➳ 𝐇𝐄 '𝐒 𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐊𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐒

⊰ 𝟡 ⊱

'R.I.P TATE CARVER'

"You at least want something to drink?" Colten asks, motioning for me to sit at one of the bar stools.

"Sure," I reply, taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

I watch as Colten moves gracefully around the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and then the handless cupboards before he sets about making the pancake batter. I found it odd he's never been mentioned before. Then again, Lyle's not one to brag about who his siblings are, taking Tate for instants. But I wondered why he was so secretive about his family in the first place.

"So, are you here visiting?" I question, my voice croaky.

"Yeah, something like that." He's smiling at me while whisking some eggs, and my eyes involuntarily drop to his abdominal muscles as they ripple.

I glance down at my fingers to distract myself, "And you are from here originally?"

I hear him chuckle softly, but there's a sadness in his voice, "No, Miami, but I spent almost every summer here since I was a kid. I lived with my Mom for the most part." A jumbled expression leaks through me, and I find myself blinking rapidly at him, trying to figure out if I had heard him correctly.

I didn't get a chance to voice my query because Colten noticed the confusing line between my brows and answered for me, "Probably good time to tell you Mrs. Carver isn't my mom, haha."

Oh, not this crap again.

I inhale deeply and prepare myself, "So what's the story?"

"Tate and I are brothers, Lyle's my cousin, but we have a younger sister, Maddie. she's your age." Colten informs me, and I nod a disoriented nod.

So Lyle really does have a sister. Tate wasn't lying about that. The other details I was still wary about, however.

I shift in my seat, trying to frame a response, "So how does that work?" I finally ask.

"Well, Maddie and I have the same mom," He begins, handing me my juice, "And Maddie's Dad Is Lyle's Dad. Maddie and I would always visit during summer. I'd visit my Dad, and she would visit Lyle."

An addled wave washes over me, and I sip on my juice, trying slowly to absorb it. It was finally beginning to register why Lyle steered clear of his family. It was one gigantic pool of quicksand, and I was shoulders deep in it.

This family sure was unique, a family that was nowhere to be seen.

"So where are Mrs. Carver and Maddie?" I Finally glance up from my cup, watching as Colten proceeds to grill the bacon.

"Yacht club." He answers, popping a blueberry into his mouth, "Mr. Carver is back from his business trip. it's kind of his thing."

Ten minutes of back and forth chit-chat passed as I watched Colten completely devour his food like a damn horse, and he informed me he would drive me home after jogging upstairs to change into something more appropriate, His words, not mine.

To kill time, I decided to wander around his kitchen. I felt tiny in the enormous space under the high ceiling skylight. Rich peopled quite frankly scared the living shit out of me. The large center island with the built-in breakfast bar had a strange sink, one I'd never seen before, and I found myself tilting my head as I examined it. It was flat, with a small slit as a drain that slightly sloped down.

Rich people, I groan.

"Ready to go, trouble?" Colten's voice pulls my head in his direction. Woah, he looks good in his black leather jacket, navy ripped jeans and brown suede boots.