I only get as high as the tic pulsing in his jaw.
“Grant Ellison will be joining us,” Mom explains. “You must know him from the project. Mai confirmed it just yesterday.”
Anthony’s smile is stuck as he looks from my mom to me. “She did, huh?”
“Before the pool party,” I say pointedly. We were done. Over.
“And you’re still going with Grant?” His eyes are locked on mine.
“With the family,” I say. “He’s going with the whole family.”
“I guess you were too busy today to say anything to him?”
Another fork settles on a plate. Mom and Dad are looking between the two of us.
It’s Ethan who says what they’re thinking. “Why would she say anything to Grant? And why shouldn’t they be going together?”
“That’s a good question.” Anthony wipes his fingers on his napkin. “That’s a great question. You got an answer, Mai?”
My mouth is desert dry. I take a sip of water.
“Is there something going on that we don’t know about?” Mom asks.
“Another good question.” Anthony shoves his chair back so he can face me. He tips his head as if to say, Answer her, Mai.
I stare back a warning. He’s going to ruin everything over a dinner that doesn’t matter.
“So, Mai is being shy, I guess,” he says. “The thing is we’ve been hanging out.”
“Hanging out?” Mom repeats. “What does that mean?”
“It means dating,” Ethan says incredulously. “You’re dating my sister?”
“It must be a misunderstanding,” Mom says. “If Mai were dating, we would know about it.” Her frown deepens. “Wouldn’t we?”
“Mai?” Anthony says. My head pounds harder. It’s hard to get a breath, hard to slow down my heart enough to think. I need to explain. If he would just give me a second to figure out how!
“Your mom just asked another question.” His voice has an edge of anger now. “You going to answer this one, Mai?”
Ethan throws down his napkin. “Don’t talk to my sister like that. Who do you think you are?”
Anthony throws down his napkin a second later, his eyes snapping. “I’m her boyfriend.”
There’s a split second of silence. Then the echo starts.
“Boyfriend?” Ethan, disgusted.
“Boyfriend?” Dad, disbelieving.
“Boyfriend?” Mom, softer. Betrayed.
They’re all staring at me as if they don’t know who I am. “You’ve been lying to us? For months?”
Tears hover behind my eyes.
“It seems we have a lot to talk about,” Dad says through tight lips.
“And it seems that Mai and I have said everything we need to.” Anthony stands. “Thanks for dinner, Mrs. Senn. Mr. Senn. I’ll let myself out.”
“Anthony.” I stand.
“Maya,” Dad snaps. “Sit down.”
I hesitate, frozen as Anthony walks away. The door slams behind him, jolting my heart back in motion. I can’t let him go. Not like this. I rush across the kitchen. “I’ll be right back.”
“Mai! Don’t you—”
The rest is lost when the front door swings shut behind me.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Anthony
“Anthony, wait!”
I hear Mai calling as I rev my engine. I was trying to decide whether to bang my head against the wheel or do something I’ve never done before and cry on it. Now she’s standing by the passenger window and she’s beat me to the tears. It shouldn’t matter—I shouldn’t care. But that’s the problem. I let myself care too much. Wasn’t it bad enough to lose my dad? I had to take my heart and wrap it around someone else who was going to tear it to shreds?
She reaches for the door handle, but I get out before she can. We’re not doing this in my car. Not again. I face her with the hood between us, glancing back at her house.
“No one is coming out,” she says as if she knows what I’m thinking.
“Yeah? So why did you?”
The heat of asphalt rises up, fumes of gas poisoning the air between us. As if everything between us isn’t already poisoned.