Freeze (The Jewel Project #4)

12.2 || The Feud

That was the question Sam hoped Sophie wouldn't ask. He still couldn't open his mouth and answer it anyway. Fortunately, her eyes were fixed on Tom for the moment.

"Why do you wear the sunglasses indoors?" she asked.

Tom flinched the slightest bit, but managed to turn it into a shrug. "It's protection."

"From what?"

"From people. From judgement. From strangers."

Sam turned to him with a frown. He'd never explained it so clearly to him. Even if he'd known from the start that Tom didn't have photosensitive epilepsy, Sam hadn't every fully figured out why his twin was obsessed with keeping his eyes covered. He'd taken it as a quirk, but it apparently ran much deeper.

"Can you take them off?" Sophie asked, her tone careful.

Tom pulled back an inch. "I could, but it would be fake trust."

Their grandma jutted out her lips in a pensive way. "Fair enough. I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable." And with those words she turned her probing gaze towards Sam again, clearly not giving a hoot that she was making him uncomfortable . "Why are you here?"

"Well..." Crap baskets, what was he supposed to say? "We were in the neighborhood and..."

"Do those excuses really work on your stupid mother?"

Sam flinched. Ouch. He wasn't sure he was more insulted on his mother's behalf or his own.

"You want me to believe you just happened to be in the neighborhood 4.130 miles away from home. And yes, I know the exact distance by heart."

"We were in Paris already," Tom interjected, not being very useful. "Work stuff."

"Work." She raised a doubting brow.

"Yes, work," he emphasized on a clear we're-not-telling-you-shit tone.

Sophie's bright blue gaze turned to Sam again as though she thought he'd be much easier to bully. The bad part was that her really was. He swallowed heavily, trying to fight the sudden shudder overcoming him. Her look turned concerned.

"Sam, what is wrong? You look..." She paused as if searching for a word. "Frightened."

Was he? If he was completely truthful, yes, he was, and the reason was beyond stupid. "I haven't seen you in years and the last time I saw you, you were very serious and upset and screaming at Mom and..." Sam's voice cracked and he stared into his lap.

For one long moment, there was silence. Then Sophie let out a deep sigh. "Oh, you poor child. I didn't think you would remember. Were you four? Five?"

Sam's face shot up, an annoying confusion overtaking him. "It can't have been that long."

Sophie nodded, her lips pressed together. "It has. I haven't stepped foot in your house since that day."

Sam just stared, trying to urge his brain to do some basic math. He remembered that fight. It had scared the crap out of him what with both his mother and favorite grandmother yelling and crying, but he couldn't remember what they were arguing about.

"I was horrible, having that argument with your mother right in front of you," Sophie whispered.

"I don't remember what you were arguing about, just that there was a lot of screaming involved." And Sophie hadn't come visit since.

She said nothing to this, just took a sip of coffee from her cup. Sam could practically feel Tom's inquisitive gaze on him, but he didn't know what to say. He could hardly remember anything himself past the feeling of being terrified and wanting the ground to swallow him.